Welcome to the official website of the EGCA Champions League 2026 Niš Qualification Stage that was held in Niš, Serbia from 26th to 29th March head-organized by GC NAIS in cooperation with European Goalball Club Association. It was the third and the last qualification stage of the season. 8 clubs from 7 different countries took part in the tournament and Top 3 clubs: Old Power (Finland), Nilüfer Buges (Turkiye) and Cankaya (Turkiye) qualified to the Final Stage of the Champions League 2026 Season that took place in Berlin, Germany from 16th to 20th September.
The venue of the event was Sportska hala Aleksinac (Address: Tihomira Đorđevića 95, Aleksinac. The floor material of the hall is wooden parquet floor. Teams and referees were accommodated at the Hotel NAIS.
Please read the comprehensive summary of the tournament here
CONTACT DETAILS
Tournament Director: Stefan Stevanovic
Email: goalballnais@gmail.com
WhatsApp: +38169659996
EGCA Representative: Bas Spaans
Email: baspaans@hotmail.com
WhatsApp: +31651435135
EVENT SPONSORS & PARTNERS
PARTICIPATING TEAMS, GROUPS & PLAY SYSTEM
Please find line-ups of the participating teams here
The tournament featured 8 clubs, divided into two preliminary groups of four teams as follows:
Group A: Aisti Sport (FIN), GC NAIS (SRB), Kleio Thessaloniki (GRE), Nilüfer Buges (TUR)
Group B: Cankaya (TUR), Club Fenix (MKD), GC Niksic (MNE), Old Power (FIN)
Within the groups, teams played a single round-robin format. After the group stage, the tournament advanced to the quarterfinals, where the winner of one group faced the fourth-placed team of the other group, and the second-placed team faced the third-placed team from the other group.
The winners of the quarterfinals advanced to the semifinals, while the losing teams played placement matches for places 5–8.
The winners of the semifinals advanced to the tournament final, securing their place in the Champions League season’s Final Stage. The teams that lost in the semifinals compete in the bronze medal match, the winner of which qualified as the third team for the season-ending Final Stage in Berlin, Germany, in September.
The tournament was played under existing IBSA 2025 rules.
A team earned 3 points from awin, 1 point from a draw and 0 points for a loss in a preliminary group game. The ranking of teams in a preliminary group was determined by following system:
A. Earned points
B. Goal difference
C. Missed goals
D. If two teams remain tied after criteria A–C, priority shall be given to the team that won the head-to-head match between them
E. If 2 teams remain tied after A-D criteria, there is an extra throw competition organized between those teams to determine their ranking
In the quarterfinals, semifinals, medal matches, and placement matches, each game was played to a decisive result. If the match was tied after regulation time, a 6-minute golden goal overtime was played (the first team to score wins). If the game remained tied after overtime, an extra throws competition was used to determine the winner.
REFEREES, PROTEST & TOURNAMENT JURY
Following referees officiated in the tournament:
Bálint Benkő – Hungary
Antonios Christodoulos – Greece
Bülent Kimyon – Turkiye
Sarah Küper – Germany
Sorin Lapadatu – Romania
Bas Spaans – The Netherlands
Vilma Venckutonyte – Lithuania
Protest: A protest should be given literally to the chief referee or EGCA representative within an half hour after a game. Protest fee is 100 € and it must be paid by cash at the same time than a club is leaving the protest to the chief referee or EGCA representative.
You can find protest document on the official table.
If the protest is acknowledged, the money is given back. If not, the money goes to the EGCA for development of club goalball.
The tournament jury will talk about the protest and give a decision as soon as possible.
The tournament jury was:
Tournament Director: Stefan Stevanovic
Chief Referee: Bülent Kimyon (If Bülent has officiated in a match that is the subject of a protest, he will be replaced by another referee selected by the EGCA representative)
EGCA Representative: Bas Spaans If Bas has officiated in a match that is the subject of a protest, he will be replaced by another referee selected by the chief referee)
LIVESTREAM & SOCIAL MEDIA
All the games were livestreamed on Goalball TV YouTube channel
The games were mainly commentated by Christoph Scholtz and Dzenan Ajdinovic.
Please find results and stats on this web page.
