Nine teams in three preliminary round groups are fighting for a place in the semi-finals. With the move from Saudi Arabia to Egypt, the field of participants was also reduced. In addition to the group winners, the best runner-up in the group now also reaches the semi-finals. This is likely to particularly affect the exotic teams, as every goal could be at stake in the cross-comparisons between the groups. All games will be played in Solidsport live stream transmitted.
Group A
Zamalek Cairo slipped into the field of participants by participating in the final of the African Super Cup. With Karim Hendawy and Omar El Wakil you have experienced players who also recently took part in the Olympic Games in Paris. Even ex-Flensburg player Ahmed El Ahmar is still in the squad at 40 years old. The clear outsider in the group is Handebol Taubate from Brazil, group favorite Veszprem will only enter the tournament on Saturday.
Group B
Host Al Ahly Cairo had caused a stir in advance, as coach Stefan Madsen’s team also included Aron Palmarsson (FH Hafnarfjördur) and Sebastian Henneberg (Fredericia HK) in the provisional squad. But now reported squad The duo is missing so far. Nevertheless, there is an ambitious team at the start, especially the cyclists Ibrahim El Masry and Ahmed Adel who have proven their quality at the Olympics.
The Sydney Uni HC has three Germans in its squad with backcourt player Jan Kleineidam (formerly HSV Hamburg), pivot Lino Messerschmidt (formerly TV Großwallstadt) and coach Christoph Scholl, but is considered a clear outsider. However, Martin Waschul (formerly VfL Lübeck-Schwartau) and Kai Dippe (formerly Eulen Ludwigshafen), other players with Bundesliga experience in the provisional squad, are missing. The group favorite here is FC Barcelona.
Group C
SC Magdeburg will be able to observe the competition this Friday when the California Eagles and Al Khaleej from Saudi Arabia face each other. The North Americans have four Germans in the squad: Felix Kerst, Benedikt Damm (both formerly of Fürstenfeldbruck, etc.), Lucas Kroger, and Felix Raff.
Al Khaleej has playmaker Hussain Al Sayyad in the squad. He was initially banned for 12 months after incidents at the Asian Championships, but this ban was temporarily lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sports in March in the run-up to Olympic qualification. Backcourt player Nemanja Mladenovic already played in Germany for VfL Gummersbach and HC Empor Rostock and was also in the Sporting Lisbon squad.
The preliminary round groups
Group A:
Veszprém HC (HUN, Wildcard)
Zamalek SC (ONE, Finalist 2023 African Handball Super Cup)
Taubaté Handball (BRA, Sieger South and Central American Men’s Club Handball Championship)
Group B:
FC Barcelona (ESP, winner of the Champions League)
Al-Ahly Cairo (ONE, Host)
Sydney Uni (AUS, winner Oceania Handball Champions Cup)
Group C:
SC Magdeburg (GER, defending champions)
Al Khaleej (KSA, winner Asian Club League Championship)
California Eagles (USA, Sieger North American and Caribbean Senior Club Championship)
