Text: Erkki Miinala
Photos: Beatriz Lima, Paula Barata, Sabena Costa, Joana Jesus and Martim
The 2026 season of the EGCA Champions League kicked off in Odivelas, Portugal, with the first Qualification Stage played at Odivelas Pavilion. Eight teams from seven different countries competed for the coveted tickets to the season’s culminating Final Stage in Berlin in mid-September, with the top three teams of the tournament advancing. Below is a comprehensive tournament report from the events at Odivelas Pavilion.
EGCA would like to express its deepest gratitude to Clube Atlético e Cultural for organizing a fantastic tournament event, as well as a huge thank you to every team member, referee, over 50 volunteers, and the incredible number of spectators both at the competition arena and watching the high-quality livestream broadcast. Special thanks to all the tournament partners and sponsors, without your support this kind of great goalball events wouldn’t be possible.
All tournament results and statistics can be found here.
GROUP A – FC PORTO IN CONTROL
The eight teams were divided into two preliminary groups of four teams, and all group stage matches were played on Friday.
In Group A, two pre-tournament favorites, FC Porto from Portugal and Fen Tigers from Great Britain, faced each other early on Friday morning. Fen Tigers started the match extremely strongly, quickly racing to a three-goal lead. However, a substitution made by FC Porto midway through the first half completely changed the team’s direction, as Diego Azevedo, who entered the court, played a major role in lifting his team from a 3–6 deficit to a 6–6 draw.
FC Porto then defeated Germany’s SSG Blista Marburg and Italy’s reigning champion ASD Omero Bergamo very convincingly, advancing to the quarterfinals as group winners.
Fen Tigers continued their group campaign by defeating Omero Bergamo 7–3, but their hopes of winning the group were shattered at the end of the day when they suffered a heavy 9–1 defeat to SSG Blista Marburg. Marburg had lost their opening match of the day to Omero Bergamo, but their clear victory over Fen Tigers was enough to lift the Germans to third place in the group on goal difference ahead of Omero Bergamo.
GROUP B – CELEBRATION FOR THE HOSTS, A TIGHT BATTLE BEHIND
The tournament host team, Clube Atlético e Cultural (CAC), got off to a dream start by defeating reigning French champion ASCND Marseille 8–4. After that, another strong pre-tournament favorite, Sweden’s reigning champion FSBU Gothenburg, fell by a stunning 10–1 scoreline, and CAC crowned their victorious group stage run with a 7–3 win over Denmark’s BSI Copenhagen. The brightest star of the team was Spaniard Javier Serrato, who scored 13 goals in the group stage as his team claimed a dominant group victory.
Behind CAC, the standings were extremely tight, as each of the remaining teams secured one win. In the end, ASCND Marseille finished best on goal difference, which was decisively influenced by their victory over BSI Copenhagen in the tournament’s craziest match, ending 18–13 in favor of the French side. In that match, Marseille’s young star forward Elias Ouni scored no fewer than 12 goals.
BSI Copenhagen had started the tournament with a very sweet win in the Scandinavian derby against FSBU Gothenburg by 5–3, while Gothenburg slightly brightened their otherwise disappointing Friday by defeating Marseille 11–9 in their final group match. Despite that victory, the Swedes still finished bottom of the group.
FAVORITES STRONG IN THE QUARTERFINALS – GOTHENBURG’S YOUNG TEAM COMPLETES A FULL TURNAROUND
In Saturday’s first quarterfinal, Group A winner FC Porto faced Group B’s fourth-placed FSBU Gothenburg. The young Swedish team had clearly learned from Friday’s weak performances, as they started the quarterfinal extremely strongly, quickly racing to a 4–0 lead, which was also the halftime score.
In the second half, FC Porto began a furious comeback, and especially the final minutes of the match were pure FC Porto dominance. However, it was not enough, as the young Swedish side stayed compact until the end, securing a 7–5 victory and advancing to the semifinals.
The tournament’s second quarterfinal began 15 minutes late after ASCND Marseille missed their bus. Whether this affected their early performance or not, Marburg quickly went 2–0 up before Marseille — and especially their star player Elias Ouni — woke up. By halftime, Marseille led 5–2, and in the second half Marburg were unable to truly shift into comeback gear. In the end, a solid 9–5 victory for Marseille.
The host team CAC faced ASD Omero Bergamo in the quarterfinals. The Italians demonstrated true resilience in the first half, as the score stood at a tantalizing 1–1 at halftime. In the second half, Joao Mota rose as the great hero for the home crowd, propelling CAC into the semifinals with four goals, as the match ended 5–2 in favor of CAC.
Fen Tigers, for their part, got off to an excellent start in their quarterfinal against BSI Copenhagen, racing to a 4–1 lead under the guidance of Josh McEntee, who had been playing an excellent tournament. Copenhagen’s biggest attacking weapon, Gustav Koch Rasmussen, brought his team within one goal just before the halftime buzzer. However, the second half was a truly convincing defensive display from Fen Tigers, who ultimately celebrated a 6–3 victory. Josh McEntee scored an impressive five goals in the quarterfinal.
GOTHENBURG AND FEN TIGERS WERE THE FIRST TO STAMP THEIR TICKETS TO BERLIN
Saturday had already moved into the afternoon when the first semifinal began, featuring FSBU Gothenburg and ASCND Marseille. The first half promised a top-class thriller between two very strong teams that had been among the biggest pre-tournament favorites. At halftime, Gothenburg led 3–2.
In the second half, things began to unfold decisively. The indiscipline in Marseille’s attacking play and their ongoing problems defending bounce shots — issues that had troubled them throughout the tournament — once again proved costly. In penalty situations, Sweden’s Felix Rosvall was unshakable, eventually scoring six goals in the semifinal. Gothenburg made club history by advancing for the first time to the Champions League Qualification Stage final and, at the same time, to the season’s culminating Final Stage. The 8–3 scoreline left the French with no excuses. They had to recharge for the bronze medal match, where a Final Stage spot was still on the line.
