24th May 2016, Brussels; The EHF is delighted to announce the teams that will play in the 2017 EHCCC.
The breakdown of national representation for the women’s EuroHockey Club Champions Cup will remain the same for the 2016/17 season following last week’s Cup in Bilthoven and the Club Champions Trophy in Barcelona.
It means the Netherlands and England retain two places in the Champions Cup while Germany, Spain, Ireland and Russia have one spot each in the elite competition.
The Netherlands, as the dominant force in European club action in recent years, retains its place at the head of the rankings table after Den Bosch won the Cup in Bilthoven with SCHC coming second place. Den Bosch and Amsterdam will be their representatives next season.
England’s Canterbury and Surbiton, fifth and sixth respectively last week, did just enough to keep their second place in the rankings table. Both will be back next year after Surbiton won their national playoffs in a shoot-out in April.
Germany closed the gap on England in third thanks to UHC Hamburg’s bronze medal and Rot Weiss Köln’s gold in Barcelona. Their European representatives will be determined in June.
Spain’s Club de Campo’s fourth place in the Cup and Club de Polo’s fourth place in Barcelona mean they have one team in the top tier and another in the second tier. The Spanish playoffs are this weekend with SPV Complutense facing Real Sociedad and Club de Campo taking on Junior FC in the semi-finals.
Despite Pegasus’s eight place finish in the Cup, Ireland stay in fifth place by virtue of results in the previous years. It means Hermes-Monkstown will play in the top level; Hermes won the EY Hockey League before amalgamating with Monkstown this summer. Ireland’s second seed are Pegasus who will play in the Trophy.
Russia’s Krylatskoye’s seventh place finish in Bilthoven means they cling on to a place in the Cup for their nation. The Russian league is currently in its early stages, running through the summer months.
Belarus and Belgium moved within range of potentially nicking one of the European Cup places in 2016/17 making for a possibly strong battle for promotion and relegation into the elite competition.
For a full list of Rankings click here
** All places are subject to final confirmation from each country’s national association. As usual, all entries need to come to the EHF via the National Associations; entry forms will be sent in due course .
Photograph: Current Champions Den Bosch (EHF /Ady Kerry (c))