2024–25 EHF European Cup

This article is about the men's competition. For the women's competition, see 2024–25 Women's EHF European Cup.

The 2024–25 EHF European Cup was the 28th season of Europe's tertiary club handball tournament organised by European Handball Federation (EHF), and the 5th season since it was renamed from the Challenge Cup to the EHF European Cup.^[1] Valur were the defending champions, but did not defend their title as they played in the EHF European League.

EHF European Cup

2024–25
The Boris Trajkovski Sports Center in Skopje, was supposed to host the second leg of the final.
Tournament information
Sport	Handball
Dates	14 September 2024–25 May 2025
Teams	74
Website	ehfec.com
Final positions
Champions	RK Alkaloid (1st title)
Runner-up	AEK Athens HC
Tournament statistics
Matches played	145
← 2023–24 2025–26 →

The winners were Macedonian handball club RK Alkaloid, who beat Greek side, AEK Athens HC, after they failed to appear for the second leg, giving RK Alkaloid a forfeit win.^[2]

Format

The tournament was played in a knockout format. Ties were played in a home-and-away format. Finalists played a total of seven rounds (Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Last 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and the Final).

Rankings

Rankings for the following federations were based on performances of clubs from each respective country during the most recent three-year period.

Rank[3]	Association	Average points	Teams
1	Greece	36.33	5
2	Czech Republic	29.67	3
3	Serbia	29.33	3
4	Cyprus	23.33	2
5	Estonia	17.33	3
6	Luxembourg	14.67	3
7	Israel	13.33	1
8	Italy	12.00	5
9	Turkey	12.00	4
10	Bosnia and Herzegovina	12.00	5
11	Kosovo	11.33	3
12	Finland	9.67	2
13	Latvia	9.67	1
14	Lithuania	7.67	4
15	Netherlands	7.33	2
16	Belgium	5.00	2
17	Bulgaria	4.33	0
18	Faroe Islands	4.00	2
19	Montenegro	2.33	1
20	Azerbaijan	2.00	2
21	Moldova	0.33	0
N/A	Great Britain	0.00	1
N/A	Everyone else	0.00	0

For the following federations the number of spots in the EHF European Cup depended on the number spots in the other two European competitions.

	Association	Average points	Teams
22	Sweden	48.00	0
23	Norway	45.33	3
24	Romania	42.50	3
25	Croatia	35.00	1
26	Russia	28.50	0
27	Slovenia	28.33	3
28	Belarus	18.00	0
29	Switzerland	17.33	1
30	Slovakia	16.33	1
31	Austria	13.33	3
32	Iceland	12.67	1
33	Ukraine	9.67	1
N/A	North Macedonia	0.00	3

Qualified teams

The full list of teams qualified for each stage of the 2024–25 EHF European Cup was announced on 9 July 2024.^[4][5]

Notes in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:

• EC: European Cup title holders
• CW: Cup winners
• CR: Cup runners-up
• 2nd, 3rd, etc.: League position of the previous season

Round 2

Förthof UHK Krems (3rd)	Handball Westwien (3rd, CW)	HC Baki	Kur
HC Visé BM	Sezoens Achilles Bocholt	RK Izviđač (1st)[a]	RK Borac m:tel (2nd, CW)
RK Gračanica (3rd)	Sabbianco Anorthosis Famagusta	Parnassos Strovolou	HK FCC Město Lovosice (3rd)
HC Robe Zubří (6th, CR)	SKKP Handball Brno (7th)	Põlva Serviti (1st)	Mistra (2nd)
H71 (1st)	VÍF	BK-46 (1st, CW)	HC Cocks (2nd)
Olympiacos SFP (1st)	AEK Athens HC (2nd)	AC PAOK (3rd, CW)	London GD
Haukar (5th)	Holon Yuvalim HC	Junior Fasano (1st)	SSV Brixen Handball (2nd, CW)
KH Besa Famgas	KH Rahoveci	ZRHK Tenax Dobele (1st)	VHC Šviesa (1st)
Dragūnas Klaipėda (2nd)	HC Berchem (1st)	Handball Esch (4th, CW)	HC Lovcen-Cetinje (1st, CW)
HV KRAS/Volendam	JD Techniek Hurry-Up	RK Alkaloid (3rd, CW)	GRK Ohrid (4th)
ØIF Arendal (3rd)	Runar Sandefjord (5th)	CS Minaur Baia Mare (3rd)	AHC Potaissa Turda (4th)
HC Metaloplastika Elixir (2nd)	RK Partizan AdmiralBet (3rd, CW)	HC Dinamo Pancevo (4th)	MŠK Považská Bystrica (2nd)
Celje Pivovarna Laško (3rd)	MRK Krka (4th)	Pfadi Winterthur (4th)	Beşiktaş (1st, CW)
Beykoz BLD SK (3rd)	HC Motor (1st, CW)

