| 2020–21 SEHA League season | |
|---|---|
| League | SEHA League |
| Sport | Handball |
| Duration | 17 December 2020–5 September 2021 |
| Teams | 10 Croatia (2 teams) North Macedonia (2 teams) Serbia (2 teams) Belarus (1 team) Hungary (1 team) Slovakia (1 team) Ukraine (1 team) |
| Top scorer |  Timur Dibirov (Vardar 1961)(57 goals) |
| Final Four | |
| Finals champions | Telekom Veszprém (4th title) |
| SEHA League seasons | |
2021–22 → | |
The2020–21SEHA League was the 10th season of the SEHA (South East Handball Association) League and seventh under the sponsorship of the Russian oil and gas companyGazprom. Ten teams from seven countries (Belarus,Croatia,Hungary,North Macedonia,Serbia,Slovakia andUkraine participated in this year's competition.[1]
The competition begins with a group stage featuring 10 teams divided in two groups. Matches are played in adouble round-robin system with home-and-away fixtures. In Groups A and B, the top two teams qualify for the quarterfinals, with teams ranked 3rd and 4th entering the playoffs. After conducted analysis and due to occasions occurred by globalCOVID-19 pandemic, along with correlation of European calendar issues, on 14 December 2020 in a meeting, the SEHA–Gazprom League Executive Committee has decided that, two clubs,Telekom Veszprém (2019/20 winner) andMeshkov Brest (COVID-19 issues) will be directly included in the quarterfinals and will not play in the Group phase.[2]
In the play-offs, teams ranked 3rd and 4th in Group A and B are paired against each other in two-legged home-and-away matches. The two aggregate winners of the playoffs will advance to the quarter-finals joining the top-two teams of Groups A and B andTelekom Veszprém andMeshkov Brest who will directly play in the quarter-finals.
The two winners of the matches in the play-off phase, joined by the top two of Groups A and B, andTelekom Veszprém andMeshkov Brest, who are playing directly in the quarter-finals will play in home and away for the right to contest the SEHA Final 4.
The culmination of the season, the SEHA Final 4, continues in its existing format, with the four top teams from the competition competing for the title over one weekend.
The SEHA – Gazprom League Executive Committee made a decision that 10 participants will play in this season.[1]
| Country | Team | City | Venue (Capacity) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belarus | Meshkov Brest | Brest | Universal Sports Complex Victoria (3,740) |
| Croatia | Nexe | Našice | Sportska dvorana kralja Tomislava (2,500) |
| PPD Zagreb | Zagreb | Dom sportova 2 (3,100) | |
| Hungary | Telekom Veszprém | Veszprém | Veszprém Aréna (5,096) |
| North Macedonia | Eurofarm Pelister | Bitola | Sports Hall Boro Čurlevski (3,700) |
| Vardar 1961 | Skopje | Jane Sandanski Arena (6,500) | |
| Serbia | Metaloplastika | Šabac | Zorka Hall (3,000) |
| Vojvodina | Novi Sad | Sportski centar Slana Bara (2,000) | |
| Slovakia | Tatran Prešov | Prešov | Tatran Handball Arena (4,870) |
| Ukraine | Motor Zaporizhzhia | Zaporizhia | Yunost Sport Hall (3,600) |
In the group phase, each team played six matches within their respective groups. Three matches were played at home, and three matches away. The final position after the six rounds determined if a club will play in the play-off phase or if they will earn a direct placement to the quarter-finals phase.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ZAG | PEL | PRE | MET | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PPD Zagreb | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 133 | 108 | +25 | 14 | Quarter finals | — | 26–23 | 25–20 | 37–25 | |
| 2 | Eurofarm Pelister | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 148 | 132 | +16 | 10 | 5–5[3] | — | 28–16 | 30–26 | ||
| 3 | Tatran Prešov | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 135 | 148 | −13 | 7 | Playoffs | 5–5[4] | 32–28 | — | 29–31 | |
| 4 | Metaloplastika | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 170 | 198 | −28 | 3 | 30–35 | 27–34 | 31–33 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ZAP | NEX | VAR | VOJ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Motor Zaporizhzhia | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 186 | 173 | +13 | 12 | Quarter finals | — | 36–30 | 30–23 | 31–30 | |
| 2 | Nexe | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 170 | 174 | −4 | 9[a] | 28–35 | — | 36–32 | 24–23 | ||
| 3 | Vardar 1961 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 163 | 173 | −10 | 9[a] | Playoffs | 32–27 | 27–26 | — | 25–21 | |
| 4 | Vojvodina | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 158 | 157 | +1 | 6 | 30–27 | 21–26 | 33–24 | — |
The Play off phase was made up of two matches for each participating team, one match played at home and one match played away. The teams that finished the Group Phase in positions 3–4 played in the Play-off phase.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metaloplastika | 54–65 | Vardar 1961 | 31–39 | 23–26 |
| Vojvodina | 55–62 | Tatran Prešov | 28–40 | 27–22 |
There will be eight teams competing in the quarter-finals phase. Four teams will have earned a direct placement after the Group Phase, two teams,Telekom Veszprém andMeshkov Brest, directly played in quarter-finals due toCOVID-19 pandemic and two additional teams will have earned a quarter-finals spot through the playoff phase.
The matches will be played between 21 and 26 August 2021 (first leg) and 26 and 31 August 2021 (second leg).
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vardar 1961 | 46–45 | PPD Zagreb | 24–20 | 22–25 |
| Eurofarm Pelister | 58–66 | Meshkov Brest | 27–31 | 31–35 |
| Tatran Prešov | 41–56 | Motor Zaporizhzhia | 22–27 | 19–29 |
| Nexe | 58–65 | Telekom Veszprém | 33–35 | 25–30 |
The four winners of the quarter-final matches qualify for the right to contest the SEHA final four. The Final Four will be played between 3 and 5 September 2021.
Because the health authorities of the Republic of Croatia conductedCOVID-19 tests on the team of HC Vardar 1961 on 31 August 2021, and received a positive test for one team member, they imposed isolation for the positive-tested team member and people who were in contact with this team member, while for the rest of the team there was a possibility of a virus transmition. The Executive Committee made a decision that HC Vardar 1961 was excluded from the Final 4. Since HC PPD Zagreb was playing against HC Vardar 1961 in the quarter-finals of the competition, and because they were the best ranked team of the regular part of the season, the Executive Committee also made a decision that HC PPD Zagreb would be invited to the Final 4 as a substitute team.[5]
| Semifinals | Final | |||||
| 3 September –Zadar,Croatia | ||||||
| Meshkov Brest | 32 (5) | |||||
| 5 September –Zadar,Croatia | ||||||
| PPD Zagreb(pen) | 32 (6) | |||||
| PPD Zagreb | 27 (2) | |||||
| 3 September –Zadar,Croatia | ||||||
| Telekom Veszprém(pen) | 27 (4) | |||||
| Telekom Veszprém | 36 | |||||
| Motor Zaporizhzhia | 29 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 5 September –Zadar,Croatia | ||||||
| Meshkov Brest | 20 | |||||
| Motor Zaporizhzhia | 31 | |||||
| Seasons | |
|---|---|
| Active teams | |
| Former teams | |
