All you need to know about the Champions League Drawing of Lots!

Thousands of Volleyball fans across the globe are looking forward to the highly anticipated Drawing of Lots for the group stage of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League coming up on Friday in Moscow and starting at 16:00 CET. Live streaming will be available on the CEV’s official YouTube channel, CEV Volleyball Champions League Facebook page and LAOLA1.tv as well. Let us take a look at the procedure that will determine who goes where – and will deliver many exciting fixtures right from the start of the pool stage of Europe’s elite club competition! 

Men 

The pool stage of the men’s competition features 20 teams, including the eight that made it through the second and third rounds contested in late October and early November. The 20 participating teams will be drawn across five pools (A-B-C-D-E), comprising of four teams each, from the bottom row to the top one according to the latest European Cups Ranking List and the relevant provisions from the CEV Volleyball Competitions Regulations. 

•    Cup 4: includes the eight teams which qualified through the 3rd Round, i.e. Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK (RUS), Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA (ITA), Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL (TUR), JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel (POL), Spacer’s TOULOUSE VB (FRA), Noliko MAASEIK (BEL), VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN (GER), and Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA (FIN). Five out of these eight teams will be drawn from left to right to complete the last row of each pool; the three remaining ones will move to Cup 3. 

•    Cup 3: includes the three teams ‘left’ from Cup 4 plus Poland’s PGE Skra BELCHATOW and Turkey’s Arkas IZMIR, i.e. the second-best teams from the National Federations sitting in third and fourth place in the latest European Cups Ranking List. These will be drawn from left to right, thus completing the third row in each pool. 

•    Cup 2: includes the second-best teams from the National Federations sitting in first and second place in the latest European Cups Ranking List, Russia and Italy, i.e. Dinamo MOSCOW and TRENTINO Diatec, plus the national champions of Germany, Belgium and Greece – i.e. BERLIN Recycling Volleys, Knack ROESELARE and PAOK THESSALONIKI. These will be drawn from left to right, thus completing the second row in each pool.

•    Cup 1: includes the national champions from the National Federations ranked 1st to 5th in the latest European Cups Ranking List, i.e. Zenit KAZAN (RUS), Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA (ITA), Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE (POL), Halkbank ANKARA (TUR) and CHAUMONT VB 52 Haute Marne (FRA). These will be drawn from left to right, thus completing the first row in each pool.

As per the regulations in force, two teams from the same country cannot feature in the same pool, unless one of these two has qualified to the group stage through the 3rd Round.

Click here for further information. 

Women 

The pool stage of the women’s competition features 16 teams, including the four that made it through the second and third rounds contested in late October and early November. These will be drawn across four pools (A-B-C-D), comprising of four teams each, from the bottom row to the top one according to the latest European Cups Ranking List and the relevant provisions from the CEV Volleyball Competitions Regulations.

•    Cup 4: includes the four teams which qualified through the 3rd Round, i.e. VakifBank ISTANBUL (TUR), Maritza PLOVDIV (BUL), Developres SkyRes RZESZOW (POL) and Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO (ITA).  

•    Cup 3: includes three teams from the lower-ranked National Federations as per the latest European Cups Ranking List, i.e. CS Volei Alba BLAJ (ROU), Agel PROSTEJOV (CZE) and Vizura RUMA (SRB), plus the second-best Polish team, i.e. Grot Budowlani LODZ.  

•    Cup 2: includes the top Italian and French teams, i.e. Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA and ASPTT MULHOUSE, plus the second-best teams from the National Federations sitting in first and second place in the latest European Cups Ranking List, Turkey and Russia, i.e. Galatasaray SK ISTANBUL and Dinamo KAZAN. 

•    Cup 1: includes the national champions from the National Federations ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th (there being no participating team from the 4th and 5th ranked, Azerbaijan and Germany), in the latest European Cups Ranking List, i.e. Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL (TUR), Dinamo MOSCOW (RUS), Chemik POLICE (POL) and Volero ZÜRICH (SUI).  

As per the regulations in force, two teams from the same country cannot feature in the same pool, unless one of these two has qualified to the group stage through the 3rd Round.

Click here for further information.