Round 1

HC Fivers WAT Margareten (4th)	RK Leotar (4th, CR)	RK Sloboda (5th)	RK Poreč (5th)
Viljandi HC (3rd)	Bianco Monte Drama (4th, CR)	Diomidis Argous (5th)	Pallamano Conversano (3rd)
Black Devils Meran (4th, CR)	Raimond Sassari (7th)WC	KH Kastrioti	Granitas-Karys (3rd)
HC Amber (4th)	HB Dudelange (3rd, CR)	Drammen HK (4th)	GRK Tikveš (5th)
CSM București (5th)	RK Jeruzalem Ormož (5th)	Spor Toto SK (4th, CR)	Köycegiz BLD SK (6th)

1. As the losing team of the special European League play-off RK Izviđač dropped down to the European Cup.

Qualifying rounds

Round 1

A total of 20 teams played in the first round. First leg matches were held on 14 and 15 September 2024, while second leg matches took place on 21 and 22 September 2024. The draw was on 16 July 2024.

Results

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Viljandi HC	48–71	CSM București	24–35	24–36
Köycegiz BLD SK	65–66	RK Leotar	37–33	28–33
RK Jeruzalem Ormož	67–54	Granitas-Karys	32–26	35–28
Bianco Monte Drama 1986	57–53	GRK Tikveš	31–27	26–26
KH Kastrioti	58–61	RK Sloboda	30–29	28–32
Pallamano Conversano 1973	58–81	Drammen HK	31–43	27–38
HC Amber	49–57	HC Fivers WAT Margareten	27–35	22–22
Black Devils Meran	54–64	Diomidis Argous	24–35	30–29
HB Dudelange	74–75	Raimond Sassari	36–36	38–39
Spor Toto SK	52–61	RK Poreč	26–32	26–29

Round 2

A total of 64 teams played in the second round. First leg matches were held on 19 and 20 October 2024, while second leg matches took place on 26 and 27 October 2024.

Results

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
H71	63–74	SSV Brixen Handball	33–40	30–34
VÍF	56–59	Handball Westwien	22–29	34–30
HC Visé BM	51–63	Diomidis Argous	21–26	30–37
JD Techniek Hurry-Up	48–61	Põlva Serviti	21–25	27–36
Raimond Sassari	66–71	RK Izviđač	38–39	28–32
Pfadi Winterthur	53–46	RK Sloboda	24–26	29–20
RK Poreč	69–42	London GD	36–24	33–18
RK Borac m:tel	45–53	RK Jeruzalem Ormož	26–20	19–33
CSM București	51–66	Runar Sandefjord	25–37	26–29
ZRHK Tenax Dobele	49–51	RK Leotar	24–26	25–25
Olympiacos SFP	59–56	HC Fivers WAT Margareten	30–21	29–35
ØIF Arendal	73–59	Bianco Monte Drama 1986	37–35	36–24
Drammen HK	70–51	Holon Yuvalim HC	35–29	35–22
VHC Šviesa	59–61	Mistra	34–30	25–31
Beşiktaş	56–53	HC Dinamo Pancevo	34–27	22–26
HK FCC Město Lovosice	65–63	KH Besa Famgas	38–28	27–35
RK Partizan AdmiralBet	62–46	HC Berchem	35–24	27–22
MŠK Považská Bystrica	52–49	HC Robe Zubří	25–20	27–29
HC Metaloplastika Elixir	58–60	MRK Krka	30–32	28–28
RK Gračanica	61–76	RK Celje Pivovarna Laško	35–43	26–33
GRK Ohrid	60–64	AHC Potaissa Turda	31–25	29–39
HC Alkaloid	79–62	Dragūnas Klaipėda	42–31	37–31
Förthof UHK Krems	64–59	HV KRAS/Volendam	29–26	35–33
Handball Esch	55–78	HC Motor	26–32	29–46
Sezoens Achilles Bocholt	57–66	KH Rahoveci	32–29	25–37
BK-46	70–49	SKKP Handball Brno	41–26	29–23
Haukar	64–53	HC Cocks	35–26	29–27
CS Minaur Baia Mare	91–69	Beykoz BLD SK	44–30	47–39
Junior Fasano	46–77	AEK Athens HC	20–38	26–39
Sabbianco Anorthosis Famagusta	67–57	A.C. PAOK	30–24	37–33
Parnassos Strovolou	60–67	Kur	31–35	29–32
HC Baki	44–78	HC Lovcen-Cetinje	21–41	23–37

