Image: Logo of the EGCA – Champions League
EGCA – Champions League 2024 (later in this text ECL24) will be a historical season in the greatest high level club goalball competition in Europe! First the ECL24 will be the first season under the name of EGCA (formerly SEGL) and second there were total 22 registered clubs for the qualification stages of the season which is a great new record. Below we will present the participating clubs of the qualification stages together with groups and game schedule of both stages.
Due we had space for only 10 participating clubs / qualification stage with heavy hearts we had to pull two clubs out from the competition on this season. Below you can find the regulation how the clubs are selected to the stages. Groups in the stage are drawn with the same system than they use in IBSA European Championships;
Group A: 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th and 10th of the ranking
Group B: 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th and 9th of the ranking
Top 3 clubs from both qualification stages will secure their place at the Final Stage that will be held in Blankenberge, Belgium on 27th June – 1st July 2024.
Regulation for the ranking at the qualification stages
- Each registered club must be a real club that takes part in the national goalball league / championships;
- Each club who wants to take part in the EGCA competitions must be also EGCA member;
- There are maximum ten participating clubs at one qualification stage as following order:
A. Organizing club of the stage
B. The champions of national league / championships from each country in Europe. We use order which is the position of country in European Championships (the highest ranked country first);
C. 2nd best team from countries which have own national league / championships;
D. If there are still free spots in a division, a place will be given in order for a club who comes from a country that has own national league / championships and the highest position in European Championships.
E. Current ranking in Europe (1st December 2024): Lithuania, Ukraine, Turkey, Germany, Belgium, Montenegro, Israel, Greece, Finland, Great Britain, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Hungary, Spain, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan. All the other countries are equal situation in the ranking. Clubs from Russia and Belarus are suspended from the EGCA competitions.
PARTICIPANTS, GROUPS & SCHEDULE OF THE QUALIFICATION STAGES
And here they come the participants and groups for the ECL24
Participants / Krakow Stage that will take place on 22nd – 25th February:
1st: WBR Groundhogs Krakow (host club)
2nd: Invasport Ukraine (1st of the Ukrainian Championships)
3rd: RGC Hansa (1st of the Goalball Bundesliga)
4th: Ha. Vi. 2 Bruxelles (1st of the Belgian Goalball League)
5th: Old Power (1st of the Finnish Goalball League)
6th: ASD Omero Bergamo (1st of the Italian Goalball League)
7th: Aisti Sport (2nd of the Finnish Goalball League)
8th: Fen Tigers (2nd of the Goalball UK Super League)
9th: Näpäjä (participated in the Finnish Goalball League)
10th: FC Porto (participated in the Portuguese Goalball League)
11th: Klub za sport i rekreaciju slepih i slabovidih “Budućnost” Kikinda (1st of the Serbian Goalball Championships, pulled out because not EGCA member)
Group A: WBR Groundhogs Krakow, Ha. Vi. 2 Bruxelles, Old Power, Fen Tigers, FC Porto
Group B: Invasport Ukraine, RGC Hansa, ASD Omero Bergamo, Aisti Sport, Näpäjä
Please find the game schedule of the Krakow Stage here
Participants / Berlin Stage that will take place on 21st – 24th March:
1st: Füchse Berlin (host club)
2nd: GC Niksic (1st of the Montenegran Goalball Championships
3rd: Northern Allstars (1st of the Goalball UK Super League)
4th: Aarhus Goalball (1st of the Danish Goalball Championships)
5th: Hammarby IF Goalball (1st of the Swedish Goalball Championships)
6th: CSAVH Lyon (1st of the French Goalball Championships)
7th: USV Hercules (1st of the Dutch Goalball League)
8th: GC Perun (1st of the Czech-Slovakian Goalball League)
9th: Chemnitzer BC (2nd of the Goalball Bundesliga)
10th: CSAVH31 (2nd of the French Goalball Championships)
11th: SSG Blista Marburg (participated in the Goalball Bundesliga, pulled out because of regulation above)
Group A: Füchse Berlin, Aarhus Goalball, Hammarby IF Goalball, GC Perun, CSAVH31
Group B: GC Niksic, Northern Allstars, CSAVH Lyon, USV Hercules, Chemnitzer BC
ECL24 – BERLIN STAGEPlease find the game schedule of the Berlin Stage here
EGCA PRESIDENT “THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WILL CONTINUE IN THE COMING YEARS”
The EGCA President, Mr. Erkki Miinala is very delighted with the number of registered clubs in the ECL24:
“22 registered clubs is a fantastic result, surpassing even our expectations. I believe that this development will only continue in the coming years, as we still lack representation from many major European goalball countries. Additionally, the Champions League has served and will undoubtedly continue to serve as a strong motivator to develop existing goalball leagues and foster the creation of new ones”, he comments on the future prospects of the Champions League.
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