EGCA – Women’s Champions League 2026 tournament will be played in Rostock, Germany, from 20–22 August. The tournament, which is being held for the seventh time, features eight teams from six different countries. The event is organised by RGC Hansa Rostock in cooperation with EGCA. This is the second time the Women’s Champions League has been held in Rostock; the European top clubs last gathered in this true goalball city in 2022.
In this article, you will find information on how to follow the tournament, as well as a preview of the teams and their starting points heading into the competition.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE TOURNAMENT
Official website: You can find the official tournament website here.
Livestream: All tournament matches can be watched via livestream on the GoalballTV YouTube channel. Commentary will be provided by RGC Hansa Rostock men’s team players John Turloff and Phillipp Schrader, as well as EGCA President Erkki Miinala.
Here are the livestream links for the weekend:
Day 1 – Thursday, 20 August 2026
Day 2 – Friday, 21 August 2026
Day 3 – Saturday, 22 August 2026
Social media: EGCA’s Facebook and Instagram channels will provide extensive coverage of the tournament. RGC Hansa’s own Instagram channel will also feature team introductions, results, photos and atmosphere from the tournament.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The tournament consists of two groups of four teams, with each team playing every other team in its group once during the preliminary round. After the group stage, all teams advance to the quarter-finals. The group winner will face the fourth-placed team from the opposite group, while the second-placed team will take on the third-placed team from the opposite group.
The quarter-final winners advance to the semi-finals and medal matches, while the losing teams will compete for places 5–8.
All quarter-finals, semi-finals, medal matches and placement games will be played to a decisive result. If a match is tied after regulation time, a six-minute sudden-death overtime period will be played, with the first team to score winning the match. If the game remains tied after overtime, an extra throws competition will be used to determine the winner.
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW / GROUP A
Group A features one of the tournament’s biggest favourites, the host team, a reliable perennial contender and a young, ambitious challenger.
RGC Hansa Rostock
RGC Hansa Rostock won bronze medals in the Champions League in 2022 and 2023. Last year, the team came close to another bronze medal but ultimately lost to FIFH Malmö in Berlin following an extra throws competition. This year, two regular members of the squad, German national team players Celeste Troost and Pia Knaute, are absent. However, the team has been strengthened by one of the world’s best goalball players, Israel’s Lihi Ben David, who is undoubtedly the strongest favourite to finish as the tournament’s top scorer. Alongside Ben David, Charlotte Kaercher brings plenty of experience from high-level international competition, while the younger players now have an opportunity to step into the spotlight in front of their home crowd.
FIFH Malmö
FIFH Malmö is a true perennial contender in the Women’s Champions League. The Swedish club’s most recent visit to Rostock ended in gold, when they dramatically defeated Finland’s Old Power 1–0 in the final in 2022, scoring the decisive goal in the closing moments. FIFH Malmö has won medals in the Women’s Champions League on five occasions. Anja Christensen and Hazel Gezen have been part of all five medal-winning campaigns, and the pair also won silver with BSI Copenhagen in 2019. Christensen and Gezen will once again be key players, alongside the rapidly developing Hanna Svensson.
Kahramanmaras
The reigning Turkish champions Kahramanmaras are among the clear favourites for the tournament. The team made its Women’s Champions League debut last year and immediately claimed silver behind Füchse Berlin.
The squad is packed with players experienced in high-level international competition, including Turkish national team players Reyhan Yilmaz and Gülsah Aktürk, as well as the young Fatma Gül Güler Erman, who has also previously excelled with the Turkish national team. The team has a very deep roster, giving it the opportunity to rotate players during the group stage and ensure that its key players are fresh when the decisive matches begin. It would be a huge surprise if Kahramanmaras did not feature in the tournament’s medal matches.
GC Lyon’s Golden Flash
The reigning French champions finished eighth at last year’s Women’s Champions League tournament in Berlin, but the team is nevertheless full of youthful enthusiasm and potential. The squad includes regular members of the French women’s national team, such as Melda Alhan and Loise Rondepierre, as well as British talent in the form of young Chelsea Hudson. Golden Flash will get the chance to test itself in an extremely tough group. However, with only four players in the squad, the team could face a significant physical challenge in a tournament where six matches are played over three days.
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW / GROUP B
Group B features the reigning champions, a traditional powerhouse looking to return to the medal positions, and challengers capable of causing a surprise.
Füchse Berlin
Germany’s Füchse Berlin have won the Women’s Champions League title in two consecutive years, led by star player Amanda Dennis. Dennis won the tournament’s scoring title in 2024 and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player in 2025. Her importance to the team is enormous, but British player Kali Holder has also played a crucial role in the team’s recent championships with her consistently stable performances. This duo will certainly be at the heart of Füchse Berlin’s campaign in Rostock as well. However, it will be interesting to see which of the team’s less familiar players earns a place in the starting line-up, and what the team’s true title-defending potential will be. There has also been some uncertainty regarding Dennis’s fitness heading into the tournament.
Old Power
Based in Espoo, Finland, Old Power is the second-most successful club in Women’s Champions League history after FIFH Malmö. The team won the title in 2023, took silver in Rostock in 2022 and won bronze in 2019 and 2021.
The squad includes several familiar names from the Finnish national team in recent years. Dutch player Stephanie Boenink has been part of Old Power at all six previous editions of the Women’s Champions League. Among other achievements, she was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player in 2023. Old Power have also added an intriguing reinforcement in Saki Amuro, one of the key players of the Japanese national team, who further strengthens an already impressive squad. After two lean years, Old Power are certainly one of the teams with genuine potential to return to the medal positions.
USV Hercules
The traditional Dutch club made its Women’s Champions League debut last year, finishing ninth in Berlin. The team produced highly aggressive attacking goalball under the leadership of Femke van den Born, who won the tournament’s scoring title. However, defensive vulnerabilities and too many attacking errors prevented the team from achieving a higher finish. Hercules have received a significant boost with the addition of German national team player Annkathrin Denker, who brings greater stability and experience to the squad. Hercules’ matches are sure to be highly entertaining, and it will be fascinating to see how far the team can go in this year’s tournament. Van den Born will certainly be ready to challenge for another high finish in the tournament’s scoring standings.
Isparta Blind Sports
Turkish club Isparta Blind Sports will participate in the Women’s Champions League for the first time. The team finished fifth in the Turkish Goalball League last season. Isparta Blind Sports will host the 2027 Women’s Champions League tournament in Antalya, making this year’s competition an excellent opportunity for the club to gain international experience ahead of next year’s home tournament. The team’s best-known player is undoubtedly Seidanur Kaplan, who has represented the Turkish national team at several major international Championships. Like her teammates, she will make her Women’s Champions League debut in Rostock. Isparta had some injury concerns ahead of the tournament, so they have received support from Gören Kalpler club, who were also forced to withdraw from this year’s tournament due to injuries. The team’s true level will probably only become clear in its opening matches, but opponents certainly cannot afford to underestimate Isparta.