Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, the quarterfinals matches which normally start in early April, were postponed to mid-June, then moved to September and were later cancelled. The final four was first moved from May to September and later cancelled.[1][2][3]
Format
16 teams were participating in the competition, divided in four groups who played in a round robin, home and away format. The top three teams in each group qualified for the main round.
Main round
The 12 qualified teams were divided in two groups who played in a round robin, home and away format. The points and the goal difference gained against the qualified teams in the first round were carried over. The top four teams in each group qualified for the quarterfinals.
Knockout stage
After the quarterfinals, the culmination of the season, the Women's EHF Final four, would continue in its existing format, with the four top teams from the competition competing for the title.
Team allocation
16 national champions applied for the 27th season based on the EHF ranking list, while further eight teams eligible to play in the Women's EHF Cup have requested an upgrade for the EHF Champions League. Registration of clubs does not equal participation, and the final list of all participants was confirmed by the EHF Executive Committee on Friday 21 June.[4]
15 teams are directly qualified for the group stage.[5]
The four teams played a semifinal and final to determine the last participant for the group stage. The hosting rights for the qualification tournament were drawn on 26 June 2019. The winner of the qualification tournament advanced to the group stage.
The draw was held on 27 June 2019. In each group, teams played against each other in a double round-robin format, with home and away matches. The top three teams advanced to the main round.
Tiebreakers
In the group stage, teams are ranked according to points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). After completion of the group stage, if two or more teams have scored the same number of points, the ranking will be determined as follows:
Highest number of points in matches between the teams directly involved;
Superior goal difference in matches between the teams directly involved;
Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams directly involved (or in the away match in case of a two-team tie);
Superior goal difference in all matches of the group;
Highest number of plus goals in all matches of the group;
If the ranking of one of these teams is determined, the above criteria are consecutively followed until the ranking of all teams is determined. If no ranking can be determined, a decision shall be obtained by EHF through drawing of lots.
During the group stage, only criteria 4–5 apply to determine the provisional ranking of teams.
In each group, teams played against each other in a double round-robin format, with home and away matches. Points against teams from the same group were carried over.
On 26 June 2020, EHF announced that the knockout stage, including the quarterfinals and the Final 4 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
Quarterfinals
The European Handball Federation announced on 13 March 2020 that the quarter-finals matches will not be held as scheduled due to the ongoing developments in the spread of COVID-19 across Europe.[8] The matches were rescheduled on 25 March.[9] The matches were cancelled on 24 April 2020.[10]