Euro Hockey League 2026-27 Explained: New FINAL12 Format, Eindhoven Opener and the Road to March
Kampong are champions of Europe. Twenty clubs have until March to do something about it.
The Euro Hockey League is club hockey’s biggest prize in Europe, and the men’s 2026-27 edition has been rebuilt. Twenty teams from 11 associations entered this season’s competition, run by EuroHockey, and the old knockout layout has gone.
A pool round in Eindhoven, then the FINAL12
Instead of straight knockouts, the season now opens with a pool round. Round 1 was played on 9–11 October 2026 at HC Oranje-Rood in Eindhoven, where the twenty clubs started fighting for places in the next stage.
The big change comes at the business end. The finals weekend has grown into a FINAL12, set for 24–29 March 2027, when twelve surviving teams contest the trophy. And the target on everyone’s back belongs to Kampong, the defending men’s champions. Dutch clubs remain the standard in this competition, which tells you plenty about the strength of the Hoofdklasse feeding them.
The women’s title lives in the Netherlands too
The women’s EHL follows the same idea with its own twist: 12 teams, one tournament, FINAL12 format, and the women’s FINAL12 is played together with the men’s in Eindhoven, 24–29 March 2027 — the EHL has now confirmed both finals at HC Oranje-Rood, Eindhoven. SCHC, also Dutch, are the defending women’s champions after winning in April 2026.
So both EHL titles currently live in the Netherlands. The rest of Europe has until Easter to change that.
There’s a pyramid below, too. The EuroHockey Club Trophy and the Club Challenge sit under the EHL and give lower-ranked clubs from smaller associations their own European stage in the same Easter window. Elite finals at the top, and a route into Europe for clubs right down the rankings.
SportsCursor will follow the road to the FINAL12 in our Euro Hockey League section. The next chapter comes in March, when Europe’s best twelve clubs meet with the trophy on the line.
Facts box — Euro Hockey League 2026-27:
- Competition: Europe’s premier club tournament (run by EuroHockey) — men’s and women’s
- Men’s field: 20 teams from 11 associations
- Round 1 (men): played 9–11 October 2026, HC Oranje-Rood, Eindhoven
- FINAL12 (men): 24–29 March 2027
- Defending champions: Kampong (men), SCHC (women) — both Dutch
- Women’s finals: 24–29 March 2027, Eindhoven, with the men’s (double FINAL12)
- Below the EHL: EuroHockey Club Trophy and Club Challenge tiers