You can find game by game results, photos and much more from the GC NAIS’s Instagram Page
FINAL RANKING
- Old Power
- Nilüfer Buges
- Cankaya
- GC Niksic
- Aisti Sport
- Kleio Thessaloniki
- GC NAIS
- Club Fenix
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
The most valuable player (MVP) – Mantas Brazauskis (Old Power)
The best scorer – Ekrem Gündogdu (Cankaya), 37 goals
GROUP STANDINGS & SCORER LIST
SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Attention: The time zone of Serbia is (UTC+1) and on Sunday (UTC+2).
Friday 27th March 2026
Game Number / Start Time / Group / Home Team – Away Team
1 / 08:00 / Group A / Nilüfer Buges – Aisti Sport 8-2 (4-1)
Scorers / Nilüfer: Caner Keles 4, Bilal Tekin 3, Hilmi Uslu 1
Scorers / Aisti: Arttu Cowell 1, Markus Tihumäk 1
2 / 09:05 / Group A / Kleio Thessaloniki – GC NAIS 7-7 (1-4)
Scorers / Kleio: Ivailo Vatov 4, Alesio Delia 3
Scorers / NAIS: Dimitrije Ostojić 3, Vladimir Pavićević 3, 1 own goal
3 / 10:10 / Group B / Club Fenix – Cankaya 0:10 Match over in first half.
Scorers / Fenix: /
Scorers / Cankaya: Ekrem Gündogdu 7, Baris Tosun 2, Abdullah Aydogdu 1
4 / 11:15 / Group B / GC Niksic – Old Power 5-9 (4-3)
Scorers / Niksic: Nikola Nikolic 4, Matej Ledinek 1
Scorers / Old Power: Erkki Miinala 4, Nerijus Montvydas 3, Ehsan Zoveidavi 2
5 / 12:20 / Group A / GC NAIS – Nilüfer Buges 3-13 (1-8)
Scorers / NAIS: Veselin Kushnerenkov 1, Dimitrije Ostojić 1, Stanislav Yordanov 1
Scorers / Buges: Bilal Tekin 8, Hilmi Uslu 4, Caner Keles 1
6 / 13:25 / Group A / Aisti Sport – Kleio Thessaloniki 11-4 (4-2)
Scorers / Aisti: Markus Tihumäki 6, Arttu Cowell 3, Leo Hintsanen 1, Miika Honkanen 1
Scorers / Kleio: Alesio Delia 3, Ivailo Vatov 1
7 / 14:30 / Group B / Old Power – Club Fenix 14-4 (8-3)
Scorers / Old Power: Nerijus Montvydas 6, Seemi Hintsanen 3, Ehsan Zoveidavi 3, Erkki Miinala 2
Scorers / Fenix: Milos Grlica 3, Miroslav Topalov 1
8 / 15:35 / Group B / Cankaya – GC Niksic 16-6 (7-2)
Scorers / Cankaya: Ekrem Gündogdu 12, Abdullah Aydogdu 3, Baris Tosun 1
Scorers / Niksic: Nikola Nikolic 3, Matej Ledinek 2, Marko Nikolic 1
9 / 16:40 / Group A / Nilüfer Buges – Kleio Thessaloniki 11-6 (8-5)
Scorers / Nilüfer: Bilal Tekin 7, Hilmi Uslu 3, Furkan Deymez 1
Scorers / Kleio:Alesio Delia 3, Georgios Papadopoulos 2, Ivailo Vatov 1
10 / 17:45 / Group A / GC NAIS – Aisti Sport 1-11 (1-7)
Scorers / NAIS: Dimitrije Ostojic 1
Scorers / Aisti: Miika Honkanen 5, Markus Tihumäki 4, Arttu Cowell 1, Leo Hintsanen 1
11 / 18:50 / Group B / Club Fenix – GC Niksic 4-14 (4-7)
Scorers / Fenix: Filip Arsov 2, Milos Grlica 1, Miroslav Topalov 1
Scorers / Niksic: Nikola Nikolic 6, Marko Nikolic 4, Matej Ledinek 3, Velizar Obradovic 1
12 / 19:55 / Group B / Old Power – Cankaya 11-6 (3-3)
Scorers / Old Power: Erkki Miinala 3, Ehsan Zoveidavi 3, Nerijus Montvydas 5
Scorers / Cankaya: Ekrem Gündogdu 3, Baris Tosun 2, Abdullah Aydogdu 1
Saturday 28th March 2026
13 / 10:00 / Quarter Final 1 / Nilüfer Buges – Club Fenix 12-2 match over in first half.
