About EHL
With the aim of developing club hockey at an international level, Euro Hockey League (EHL) was introduced for the 2007/08 season, an exciting new format that replaced the men’s European Cup competition.
EHL’s existing shareholders believe this unique international competition can be developed even further and taken to a whole new level, especially in the area of cross media innovations. Additional improvements are envisioned to further validate the league’s claim that the EHL is “the best way hockey has ever been presented”.
In Europe, club hockey is at the heart and base of the sport, with players spending 30 to 35 weeks per year training and playing with their clubs. Euro Hockey League sets out to promote and reinforce the status of club level hockey by creating new and more opportunities for the big European clubs to play each other in the international arena and giving club hockey more exposure, more spectators, more high quality TV coverage and a broader media and marketing platform.
The target group for Euro Hockey League, its TV partners and sponsors consists of millions of European sports fans in countries across the continent, with Euro Hockey League designed to attract interest from not only hockey fans but sports fans in general.
This will be achieved by the professional marketing of the competition by leading Spanish international audio-visual services provider and sports rights management group MEDIAPRO. The production and provision of top level coverage by Southfields makes the EHL content available for anyone, anywhere and on all possible devices, and through a number of format variations introduced to make the game more transparent and attractive to TV viewers and spectators on site.
When it comes to innovation, the Euro Hockey League has long been seen as Hockey’s leading light, having pioneered many rule changes that have revolutionised the sport on a global level. EHL’s introduction of the Self Pass – where in the event of a foul a player can restart the game by dribbling with the ball rather than having to pass to a team-mate – was universally applauded for making the game more exciting than it has ever been. The Self Pass was quickly introduced to the FIH Rules of Hockey and has unquestionably changed the game forever.
Many other EHL innovations have been introduced at the highest level, including the Green Card two minute suspension, video umpire referrals and an exciting new penalty shoot-out format which sees a running face-off between the penalty taker and the goal-keeper.
The EHL also trialled a rule which allowed the ball to be played above the shoulder in non-dangerous positions. It was a phenomenal success, and has become another rule change to be trialled by the FIH at their World Level events. The EHL truly is a laboratory for the continued development of the sport.
The first 12 seasons of the EHL were a staggering success. However, it doesn’t stop here. The competition became #EquallyAmazing in 2021 with the introduction of EHL Women to run in tandem with EHL Men with eight of Europe’s best women’s club teams battling it out at Easter with an equal broadcast showcase, equal prize money and the same elite level of promotion.
Euro Hockey League is more than top hockey and excellent media coverage – it is the best way hockey has ever been presented.
About Eurohockey
EuroHockey is the governing body of the sport of hockey in Europe and is composed of the National Associations of European nations that govern hockey in their countries. EuroHockey exists within the framework of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and as such, its objective is to promote, control, defend and develop hockey at all levels (indoor & outdoor, men & women, senior & junior) throughout the continent of Europe.
EuroHockey and its member National Associations and their affiliated clubs support and maintain the ideals and objectives of the Olympic movement. EuroHockey is governed by an Executive Board of elected members and is professionally administered from an office in Brussels, Belgium.
With the aim of developing club hockey at an international level, the EuroHockey introduced the Euro Hockey League, the exciting new format that replaced the men’s European Cup competition at the start of the 2007/08 season. For more information, please refer to the company website: www.eurohockey.org
Qualification
The allotment of places by ranking system follows the principles used to place National Associations in the football Champions League and UEFA Cups. The rankings will be taken from the results over 3 years, with the points for the earlier years discounted by 50% (year 2) and 75% (year 1).This ranking of National Associations is based on the performance of all their clubs in Euro Hockey League (and EuroHockey Trophy). The total number of points won by clubs from each country will be divided by the number of clubs to which the National Association was entitled in that year’s competition.
National Associations ranked 1-3 in the EHL Ranking Table in this manner may enter three teams each in Euro Hockey League, while National Associations ranked 4-6 may enter two teams each, and National Associations ranked 7-11 one team.
Each National Association remains free to decide the system of qualification for their own clubs, for that number of places which is their entitlement for that year (as a result of their position in the ranking list), subject only to the requirement that the national champion be placed first in a country’s list of teams entered.
To be eligible to play in the Euro Hockey League a country must enter 2 clubs in EHF club competitions.
Rules and regulation
Euro Hockey League is played under purpose-developed tournament regulations by EuroHockey that incorporate the various format variations that will shape play in Euro Hockey League, and under the FIH rules of hockey.
Anti-Doping Policy
Euro Hockey League supports the fight against doping in sport in all its forms, and therefore endorses the FIH Anti-Doping Policy which is in full accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code.
For more information on FIH’s Anti-Doping Policy and more general information about Anti-Doping, please visit the related section on the FIH website and the WADA website respectively.