Text: Erkki Miinala
Photos: Henriikka Toivola
The first-ever EGCA European Cup tournament was played in Thessaloniki, Greece on 28th – 30th November 2025.
The EGCA European Cup is an open tournament for all clubs in Europe, with priority given to teams that played in that year’s Champions League qualification tournaments but did not make it to the Final Stage. Teams that reached the Champions League Final Stage are not eligible to participate in the EGCA European Cup.
Six teams from four different countries took part in the Thessaloniki tournament: Kleio Thessaloniki (the host club from Greece), BSU Pirsos (also from Thessaloniki), FSBU Gothenburg (from Gothenburg, Sweden), GC NAIS (from Niš, Serbia), Keravnos (from the Greek capital Athens), and USV Hercules (from Utrecht, the Netherlands). On Friday and Saturday, the teams played a round-robin stage in which every team faced each other once. After this, the top two teams advanced to the final, the next two to the bronze-medal match, and the bottom two to the placement match for 5th–6th place. Please find all the tournament results and stats here
ROUND ROBIN DOMINATED BY FSBU GOTHENBURG – SECOND FINALIST DECIDED DRAMATICALLY
The young and hungry Swedish team FSBU Gothenburg showcased its strength in the round-robin stage by winning all five games with a remarkable goal difference of 54–16 (+38). Especially the team’s young star Felix Rosvall was in outstanding form, scoring 23 goals during the round robin—even though he was rested in their final round robin match against Keravnos.
Keravnos secured the second spot in the final in extremely dramatic fashion. They opened the tournament by defeating GC NAIS 16–12 in a high-scoring battle. They then produced two incredible late comebacks in back-to-back matches.
First, against hosts Kleio Thessaloniki, Keravnos erased a three-goal deficit in the final 90 seconds to secure a draw.
Even more astonishing scenes followed on Saturday morning against BSU Pirsos, when Keravnos equalized from two goals down in the final 3.5 seconds. Pirsos first committed a 10-second delay-of-game penalty and, in the same situation, an illegal coaching infraction—Keravnos converted both penalty throws to tie the match. After later defeating USV Hercules in the tournament’s lowest-scoring match, 5–3, Keravnos had already secured its place in the final before the final round-robin game, which it lost 7–2 to FSBU Gothenburg.
The host team Kleio Thessaloniki delivered inconsistent performances throughout the tournament, ultimately settling for a place in the bronze-medal match. The draw against Keravnos proved especially costly. Athanasios Chatzipantou—who also shone for the Greek national team’s offense—was once again a dominant force, scoring 26 goals in five round-robin games.
USV Hercules, the other bronze-medal contender, experienced a true rollercoaster tournament—at times playing strong, balanced goalball but at other times showing major defensive vulnerabilities. Their matches were certainly entertaining, as goals were plentiful. Sem De Jong, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Sunday, was the top scorer of the round robin with 29 goals.
GC NAIS earned two victories in the round robin, putting themselves in contention for a spot in the final. However, in their final round robin game they lost 10–7 to the hosts Kleio and, because of goal difference, ultimately missed out even on the bronze-medal match. Bulgaria’s national-team player Veselin Kusmerenkov had an impressive round robin with 23 goals in five games.
BSU Pirsos made their EGCA debut. Their journey did not begin well—they lost their opening match to local rivals Kleio as well as to FSBU Gothenburg by 10 goals. But their performances improved, and no further fmercy losses followed. They came within a whisker of beating Keravnos on Saturday morning, but crucial errors in the final seconds forced them to settle for a draw. Offensively, Alesio Delia was the standout player for Pirsos, scoring 21 goals in the round robin.
FSBU GOTHENBURG EDGES OUT KERAVNOS IN A CLOSE FINAL – BRONZE FOR THE HOSTS
Sunday began with the placement match between GC NAIS and BSU Pirsos. The first half was extremely tight, ending 4–3 in favor of NAIS. In the second half, NAIS gradually extended its lead, and after Pirsos’s key scorer Alesio Delia had to leave the court due to injury, NAIS secured a 10–4 win and fifth place in the tournament.
The bronze-medal match between Kleio Thessaloniki and USV Hercules initially looked like a comfortable victory for the hosts, who led 6–2 at halftime. But the Dutch side mounted an impressive comeback led by birthday boy Sem De Jong. Their rally produced an 8–8 equalizer with just over 30 seconds left, sending the match into overtime. In extra time, local hero Athanasios Chatzipantou struck again—his sharp shot pierced the Hercules defense, giving Kleio a golden-goal victory and the bronze medals.
FSBU Gothenburg entered the final as clear favorites, but Keravnos was determined to give everything in their fight for the title. The first half was extremely balanced, with both teams trading goals—Gothenburg led 4–3 at the break. Early in the second half, Rosvall scored his 27th goal of the tournament to make it 5–3, but Keravnos refused to surrender. The resilient Athenian team battled back to level the match and even had a chance to take a 6–5 lead after Rosvall’s highball penalty —but the tall Swede redeemed himself by saving Keravnos’s penalty.
Finally, with four minutes left, Gothenburg’s other attacking weapon Olof Ryberg lofted the ball over the Keravnos defense and into the net. With their defense holding strong in the final minutes, FSBU Gothenburg were crowned champions of the first-ever EGCA European Cup. Keravnos earned a well-deserved silver medal after a heroic fight.
FELIX ROSVALL NAMED MVP – SEM DE JONG THE TOP SCORER
The tournament’s Most Valuable Player award went to FSBU Gothenburg’s Swedish international Felix Rosvall, who excelled on both offense and defense and proved to be an irreplaceable part of the championship-winning team.
The top scorer trophy traveled to Utrecht with USV Hercules forward Sem De Jong, who scored an impressive 35 goals in six games.
Second in the scoring charts was Athanasios Chatzipantou with 30 goals, followed by Felix Rosvall with 27.
The next EGCA European Cup will be held in autumn 2026. The host application process will begin later in December.