Scorers / Buges: Bilal Tekin 6, Furkan Deymez 5, Hilmi Uslu 1
Scorers / Fenix: Filip Arsov 1, Haris Crnovrsanin 1
14 / 11:10 / Quarter Final 2 / Cankaya – Kleio Thessaloniki 10-0 (8-0)
Scorers / Cankaya: Abdullah Aydogdu 3, Ekrem Gündogdu 3, Volkan Demir 2, Baris Tosun 2
Scorers / Kleio: /
15 / 12:20 / Quarter Final 3 / Old Power – GC NAIS 14-5 (8-4)
Scorers / Old Power: Erkki Miinala 6, Nerijus Montvydas 6, Mantas Brazauskis 1, Seemi Hintsanen 1
Scorers / GC NAIS: Dimitrije Ostojić 3, Veselin Kushnerenkov 2
16 / 13:30 / Quarter Final 4 / Aisti Sport – GC Niksic 4-11 (0-5)
Scorers / Aisti: Arttu Cowell 3, Markus Tihumäki 1
Scorers / Niksic: Nikola Nikolic 7, Matej Ledinek 2, Marko Nikolic 2
17 / 14:40 / Places 5-8 / Club Fenix – Kleio Thessaloniki 2:11 (1-7)
Scorers / Club Fenix : Haris Crnovrshanin 1, Milosh Grlica 1
Scorers / Kleio Thessaloniki : Ivailo Vatov 4, Alesio Delia 3, Vasiliki Agko 2, Krister Linnas 2
18 / 15:50 / Semifinal 1 / Nilüfer Buges -Cankaya 13-4 (7-1)
Scorers / Nilüfer Buges: Ebubekir Siddik Kara 9, Bilal Tekin 3, Hilmi Uslu 1
Scorers /Cankaya: Ekrem Gündogdu 3, Sercan Kaya 1
19 / 17:00 / Places 5-8 / GC NAIS – Aisti Sport 3-13 (1-6)
Scorers / GC NAIS: Veselin Kushnerenkov 1, Dimitrije Ostojić 1, Vladimir Pavićević 1
Scorers / Aisti Sport: Leo Hintsanen 5, Arttu Cowell 4, Markus Tihumäki 3, Miika Honkanen 1
20 / 18:10 / Semifinal 2 / Old Power – GC Niksic 14-4 (10-4)
Scorers / Old Power: Nerijus Montvydas 8, Erkki Miinala 5, Seemi Hintsanen 1
Scorers / GC Niksic: Nikola Nikolic 4
21 / 19:20 / Places 7-8 / Club Fenix – GC NAIS 6-15 (2-8)
Scorers / Club Fenix : Miroslav Topalov 4, Haris Crnovrshanin 1, Milos Grlica 1,
Scorers / GC NAIS: Dimitrije Ostojic 5, Stanislav Yordanov 4, Veselin Kushnerenkov 3, Vladimir Pavićević 3
Sunday 29th March 2026
22 / 08:40 / Places 5-6 / Kleio Thessaloniki – Aisti Sport 0-6 (0-2)
Scorers / Kleio: /
Scorers / Aisti: Markus Tihumäki 3, Arttu Cowell 2, Leo Hintsanen 1
23 / 09:50 / Bronze Medal Game / Cankaya – GC Niksic 12-4 (5-2)
Scorers / Cankaya: Ekrem Gündogdu 9, Baris Tosun 2, Sercan Kaya 1
Scorers / Niksic: Nikola Nikolic 3, Velizar Obradovic 1
24 / 11:00 / Gold Medal Game / Nilüfer Buges – Old Power 2-5 (1-2)
Scorers / Nilüfer: Caner Keles 1, Bilal Tekin 1
Scorers / Old Power:Nerijus Montvydas 3, Erkki Miinala 2