UEFA Futsal Champions League elite round draw

The UEFA Futsal Champions League elite round draw split the 16 contenders progressing from the main round into four groups that will decide the knockout finalists.

The elite round will be played as one-venue mini-tournaments between 26 November and 1 December. The four group winners progress to the finals on 1/2 and 3/4 May, with the hosts to be confirmed.

Team facts

• Palma have won the European title for the last two seasons; the only team to lift the trophy in their debut pair of campaigns since Castellón in the inaugural 2001/02 and 2002/03 editions. They are unbeaten in all their 19 European games to date.
• Two-time winners Kairat Almaty and Sporting CP (along with Palma, the only other side from last season's final four to qualify) are also involved.
• Kairat are the first club to enter 21 seasons of UEFA futsal competition, and keep up their record of reaching the elite round in all 18 editions it has featured in the format.
• In the course of the main round, Sporting became only the second club to play 100 matches in UEFA futsal competition after Kairat. Sporting already had the most wins (now 73) and goals (now 449).
• Anderlecht were semi-finalists in 2022/23, losing to Sporting CP. Sporting also beat Anderlecht in last season's elite round.
• Cartagena, Catania and Semey are all in their debut European seasons. Dinamo and Lučenec are also in the elite round for the first time.
• Catania are the only survivors from the preliminary round and are a record tenth different Italian club to reach the elite round.
• United Galati are coached by Cacau, who led Kairat to victory in 2012/13 and 2014/15.
• No teams from Croatia, Czechia, Latvia, Poland, Romania or Slovakia have previously reached the post-2006/07 four-team finals (though Croatia and Poland were represented in the one-off eight-team final tournament in the inaugural edition of 2001/02, MNK Split going through to the semis).

Draw procedure

The winners and runners-up of the mini-tournaments in Path A were seeded and drawn into position 1 (winners) and position 2 (runners-up). The winners and runners-up of the same main round mini-tournament could not be drawn into the same elite round group.

The third-placed teams from Path A and the winners from Path B were drawn into position 4 then 3 and there was no country protection.

Five clubs declared an interest to host an elite round mini-tournament and fulfilled the criteria, so the hosts were decided as part of the elite round draw. The first four clubs drawn will host the mini-tournaments and the remaining team were drawn as a visiting team. Teams were allocated in alphabetical order from Group A to Group D.

Pot 1: Eligible hosts

AE Illes Balears Palma Futsal (ESP) – Position 1
Cartagena Costa Cálida (ESP) – Position 1
Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR) – Position 2
MNK Futsal Dinamo (CRO) – Position 4
Riga Futsal Club (LVA) – Position 4

Four hosts were drawn and assigned to Groups A to D according to their respective positions (1 if Path A group winner, 2 if Path A group runner-up and 4 if Path A group third-placed team or Path B group winner).

Once the four hosts were assigned to their respective groups, the remaining club in Pot 1 was drawn and assigned as a visiting team in its position in the first available group in alphabetical order.

Pot 2: Path A third-placed teams & Path B group winners (less hosts)

Sporting Anderlecht Futsal (BEL)
SK Plzeň (CZE)
Futsal Club Semey (KAZ)
Etoile Lavalloise (FRA)
Futsal Klub Lučenec (SVK)
Catania C/5 (ITA)

The teams were drawn into position 4 in the available groups from A to D, missing out the groups which already had an eligible host assigned to that position, before filling in position 3 from Groups A to D.

Pot 3: Path A group runners-up (less host)

Record Bielsko-Biała (POL)
MNK Olmissum (CRO)
United Galati (ROU)

The teams were drawn into position 2 in the available groups from A to D, missing out the group which already had an eligible host assigned to that position.

Pot 4: Path A group winners (less hosts)

Sporting Clube de Braga (POR)
Kairat Almaty (KAZ)

The remaining group winners were drawn into position 1 in the available groups from A to D, missing out the groups which already had an eligible host assigned to that position.

The following pairs of teams could not be drawn into the same group:

Cartagena Costa Cálida (ESP) & Record Bielsko Biała (POL)
Sporting Clube de Braga (POR) & MNK Olmissum (CRO)
AE Illes Balears Palma Futsal (ESP) & United Galati (ROU)
Kairat Almaty (KAZ) & Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)