Euro Hockey League
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| Countries | 45 |
|---|---|
| Administrator | European Hockey Federation |
| Headquarter | Brussels, Belgium |
| Tournament Format | Round-robin and Knock-out |
| First tournament | 2007–08 |
| Last tournament | 2015–16 |
| Next tournament | 2016–17 |
| Number of teams | 24 |
| Current champion | SV Kampong (2015-16) |
| Most successful | UHC Hamburg (3 titles) |
| Website | Official website |
The Euro Hockey League is an annual men's field hockey cup competition organised by the EHF for the very top hockey clubs in Europe. The competition was launched at the start of the 2007-08 hockey season, when it merged and replaced the men's EuroHockey Club Champions Cup (the champions competition) and European Cup II (the Cup Winners' Cup). Featuring many of the world's best players, the EHL is now seen as the pinnacle of club hockey in Europe (hockey's equivalent of the UEFA Champions League) with top clubs from across the continent playing what many consider to be the most exciting and dynamic club hockey in the world. The success of the EHL formula has brought hockey to a significantly wider audience, as evidenced by the many millions of views that EHL clips on YouTube have received.
The tournament features 24 clubs from the twelve highest ranked EHF member countries. Although the competition is called the Euro Hockey League, after Round 1 the competition is knock-out, rather than league format (similar to the UEFA Champions League in football).
Each year the 24 available league places are allocated between twelve EHF member countries' National Association's, depending on those National Association's EHF Club Ranking. National Associations ranked 1-4 in the EHL Ranking Table may enter three teams each in the Euro Hockey League, while National Associations ranked 5-8 may enter two teams each, and National Associations ranked 9-12 one team.
National Associations rankings are derived from each country's results in the Euro Hockey League and EuroHockey Club Trophy over the previous 3 years, with the points in 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 the Euro Hockey League and EuroHockey Club Trophy. The total number of points won by clubs from each country is divided by the number of clubs to which the National Association was entitled in that year's competitions.
Each qualifying National Association is required to enter their national champion club, but is otherwise free to decide the system of qualification for their own clubs for any remaining places to which they are entitled that year.
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