CD Bidasoa opens its EHF European League group stage campaign today at the historic Artaleku venue in Irun, Spain, hosting Icelandic club HF Hafnarfjordur. Coached by Álex Mozas, the Basque side enters Europe’s second-tier club competition following a runner-up finish in last season’s Copa del Rey, looking to establish momentum in a redesigned continental bracket.
Artaleku Hosts Opener Under New EHF Format
European club handball enters a streamlined era this season as the EHF European League shifts its structure from 48 to 32 participating teams. The revised format jumps straight into eight groups of four teams, setting up a demanding six-game double-round-robin schedule running from September through December. Bidasoa finds itself grouped alongside HF Hafnarfjordur, Portuguese side Marítimo da Madeira, and French club Limoges, the latter featuring Basque player Jon Azkue. Only the top two teams from each group will advance to the round of 16, where clubs dropping from the EHF Champions League await.
Youthful Threat Leads Icelandic Opposition
HF Hafnarfjordur arrived in Irun on Monday spearheaded by veteran backcourt star Aron Pálmarsson, a product of the Icelandic club’s youth academy who previously played for FC Barcelona, THW Kiel, and Telekom Veszprém. The visitors currently sit third in their domestic league after claiming the national runner-up spot last term. Mozas highlighted the opposition’s dangerous mix of experience and raw scoring power, pointing to standout teenagers Ómar Darri Sigurgeirsson and Brynjar Narfi Arndal. Sigurgeirsson, an 18-year-old standing nearly two meters tall, scored 10 goals last Thursday in a narrow 35-34 domestic defeat against league leader Haukar, while 16-year-old playmaker Arndal added seven goals in the same match. Bidasoa defenders such as Rodrigo Salinas, Marko Jevtic, and Dariusz Sladkowski will face the task of containing the Icelandic youngsters.
Bidasoa Prepares for Group Stage Realities
Reflecting on the club’s continental history and aspirations, Mozas noted that he reviewed archival footage of Elgorriaga Bidasoa’s 1990-91 European Cup Winners’ Cup campaign against Girondins de Bordeaux to draw perspective for his squad. Describing the group stage as deceptively difficult, the Bidasoa coach emphasized the imperative of securing home points immediately. Bidasoa reached the main round in the 2025-26 season before falling to Kiel and Montpellier, and narrowly missed the Final Four after pushing Melsungen in 2024-25. Today’s opening whistle at Artaleku marks the first step toward repeating or surpassing those European runs.
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