In the second semifinal, expectations were again set for strong defensive play and balanced attacking from the host team. The match got off to a peculiar start when, straight from the opening throw, Fen Tigers’ Dan Roper was penalized for a long ball. Joao Mota, however, slightly over-pressed his penalty throw and was called for a high ball. Dan Roper converted the penalty, giving Fen Tigers the lead.
After this, something of a mental collapse occurred for the home side, as Dan Roper struck the hosts’ net four times in the opening minutes before the home team slowly woke from their slumber. At halftime, Fen Tigers led 6–2.
The second half was a true chase from the hosts. Goal by goal, they narrowed the gap, and with 45 seconds remaining, the match’s most prolific scorer, Dan Roper, committed a somewhat strange long ball penalty, allowing CAC to come within one goal. Fen Tigers nevertheless managed to keep the hosts from scoring again, securing their long-awaited place in the final and qualification for the Berlin Final Stage with a 7–6 victory.
YOUTH PREVAILED IN THE FINAL, HOSTS’ DREAMS CAME TRUE
Sunday’s highest-stakes match was the bronze medal game between CAC and Marseille. Once again, the first half was even, but as it progressed, Marseille’s attacking errors began to increase. At halftime, CAC led 4–2.
The second half was complete celebration for the home team as Marseille’s structure fell apart entirely. Javier Serrato crowned his magnificent tournament by scoring nine goals in the bronze medal match, bringing his tournament total to 26. Joao Mota also enjoyed five goals in the bronze match, as CAC claimed the bronze medals and tickets to Berlin with a commanding 14–5 victory.
In the bronze match, CAC’s center Daniel Sanchez, who had worked tirelessly in that role for almost the entire tournament, returned to his excellent level after a difficult semifinal.
Marseille’s Elias Ouni had won Champions League gold last season with Belgian side Ha. Vi. 2 Bruxelles, while also finishing as last season’s second-best scorer with 75 goals. Once again the net rippled at an incredible rate, as the 19-year-old was crowned the tournament’s top scorer with 32 goals — but this performance was still not enough to secure a Final Stage place.
In the final, internationally experienced Fen Tigers faced the young and hungry FSBU Gothenburg. Gothenburg’s iron-strong top trio of Rosvall–Smedberg–Ryberg were sharp from the very beginning, and the final was decided fairly quickly as the Swedes surged to a 5–0 lead.
Fen Tigers did not surrender, fighting their way back into the game, although Gothenburg were never truly in serious trouble. The Odivelas Champions League Qualification Stage ended in Swedish celebrations with a 10–6 final score.
Felix Rosvall fired eight goals in the final, bringing his tournament tally to 24. The team’s “oldest” player, 25-year-old Olof Ryberg, provided excellent support with 16 goals, scoring many crucial goals especially in the decisive matches. At center, 19-year-old top talent Alexander Smedberg shone brightly. Even the team’s substitutes had the honor of enjoying the atmosphere of the final in the closing minutes.
In the Fen Tigers camp, Dan Roper perhaps surprisingly finished with “only” 18 goals, while Josh McEntee’s 12 goals demonstrated that the team possesses finishing power beyond Roper alone.
All three medal-winning teams will appear for the first time at the Champions League Final Stage in Berlin in mid-September.
EXTREMELY EVEN IN THE PLACEMENT MATCHES
The first placement matches for positions 5–8 were played on Saturday. Both matchups turned into thrillers, as both FC Porto vs. SSG Blista Marburg and BSI Copenhagen vs. ASD Omero Bergamo were tied 4–4 at halftime.
In the end, the final score was identical in both matches: FC Porto defeated the Germans 9–8, and Omero Bergamo achieved the same 9–8 result against BSI Copenhagen. Porto’s hero was Fabio Oliveira with six goals, while in the other match Christian Belotti shone for Omero Bergamo with seven goals.
BSI Copenhagen had struggled with very weak starts throughout the tournament, and their 7th–8th place match against Marburg also began poorly, as Marburg punished them with nine goals in the first half. In the second half, BSI fought bravely to make the final scoreline more respectable, but Marburg secured an excellent 11–6 victory.
Marburg’s Nils Emig and Daniel Arendar battled fiercely for the team’s top scorer title; this time Emig prevailed with 22 goals, while Arendar finished with 20. The same 20-goal total was reached by experienced BSI player Gustav Koch Rasmussen, who at the start of the tournament had looked like a strong contender even for the overall top scorer title after netting 13 goals in his first two matches.
In the 5th–6th place match, Italy’s pride Omero Bergamo demonstrated what patience in goalball means. The team trailed 3–1 at halftime against FC Porto but turned the match around early in the second half, led by Christian Belotti, who had caught fire in the tournament’s final matches.
Porto had rested their other star forward Fabio Oliveira for a long period, but at 7–4 down he had to be brought back onto the court. Oliveira helped lift Porto back into contention, but once again time ran out, and Omero Bergamo secured a magnificent 7–6 victory after a truly fine battle.
Christian Belotti scored 13 goals in the final two placement matches, bringing his tournament total to 19. In the FC Porto camp, Fabio Oliveira and Diego Azevedo — who at the very latest in this tournament made his name known among followers of goalball — scored at a very even pace, finishing with 23 and 22 goals respectively.
Based on their rankings, ASCND Marseille, ASD Omero Bergamo, and FC Porto are in a very strong position to qualify for the European Cup to be held in the autumn.
The Champions League season continues already next weekend with the Barcelona Qualification Stage. More information about the tournament can be found here.