EHF FINAL4 Women

Györi Audi ETO KC are undeniably the standout powerhouse in women’s club handball, but it had been some years since they last raised the EHF Champions League trophy, with the previous most recent title victory coming in 2018/19 on the back of two consecutive wins.

In 2023/24, Györ reclaimed the trophy after a powerful display in the final, which saw a 30:24 victory against SG BBM Bietigheim.

For Györ, it was the end of a relatively long wait for what was overall the sixth EHF Champions League trophy considering the club’s position and goals. Their final opponents Bietigheim had a completely different but equally remarkable story — the German club were the first from their country to reach the EHF FINAL4 Women and also the first to reach the final across the entire history of the EHF Champions League, stretching back to 1993/94. 2023/24 was the side’s first time in even the quarter-final stage.

Györ made it to the final following a narrow win over Team Esbjerg, 24:23, extending a one-sided history against Esbjerg, which has seen the Hungarian side come out from every mutual clash on top, including twice at previous EHF FINAL4s. On the flipside, Bietigheim took their first win ever against Metz Handball in their semi-final, 36:29.

Esbjerg went on to win the 3/4 placement match against Metz, 37:33. That victory was Esbjerg’s first ever at the EHF FINAL4, on what was their third participation in the event in Budapest. Two Norwegian stars had enormous games in the 3/4 match — Nora Mørk and Henny Reistad scored 13 goals apiece. Both are on the all-time top scorer list at EHF FINAL4s, with Reistad already the clear leader despite being only 25. After the EHF FINAL4 2024, Reistad counts a total of 78 goals scored in Budapest, while Mørk climbed from seventh place to second with her 19 goals over the weekend.