It’s Euro Hockey League week with the ABN AMO EHL Men KO16 in Barcelona running from Thursday, October 9th to Sunday, October 12th.

Sixteen of Europe’s best clubs from 11 different countries battle it out over four days, all hoping to grab one of the four tickets on offer to next Easter’s EHL FINAL8.

It all takes place at the Eduardo Dualde stadium, home to Real Club de Polo, while viewers around the world can watch the games via EuroHockeyTV (or DAZN in Belgium and ESPN in Latin America).

Venue: Eduardo Dualde Stadium, Av. Dr. Marañón, 19-31, Les Corts, 08028 Barcelona, SpainTickets: https://www.eventim.nl/en/artist/ehl/?affiliate=EU2Match schedule: https://ehlhockey.tv/event/euro-hockey-league-men-ko16-2025/Where to watch: https://ehlhockey.tv/ehl-finals-where-to-watch/Each KO16 game is a straight knock-out battle with each winner advancing to the KO8 round a day later from which the ticket to the FINAL8 will be decided.

The first batch of eight teams hit the turf on Thursday before the next cohort begin their campaigns on Saturday. Here’s an overview of the first four showdowns on the agenda:

Who plays who? The Thursday  KO16 showdowns

KO16: Saint Germain HC (FRA) v SK Slavia Prague (CZE) – 11.15 CET

The French champions are back in the EHL after a four-year break to make it 14 appearances in the world’s best club competition. They are boosted by the return of Olympian Blaise Rogeau who joins French captain François Goyet and South African star Keenan Horne in the line-up.

They are unbeaten thus far in the French league, notably beating CAM 92 4-2 last weekend.Slavia qualified for the EHL for the second time when they dethroned TJ Plzen Litice earlier this year, giving them the chance to perform on the elite club stage following their debut in Hamburg in 2023. They are in good shape again this season, leading the Czech league by three points after six matches.

KO16: Wimbledon HC (ENG) v Hamburger Polo Club (GER) – 13.30 CET

Wimbledon’s much-changed panel are unbeaten in the English league thus far after an important 1-1 draw with Old Georgians last weekend. Key to their success has been new arrival Kei Kaeppeler with the USA international scoring four times already. Goalkeeper Toby Reynolds-Cotterill and captain Sam Hooper will be key figures.

They face the German vice champions from last season who moved top of the Bundesliga last weekend. Tom Craig and Tim Brand are big presences and they are joined by German stars Justus Weigand (Mannheimer HC) and Joshua Onyekwue Nnaji (Crefelder HTC) to make them even stronger.

KO16: HC Wien (AUT) v Royal Léopold Club (BEL) – 15.45 CETHC Wien are back in the EHL this season after a 10-year break as they look to put it up to Royal Léopold. It follows their first Austrian championships since 2015 but there are still five players to link the two generations with Marcel Hilbert, Jakob Puchhammer, Franz Lindengrün, goalkeeper Lukas Glaser (GK) and Simon Landsteiner; the latter scored their only EHL goal against Harvestehuder THC.For Léo, their early season has been a little bit of a mixed bag but they did fight back from 2-0 down to draw with Gantoise in the Carlsberg 0.0 League. Their forward firepower is the envy of Europe with Tom Boon, José Basterra and Nelson Onana among the options.KO16: Club de Campo de Madrid (ESP) v CAM 92 (FRA) – 18.00 CETEduardo Aguilar’s team is undoubtedly one of the favourites to be in the mix for the Spanish title this season and they have reinforced with Belgian players Nicolas Poncelet and Jeremy Wilbers joining their side.The Spanish runners-up are hoping they can get back into medal contention for the first time in 14 years having taken silver in 2011.CAM92 is entering a new cycle this season with a lot of player changes this season as a lot of the club’s talents have moved like Lucas Montecot, Mathis and Timothée Clément and Corentin Sellier.As such, Junior World Cup silver medalists Tom Gaillard, Gabin Lorrazuri, Rafael Stab and Louis Haertelmeyer will be vital players.Friday October 10th scheduleRanking Match: Saint Germain/SK Slavia Prague v Wimbledon/Hamburger Polo Club – 11.15 CETKO8: Saint Germain/SK Slavia Prague v Wimbledon/Hamburger Polo Club – 13.30 CETRanking Match: HC Wien/Royal Léopold v Club de Campo de Madrid/CAM 92 – 15.45 CETKO8: HC Wien/Royal Léopold v Club de Campo de Madrid/CAM 92 – 18.00 CET

Banbridge and Western Wildcats both saw their final matches before the EHL postponed due to Storm Amy which swept across Ireland and Scotland over the weekend.

