2023–24 LEN Women's Champions League
The 2023–24 LEN Women's Champions League is the 36th edition of the water polo competition organised by the Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN). This is the first season under the new changes made by LEN.[1] The defending champions are Astralpool Sabadell.
2023–24 LEN Women's Champions League | |
---|---|
League | LEN Women's Champions League |
Sport | Water polo |
Duration | 21 September 2023 – 21 April 2024 |
Number of games | 92 |
Number of teams | 24 (from 7 countries) |
Format
This season, the format has undergone some changes. After one qualification round (instead of two), sixteen teams will qualify for the main round. For the first time ever, the groups in the main round are held in a home and away format. After the main round, the four groups winners will compete in the final four to decide the winners of the LEN Women's Champions League.[2]
Rankings
Starting this season, LEN also started a club rankings. Countries inside the top 6 of the new LEN women's club rankings are eligible to enter teams 5 clubs into the Champions League.[2][3] While countries outside the top 6 can enter their league champion into either the Champions League or Challenger Cup.
Rank[3] | Association | Points | Teams |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Spain | 105,597.5 | 5 |
2 | Greece | 91,125 | |
3 | Hungary | 84,842.5 | |
4 | Italy | 76,410 | 4 |
5 | France | 24,127.5 | 3 |
6 | Russia | 53.38 | 0 |
7 | Netherlands | 49.300 | 1 |
8 | Slovakia | 5,145 | 0 |
9 | Germany | 4,620 | 1 |
9 | Portugal | 4,620 | 0 |
11 | Malta | 3,940 | |
12 | Israel | 2,500 | |
13 | Croatia | 1,012.5 |
Teams
Alongside the new changes, LEN increased the amount of clubs a country can enter, from 4 to 5. German representative, Spandau 04, was the only club outside the top 6 who decided to enter, starting in the qualifiers. While on the other hand, despite being in the top 6, Russia was banned and Netherlands took the sixth-place spot. All other clubs and countries below the top six entered the 2023–24 LEN Women's Challenger Cup.
Olympiacos Piraeus (1st) | ZF Eger (1st) | Ekipe Orizzonte (1st) | Astralpool Sabadell CL (1st) |
Lille UC (1st) | Mulhouse WP (2nd) | Grand Nancy AC (3rd) | Spandau 04 (1st) |
NO Vouliagmeni (2hd) | Ethnikos Piraeus (3rd) | ANC Glyfada (4th) | Alimos NAC Betsson (5th) |
Dunaújváros (2nd) | FTC Telekom (3rd) | UVSE Budapest (4th) | BVSC-Zugló (5th) |
SIS Roma (2nd) | Antenore Plebiscito Padova (3rd) | Pallanuoto Trieste (4th) | ZV De Zaan (1st) |
Assolim CN Mataró (2nd) | CN Sant Andreu (3rd) | CE Mediterrani (4th) | CN Terrassa (5th) |
Round and draw dates
Draw
The draw was on 10 August 2023.[6] The seeding was decided by the new LEN club rankings.[7] H indicates which club is hosting the groups.
Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dunaújváros |
BVSC-Zugló |
ZV De Zaan |
Qualification round
In the qualification round, teams play in a round robin format. The top 3 in every group makes the main round, while the fourth and fifth placed teams in the groups drop down to the 2023–24 LEN Women's Euro Cup group stage.[8][9]
Group A
Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | UVSE | ALI | FTC | GLY | SPA | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | UVSE Budapest (H) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 34 | +25 | 12 | Main round | — | 12–7 | 11–9 | 21–11 | 15–7 | |
2 | Alimos NAC Betsson | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 51 | 43 | +8 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
3 | FTC Telekom | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 40 | +15 | 6 | — | 13–14 | — | 17–8 | 16–7 | ||
4 | ANC Glyfada | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 63 | −26 | 3 | Euro Cup | — | 9–19 | — | — | 9–6 | |
5 | Spandau 04 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 29 | 51 | −22 | 0 | — | 9–11 | — | — | — |
Group B
Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MUL | ETH | MED | TRI | PAD | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mulhouse WP (H) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 12 | Main round | — | 13–10 | 14–12 | 10–9 | 11–6 | |
2 | Ethnikos Piraeus | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 8 | — | — | 17–15[lower-alpha 1] | 12–9 | 9–7 | ||
3 | CE Mediterrani | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 5 | — | — | — | 17–10 | 15–17[lower-alpha 2] | ||
4 | Pallanuoto Trieste | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 42 | 51 | −9 | 3 | Euro Cup | — | — | — | — | — | |
5 | Antenore Plebiscito Padova | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 38 | 47 | −9 | 2 | — | — | — | 12–14 | — |
- Match ended 13–13, Ethnikos Piraeus won 4–2 on penalties
- Match ended 13–13, Antenore Plebiscito Padova won 4–2 on penalties
Group C
Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MAT | VOU | TER | BVSC | ZAAN | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Assolim CN Mataró (H) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 36 | +32 | 12 | Main round | — | 15–9 | 20–7 | 18–9 | 15–11 | |
2 | NO Vouliagmeni | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 37 | +9 | 9 | — | — | 11–6 | 12–8 | 14–8 | ||
3 | CN Terrassa | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 57 | −15 | 6 | — | — | — | — | 16–15 | ||
4 | BVSC-Zugló | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 39 | 54 | −15 | 2 | Euro Cup | — | — | 11–13 | — | 16–14[lower-alpha 1] | |