Round 3

A total of 32 teams played in the third round. First leg matches were held on 23 and 24 November 2024, while second leg matches took place on 30 November and 1 December 2024.

Results

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Drammen HK	65–51	RK Leotar	33–30	32–21
Põlva Serviti	53–56	Beşiktaş	26–24	27–32
MŠK Považská Bystrica	54–65	BK-46	28–31	26–34
ØIF Arendal	52–59	Diomidis Argous	19–23	33–36
AHC Potaissa Turda	58–59	Olympiacos SFP	27–32	31–27
SSV Brixen Handball	66–55	HK FCC Město Lovosice	32–26	34–29
Förthof UHK Krems	45–54	RK Partizan AdmiralBet	25–24	20–30
RK Poreč	45–52	MRK Krka	21–23	24–29
KH Rahoveci	71–73	CS Minaur Baia Mare	31–38	40–35
Mistra	56–69	RK Jeruzalem Ormož	30–34	26–35
Runar Sandefjord	71–60	RK Celje Pivovarna Laško	41–28	30–32
HC Motor	72–73	RK Izviđač	33–32	39–41
Anorthosis Famagusta	69–64	Pfadi Winterthur	37–28	32–36
HC Alkaloid	70–56	Handball Westwien	38–27	32–29
Haukar	68–52	Kur	30–25	38–27
AEK Athens HC	86–57	HC Lovcen-Cetinje	45–26	41–31

Last 16

First leg matches were held on 15 and 16 February 2025, while second leg matches took place on 29 and 30 March 2025.

Results

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Runar Sandefjord	65–64	Beşiktaş	35–35	30–29
Drammen HK	65–70	Olympiacos SFP	35–36	30–34
RK Partizan AdmiralBet	58–50	AC Diomidis Argous	26–28	32–22
AEK Athens HC	69–53	MRK Krka	38–28	31–25
SSV Brixen Handball	63–82	HC Alkaloid	22–44	31–38
Anorthosis Famagusta	50–55	RK Izviđač	25–25	25–30
Haukar	62–49	RK Jeruzalem Ormož	31–23	31–26
CS Minaur Baia Mare	64–62	BK-46	33–30	31–32

Quarterfinals

Results

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
CS Minaur Baia Mare	56–63	HC Alkaloid	31–31	25–32
AEK Athens HC	46–46 7–6 PS	RK Partizan AdmiralBet	27–22	19–24
Olympiacos SFP	60–64	Runar Sandefjord	37–31	23–33
Haukar	56–60	RK Izviđač	30–27	26–33

Matches

23 March 2025 17:00	CS Minaur Baia Mare	31–31	HC Alkaloid	Lascăr Pană Sports Hall, Baia Mare Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Novykov (UKR), Gatelis (LTU)
	six players 4	(19–15)	Serafimov 7
	2× 2×	Report	1× 5×

30 March 2025 19:00	HC Alkaloid	32–25	CS Minaur Baia Mare	Avtokomanda, Skopje Attendance: 800 Referees: Fremstad, Jorstad (NOR)
	Petkovski 7	(18–12)	Cumpanici 8
	1× 5×	Report	3×

HC Alkaloid won 63–56 on aggregate.

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22 March 2025 18:00	AEK Athens HC	27–22	RK Partizan AdmiralBet	OAKA Sport Hall Kassimatis, Athens Attendance: 800 Referees: Hellbusch, Jansen (GER)
	Panagiotou 5	(17–12)	Zecevic 6
	1× 3× 1×	Report	1× 7× 1×

7 April 2025 12:00	RK Partizan AdmiralBet	30–26	AEK Athens HC	Arena Shumen, Shumen, Bulgaria[a] Attendance: Behind closed doors Referees: Doychinov, Goretsov (BUL)
	Crnoglavac 10	(11–10)	Davyes 5
	3×	Report	3×
	FT: 24–19 Pen: 6–7

AEK Athens HC won 53–52 on aggregate.