Bann were due to play Three Rock Rovers in the EY Hockey League as they looked to extend their perfect start to the Irish season  with four wins out of four already on their register.

The big one was their 3-2 comeback victory over Lisnagarvey with late goals from Johnny and Matthew McKee in the closing 10 minutes.

The Irish champions have named a panel featuring 12 of the panel that played a year ago with a big injection of youth into the line-up.

Experienced heads like Hugh McShane, Owen Magee, Philip Brown and Josh Moffett have all stepped back from the panel after over a decade in the line-up.

Coming in are the likes of Irish international Adam McAllister and youngsters Aaron Baxter and Ben Walker. Charlie Rowe missed last year’s EHL due to injury but he is back along with brother Eddie to make it four brothers in their line-up while Adam McKee joins his brother Matthew in the travelling squad.

They face Bloemendaal on Saturday at 14.15 CET.

For Western, they were set to play Grange last weekend before the weather played its part.

A week earlier, they had roared into second spot in the Scottish table after an 8-2 mauling of Hillhead.

Fraser Moran was the Wildcats top scorer with five, and the others came from Hamish Galt, Adam Mackenzie and Dutchman Just Noordzij.

Their EHL challenge begins on Saturday morning at 9.45 CET against Braxgata.

Old Georgians and Wimbledon go into Euro Hockey League action having played out a lively 1-1 draw last Saturday, a result which sees both sit in the top three at this early stage of the season.

For OGs, they had beaten Reading 3-0 on Thursday and Sam Ward gave them a first half lead before Euan Gilmour levelled things up in the second, the first goal they have conceded this season.

For Ward, he has already netted eight times this season while new signing Henry Croft has already got three to his name.

They are looking forward now to a first meeting with HC Olten on Saturday afternoon (16.30 CET) in the KO16 in Barcelona before facing either HC Bloemendaal or Banbridge in their second game.

Wimbledon have also been lively in front of goal with Sam Hooper netting four times and Kei Kaeppeler on three.

And they will be in action a couple of days earlier with an enticing opening battle against Hamburger Polo Club on Thursday at 13.30 CET.

In the table, Old Georgians are top with Surbiton and Wimbledon two points back but have played a game fewer. They maintained a 100% record with their 4-1 win at Holcombe.

They trailed to an early Teague Marcano goal at half time but scored four in the second including two for Nick Bandurak against his former colleagues.   

Hamburger Polo Club moved top of the German men’s Bundesliga following the weekend’s action as their Friday night win Gladbacher THC saw them jump above Uhlenhorst Mülheim.

It was a fine tune-up for their EHL week where they will play Wimbledon on Thursday (13.30 CET) in Barcelona with a date against either Slavia Prague or Saint Germain.

Polo made it 1-0 just seconds before the end of the first half when Leon Thörnblom fired home a penalty corner on the rebound.

It wasn’t until the end of the third period that their lead grew: Justus Weigend added a rebound (41st minute) and Tim Brand (43rd minute) made it 3-0.

The Hamburg hosts’ enthusiasm for the game resulted in goals in the final period from Nic Woods, Paul Smith and Simon Quinders Lopez.

And their weekend got even better when Uhlenhorst missed out on the chance to overtake them on Saturday when they fell 2-1 at home to TSV Mannheim who moved up to fourth as a result.

It all means Polo are a point clear with a game in hand on Uhlenhorst Mülheim and third place UHC Hamburg.

The ABN AMRO Euro Hockey League Men’s KO16 brings together a strong officials team once again to help the flow of the games in Barcelona from October 9th to 12th.

Sarah Wilson is among one of the most decorated and experienced umpires in the world game, taking charge of close to 200 international games and officiating in the gold medal game at the 2020 Olympic Games having done the bronze in 2016. This will be her fifth EHL event.

