Courtesy: LEN
The draw has been made for LEN’s newly launched competition, the Challenger Cup, which will see fifteen teams battle across four venues for the eight quarter-final berths in mid-November.
To ensure greater playing opportunity, as well as a more balanced playing field, LEN created a new tournament for the lower ranked clubs which competed in the opening qualifying rounds of the Champions League or the Euro Cup but did not progress.
In previous years these teams had one appearance and their European season was over by mid-October; now they can have another opportunity against rivals of similar stature and may even dream of European glory themselves.
Fifteen teams landed in the preliminaries of the newly founded cup and the draw set up four exciting groups. So a series of fascinating contests and encounters are due to take place in the coming weeks.
Challenger Cup, preliminaries – draw – schedule (11-13 November)
Group A (Novaky)
KVP Novaky (SVK), Galatasary Istanbul (TUR) , Ydraikos NC (GRE) , Tenerife Echeyde (ESP)
Group B (Terrassa)
CN Terrassa (ESP), Het Ravijn (NED), ASA Tel-Aviv (ISR)
Group C (Sarajevo)
Invictum Sarajevo (BIH), Banja Luka (BIH), Enka Istanbul (TUR), SKP Modri Daraci Kosice (SVK)
Group D (Kranj)
AVK Triglav Kranj (SLO), KVIK Kastrup (DEN), Apollon Smyrnis (GRE), SC Ludwigsburg 08 (GER)