5 | ZV De Zaan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 45 | 56 | −11 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
- Match ended 11–11, BVSC-Zugló won 5–3 on penalties
Group D
Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SAN | ROM | DUN | LIL | NAN | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | CN Sant Andreu | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 32 | +30 | 12 | Main round | — | — | — | — | 22–3 | |
2 | SIS Roma (H) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 48 | 36 | +12 | 9 | 9–15 | — | 9–8 | 9–8 | 21–5 | ||
3 | Dunaújváros | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 51 | 36 | +15 | 5 | 9–11 | — | — | — | 24–6 | ||
4 | Lille UC | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 4 | Euro Cup | 11–14 | — | 10–13[lower-alpha 1] | — | — | |
5 | Grand Nancy AC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 88 | −65 | 0 | — | — | — | 9–21 | — |
- Match ended 10–10, Dunaújváros won 3–0 on penalties
Main round
Alimos NAC Betsson
Ethnikos Piraeus
Vouliagmeni
Olympiacos Piraeus
Budapest teams
FTC Telekom
UVSE Budapest
The draw took place on 26 September 2023 in Barcelona, Spain.[10] The four group winners advance to the final four.
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 2 points for a penalty shootout win, 1 point for a penalty shootout loss, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
- Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches.
This is the first time that this round is being held in a home and away format. Five countries are being represented, with Spain boasting the most clubs with five.
Seeding
Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
---|---|---|---|
Astralpool Sabadell |
UVSE Budapest |
Alimos NAC Betsson |
Group A
Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SAN | ORI | TER | ROM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | CN Sant Andreu | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 19 | +7 | 6 | Final four | — | – | 15–9 | – | |
2 | Ekipe Orizzonte | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 22 | +4 | 3 | 10–11 | — | – | 16–11 | ||
3 | CN Terrassa | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 23 | −2 | 3 | – | – | — | – | ||
4 | SIS Roma | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 28 | −9 | 0 | – | – | 8–12 | — |
Group B
Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SAB | ALI | MUL | DUN | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Astralpool Sabadell | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 17 | +15 | 6 | Final four | — | 14–7 | 18–10 | – | |
2 | Alimos NAC Betsson | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 24 | −3 | 3 | – | — | – | 14–10 | ||
3 | Mulhouse WP | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 33 | −8 | 2 | – | – | — | 18–16[lower-alpha 1] | ||
4 | Dunaújváros | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 29 | −4 | 1 | – | – | – | — |
- Match ended 15–15, Mulhouse WP won 3–1 on penalties
Group C
Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MAT | ETH | EGER | FTC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Assolim CN Mataró | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 10 | +21 | 6 | Final four | — | – | – | 13–5 | |
2 | Ethnikos Piraeus | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 24 | +2 | 4 | – | — | – | 15–13 | ||
3 | ZF Eger | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 29 | −13 | 2 | 5–18 | 16–15[lower-alpha 1] | — | – | ||
4 | FTC Telekom | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 28 | −10 | 0 | – | – | – | — |
- Match ended 11–11, ZF Eger won 5–4 on penalties
Group D
Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | OLY | VOU | UVSE | MED | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Olympiacos Piraeus | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 15 | +12 | 6 | Final four | — | 12–7 | 15–8 | – | |
2 | NO Vouliagmeni | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 3 | – | — | – | 14–9 | ||
3 | UVSE Budapest | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 22 | −4 | 3 | – | – | — | 10–7 | ||
4 | CE Mediterrani | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 24 | −8 | 0 | – | – | – | — |
Final four
Bracket
Semi-finals | Final | |||||
20 April | ||||||
21 April | ||||||
20 April | ||||||
Third place | ||||||
21 April | ||||||
See also
References
- Spencer-Boyce, James (June 2, 2023). "Changes to European competitions reinforced in Belgrade".
- "Big changes in European water polo club competitions - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. June 2, 2023.
- "Women Clubs Country Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. February 20, 2023.
- "Calendar 2023 - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. December 16, 2022.
- "Calendar 2024 - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. March 31, 2023.
- Curcic, Ivan (August 10, 2023). "Women's Champions League Qualifications: Hungarian derby in Budapest".
- "Women Club Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. February 20, 2023.
- "Women's club season kicks off with spectacles - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. September 20, 2023.
- "Mulhouse upsets Padova - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. September 22, 2023.
- "Draws for Group Stage in three cup competitions - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. September 25, 2023.