The 2021–22 EHF Champions League was the 62nd edition of Europe's premier club handball tournament and the 29th edition under the current EHF Champions League format, running from 15 September 2021 to 19 June 2022. Barça won the competition, defeating Łomza Vive Kielce on penalties in the final.[1]
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, each local health department allowed a different number of spectators.
The competition began with a group stage featuring 16 teams divided in two groups. Matches were played in a double round-robin system with home-and-away fixtures. In Groups A and B, the top two teams qualified for the quarterfinals, with teams ranked third to sixth entering the playoffs.
The knockout stage included four rounds: the playoffs, quarterfinals, and a final-four tournament comprising two semifinals and the final. In the playoffs, eight teams were paired against each other in two-legged home-and-away matches. The four aggregate winners of the playoffs advanced to the quarterfinals, joining the top-two teams of Groups A and B. The eight quarterfinalist teams were paired against each other in two-legged home-and-away matches, with the four aggregate winners qualifying to the final-four tournament.
In the final four tournament, the semifinals and the final were played as single matches at a pre-selected host venue.
The final list of 16 participants was revealed by the EHF Executive Committee in June 2021. Ten teams were registered according to fixed places, while six were granted wild cards.[2][3] On 29 June, the final list was revealed.[4] Although, in the final list announcement, the EHF said that if RK Vardar did not pay a fine for failing to play Champions League games in the previous season, they would be disqualified and replaced with RK Gorenje Velenje, who was the standby team. However, this never materialised.
The draw took place on 2 July 2021.[5]
The final four was held at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany on 18 and 19 June 2022.
