The group stages are over at this year’s EMF Champions League and what a tournament we’ve had so far, full of high drama and show-stopping moments of brilliance from the players.

Out of the 32 teams, spread across 8 groups, only one team had a one hundred percent record after three matches, and that was home favourites, Laits, from Veliko Tarnova.
They’ll be joined from group A by Spanish side, Ortega Twins who took 6 points from a possible 9 available.

Group B saw one of the tournament favourites, Nova Vita, get off to a shaky start, but the Romanian powerhouses, quickly moved through the gears to take top spot, and they’ll be joined in the knockout stages by MFC Lavore from the Slovakian city of Trencin.

Zire from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, made it through to the next round and they’ll be joined by their fellow countrymen, Aznur, and the reigning champions Birbasha, as all 3 teams from Baku progress to the last 16 with Zire and Birbasha topping their groups, with Aznur having to settle for second spot despite racking up an impressive 7 points in group G.

Hoverla ZAK and BKMK, both representing Czechia, are both through to the next round after securing top spot in their respective groups.

The Private Rooftop and MFC Hram, both finished runners up in groups C and D respectively, but both face tricky ties in the last 16, with MFK facing Zire, and The Private Rooftop facing seasoned campaigners, Szilasi és Barátai, in the battle of Budapest.

Turkish side, Cemil Baba Baklavari have been a surprise package so far, and won group E, despite Flamingos FC from Greece pushing them all the way.

The fantastically named Red Star Belgrade will be hoping they can emulate their professional namesakes, and win a European trophy to take back to the Serbian capital, where the current men’s national team European title resides.

Last of the 16 teams to qualify was FC Lowcy, the Ukrainians came through a tough group to cement their place in the top 16 in Europe this year.