Belgium’s Michael Dutrieux is in Barcelona for a third EHL competition out of the seven events in the premier club competition he has umpired at in total, including covering the 2025 men’s bronze match between SV Kampong and HC Rotterdam last Easter.

Ana Ortega is umpiring at the EHL for the first time following amid a busy 2025 in which she umpired at the Indoor World Cup in Poreč, took charge of the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Cup in Wettingen and has been appointed to the Junior World Cup in December.

Benjamin Messerli has a unique place in the EHL, being the first person to be a player and umpire in the competition. He lined out for Rotweiss Wettingen in ROUND1 in 2009 and 2011 before taking up the whistle full-time.

This will be his fourth EHL competition; he was the video umpire for the women’s grand final at Easter having also umpired on-field in the bronze match earlier the same day.

This will be Harry Collinson’s second EHL tournament, his previous one coming in 2023 when he presided over the men’s bronze match between Racing Club de Bruxelles and Atlètic Terrassa. He joined the FIH Pro League panel last season and is destined for the Junior World Cup in December in India.

It is also a second EHL for Kevin Roberts following his role in 2023 in Barcelona. He brings big experience from over a decade at EuroHockey and FIH events while he has been appointed to the top tier EuroHockey Indoor Championship next January in Heidelberg.

For Katie Howie, this event marks her first EHL as her profile continues to grow. The Scottish woman has umpired at several EuroHockey club events in recent years and take on over 20 senior international fixtures while she is also looking forward to the Junior World Cup in December.

Raphaël Adrien is a recent graduate of the EuroHockey Umpire Development Programme and has since become a fixture in the FIH Pro League panel and clocked up over 20 international fixtures. This will be his EHL debut.

Steven Bakker is the third new face on this stage having stepped up with several high level appointments in the past year, including the FIH Nations Cup in Chile earlier this year and the EuroHockey Championship qualifier in Vienna in 2024.

The officials team will be led by Daniel Gass who brings a wealth of knowledge to the table following 25 international appointments as either a Technical Delegate or Technical Officer including both the Indoor World Cup and the Hockey 5s World Cup.

He is supported by Casper Guldbrandsen who was the TD at the Junior World Cup in 2023 and at the EHL FINALS at Easter earlier this year.

The umpires will be managed by Dawn Bonner and Paco Vazquez with Neil McAlpine gaining precious training from the event. The judges will be Antonio Ureña, Mar Molina, Nicole Wajer and Patrick Janssens.

RoleNameNationalityTechnical DelegateDaniel F. GassGERTechnical OfficerCasper GuldbrandsenDENUmpires ManagerDawn BonnerENGUmpires ManagerFrancisco VazquezESPTrainee Umpire ManagerNeil McAlpineSCOJudgeAntonio UreñaESPJudgeMar MolinaESPJudgeNicole WajerNEDJudgePatrick JanssensBELUmpireAna OrtegaESPUmpireBenjamin MesserliSUIUmpireHarry CollinsonENGUmpireKatie HowieSCOUmpireKevin RobertsWALUmpireMichael DutrieuxBELUmpireRaphaël AdrienGERUmpireSarah WilsonSCOUmpireSteven BakkerNED

Real Club de Polo and Club de Campo de Madrid both enter EHL week on a high with unbeaten records in the Iati Spanish men’s league.

For Polo, Ramon Sala’s team won their Barcelona derby 2-0 against FC Barcelona, ​​with goals from Nico Álvarez in the 25th minute and Marc Miralles in the 52nd.

It keeps their perfect record in place as they look forward to their showdown with SV Kampong next Saturday (12.00 CET) at the Eduardo Dualde stadium.

Club de Campo earned three more points at Les Pedritxes, where they won 4-1 against CD Terrassa. Andrés Medina scored the only goal in the first half.

Carlos Bultà equalised in the second half in the 34th minute, but Edu Aguilar’s team responded immediately with goals from Álvaro Iglesias (35′) and Thijs Van Pelt (37′). Quique González scored the final 4-1 with three minutes remaining.

Their EHL challenge sees them face France’s CAM 92 on Thursday before a game against either HC Wien or Royal Léopold.