The meeting between former champions Benfica and Kairat Almaty is among the highlights of the UEFA Futsal Champions League elite round, which takes place from 23-26 November.
The four group winners will advance to the final on May 4/5 and 6/7, with hosts to be confirmed.
group A: Sporting CP (POR), Uragan lvano-Frankivsk (UKR), Loznica-Grad 2018 (SRB), Città di Eboli (ITA, hosts)
Group B: Mallorca Palma Futsal (ESP, hosts), Novo Vrijeme Makarska (CRO), Dobovec (SVN), Piast Gliwice (POL)
Group C: Benfica (POR), Luxol St. Andrews (MLT)Chrudim (CZE), Kairat Almaty (KAZ, hosts)
Group D: Barça (ESP, starters), Sporting Anderlecht Futsal (BEL), United Galati (ROU), Futsal Pula (CRO, hosts)
Meet the teams
- Barca won their fourth title last season and will be hoping to equal Inter FS’ record of five.
- Sporting CP lost the 2022 final but won in 2019 and 2021; they and Barca have shared all four titles since the renaming of the 2018/19 UEFA Futsal Cup.
- Kairat (2013 and 2015) and Benfica (2010) are also former champions.
- Both Barca and Kairat are hoping to qualify for a record tenth time.
- Sporting’s João Matos is the competition’s new record holder for player appearances, having surpassed the old mark of 69 held by Rizvan Farzaliyev and Lúcio.
- Kairat is playing his record 19th season in Europe and has appeared in the elite round in all 16 editions he has been in the competition (since 2006/07, other than 2020/21 when there was a knockout format throughout) .
- Kairat and Chrudim have already been in the same Elite round group five times: Kairat have won all five matches and topped the group four times, including a spectacular comeback at Chrudim to win 5-4 in the 2007/08 mini-tournament. decider and 6-5 in Serbia in 2012/13 en route to their second title.
- Kairat and Benfica have met four times before. Kairat won their 2020/21 quarter-final 6-2 in Croatia; Benfica won 5-3 in the 2019/20 Elite round, although both teams were already eliminated; Kairat won 5-3 on penalties to claim bronze in 2010/11; and in the 2005/06 second qualifying round in Lisbon they drew 3-3, a result that helped Kairat beat Benfica in the semi-finals.
- Anderlecht had previously entered as Halle-Gooik; they lost to Barca in last season’s elite round and 2018/19 main round.
- Croatia have two first-time entrants (Novo Vrijeme Makarska and Pula), and both are from the same main round group.
- Città di Eboli, Loznica-Grad 2018, Mallorca Palma, Piast Gliwice and Pula are playing their first European seasons.
- Luxol are the first team from Malta to reach the Elite Round.
- United Galati are also taking part in the Elite round for the first time, despite having made the single round of 16 in 2020/21.
- No club from Czechia, Malta, Romania, Serbia or Ukraine has reached the finals in any format.
- Croatia’s only previous runners-up are MNK Split, who took part in the eight-team inaugural 2001/02 event and reached the semi-finals.
- No team from Slovenia have reached the semi-finals, with Dobovec having played in the eight-team knockout final of 2020/21, losing in the quarter-finals.
- Similarly, the only Polish finalist was Clearex Chorzów, released in the group stage in 2001/02.
- Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine reached the semi-finals in 2005/06, in just one out of two games.
Path A group winners: Mallorca Palma Futsal (ESP, Group 1), Sporting CP (POR, 2), Barça (ESP, 3, starter), Benfica (POR, 4)
Second in Path A group: Sporting Anderlecht Futsal (BEL, 1), Novo Vrijeme Makarska (CRO, 2), Luxol St. Andrews (MLT, 3), Uragan Ivano-Frankivsk (UKR, 4)
Path A group third place: Kairat Almaty (KAZ, 1), Futsal Pula (CRO, 2), Dobovec (SVN, 3), United Galati (ROU, 4)
Path B group winners: Loznica-Grad 2018 (SRB, 5), Piast Gliwice (POL, 6), Città di Eboli (ITA, 7), Chrudim (CZE, 8)