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23 March 2025 17:00	Olympiacos SFP	37–31	Runar Sandefjord	A'Indoor Sports Hall of Ilioupolis, Ilioupolis Attendance: 700 Referees: Xhema, Jahja (KOS)
	Vejin 7	(19–12)	Sjursen Syversen, Wulvik 6
	1× 5×	Report	1× 1×

30 March 2025 17:00	Runar Sandefjord	33–23	Olympiacos SFP	Runarhallen, Sandefjord Attendance: 825 Referees: Cernavskis, Bogdanovs (LAT)
	Rambo, Wulvik 7	(14–10)	Savvas 7
	2× 4×	Report	1×

Runar Sandefjord won 64–60 on aggregate.

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22 March 2025 17:00	Haukar	30–27	RK Izviđač	Ithrottamidstod Hauka Asvellir, Hafnarfjörður Attendance: 194 Referees: Altmar, Horvath (HUN)
	Einarsson 6	(15–12)	Cesko 10
	3×	Report	4×

29 March 2025 20:00	RK Izviđač	33–26	Haukar	Sportska Dvorana Ljubuski, Ljubuški Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Aghakishi, Aghakishi (AZE)
	Cesko, Vukšic 9	(13–8)	Grímsson 6
	6×	Report	1× 3×

RK Izviđač won 60–56 on aggregate.

Semifinals

Results

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
HC Alkaloid	71–71 3–1 PS	Runar Sandefjord	42–37	29–34
AEK Athens HC	61–56	RK Izviđač	37–28	24–28

Matches

20 April 2025 19:00	HC Alkaloid	42–37	Runar Sandefjord	Avtokomanda, Skopje Attendance: 650 Referees: Panayides, Andreou (CYP)
	Serafimov 10	(21–20)	Rambo 11
	1× 2×	Report	1× 5×

27 April 2025 17:00	Runar Sandefjord	34–29	HC Alkaloid	Runarhallen, Sandefjord Attendance: 890 Referees: Simone, Monitillo (ITA)
	Gurrich 8	(19–15)	Mitev 9
	1× 3×	Report	1× 4×
	FT: 35–32 Pen: 1–3

HC Alkaloid won 74–72 on aggregate.

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19 April 2025 16:10	AEK Athens HC	37–28	RK Izviđač	OAKA Sport Hall Kassimatis, Athens Attendance: 811 Referees: Sirbu, Serdiuc (MDA)
	Keita 7	(20–13)	Vukšic 6
	5×	Report	3×

26 April 2025 20:00	RK Izviđač	28–24	AEK Athens HC	Sportska Dvorana Ljubuski, Ljubuški Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Jerlecki, Labun (POL)
	Odak 6	(13–12)	Matic 6
	1× 6×	Report	5×

AEK Athens HC won 61–56 on aggregate.

Final

Results

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
AEK Athens HC	25–39	HC Alkaloid	25–29	0–10

Matches

18 May 2025 18:00	AEK Athens HC	25–29	HC Alkaloid	SUNEL Arena, Athens Attendance: 7,800 Referees: Sniurevicius, Grigalionis (LTU)
	Garain 6	(14–16)	Serafimov 6
	2×	Report	5×

25 May 2025 20:30	HC Alkaloid	10–0[b]	AEK Athens HC
		(–)
		Report

Alkaloid won 39–25 on aggregate.

Notes

1. The game was originally scheduled for the 30 March, but due to security issues, the game was postponed.^[6] It was later scheduled for the 7 April in a neutral venue.^[7]
2. Due to security concerns in the arena, the final was cancelled.^[8] On 5 June 2025, the EHF decided that HC Alkaloid would be given a 10–0 forfeit win and declared them the champions, because AEK refused to play^[9]

See also

• 2024–25 EHF Champions League
• 2024–25 EHF European League
• 2024–25 Women's EHF Champions League
• 2024–25 Women's EHF European League
• 2024–25 Women's EHF European Cup