The draw for the 2019/2020 LEN Champions League Qualification Round 1 was held today.
After the draw, LEN confirmed the list of the 12 teams which have the wild cards for the next season. These 12 sides enter the Preliminary Round without qualifications.
Clubs having Champions League wild cards
Jug Croatia Osiguranje Dubrovnik (Croatia)
HAVK Mladost Zagreb (Croatia)
CNA Barceloneta (Spain)
WS Spandau 04 (Germany)
Waspo 98 Hannover (Germany)
Olympiacos SFP Piraeus (Greece)
FTC Budapest (Hungary)
Szolnok (Hungary)
Pro Recco (Italy)
CN Marseille (France)
Jadran Herceg Novi (Montenegro)
Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia)
New clubs in a circle of the teams with wild cards are current European champion Ferencvaros (FTC Budapest), 2019 LEN Euro Cup winner Marseille, Jadran Herceg Novi (runner-up in the 2019 LEN Euro Cup) and Dinamo Tbilisi.
The four clubs which competed in the 2018/19 Champions League, and lost or returned their wild cards to LEN this summer are Dynamo Moscow (Russia), Eger (Hungary), Crvena Zvezda (Serbia) and Steaua Bucharest (Romania).
Qualification Round 1
Twelve teams will compete in the Qualification Round 1. They are split into two groups. The hosts of the tournaments will be VK Sabac, the champion of Serbia, and CN Barcelona (Spain). The tournaments will be played between August 29th and September 1st.
Group A (Sabac, Serbia)
Apollon Smyrnis (Greece)
Dynamo Moscow (Russia)
CSM Oradea (Romania)
Sabac (Serbia)
Crvena Zvezda (Serbia)
Galatasaray (Turkey)
Group B (Barcelona, Spain)
CN Barcelona (Spain)
Sintez Kazan (Russia)
Steaua Bucharest (Romania)
Pays d’Aix Natation (France)
Enka Istanbul (Turkey)
Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
The first four classified teams from each group will advance to the Qualification Round 2.
Qualification Rounds 2 and 3
The best-ranked teams of the 9 national federations having wild cards are directly qualified for the Qualification Round 2.
Montenegro didn’t sign up its 2nd club for the Champions League, so there are 8 teams which start from the Qualification round 2.
Jadran Split (Croatia)
CN Terrassa (Spain)
OSC Potsdam (Germany)
Vouliagmeni (Greece)
OSC Budapest (Hungary)
Brescia (Italy)
Team Strasbourg (France)
Lokomotiv Tbilisi (Georgia)
The first four classified teams from each group of the Qualification Round 1 and the 8 teams which begin competition in the 2nd round will be split into four groups. The tournaments will be played between 13th and 15th September.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the third round. Winners of four home/away matches will advance to the Preliminary Round. Losers will go to the Euro Cup
LEN Euro Cup, Qualification Round 1
The draw for the 1st Qualification Round of the LEN Euro Cup was held too.
Group A (Split, Croatia)
CN Mataro (Spain), Mornar Brodospas Split (Croatia), Mediterrani Barcelona (Spain), AZSC Antwerp (Belgium).
Group B (Eger, Hungary)
ZF Eger (Hungary), Radnicki Kragujevac (Serbia), Solaris Sibenik (Croatia), Shturm 2002 Ruzha (Russia)
Group C (Valletta, Malta)
Posillipo Naples (Italy), Noisy le Sec (France), MVSC Miskolc (Hungary), Valletta (Malta)
Group D (Syracuse, Italy)
Montpellier (France), Ortigia Syracuse (Italy), Partizan Belgrade (Serbia), Apoel Larnaca (Cyprus).
The tournaments are scheduled for the middle of September (13th – 15th). The top two teams will qualify to the 2nd round (27-29 September).
