Gloria Bistriţa and CSM București to play Champions League and Super Cup semis

Romanian champion Gloria Bistriţa and runner‑up CSM Bucureşti will open the 2023‑24 Women’s Handball Champions League in September. Gloria Bistriţa travels to face HSG Blomberg‑Lippe (5‑6 Sept) and Metz Handball (12‑13 Sept) before its first home match versus Odense Handbold (19‑20 Sept). The club’s later fixtures include games against Győr, Nykøbing Falster, Storhamar, and Podravka in October and November, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the quarter‑finals. CSM Bucureşti starts in Group A against Krim Ljubljana (5 Sept) and hosts Buducnost (12 Sept), followed by further away matches against Borussia, FTC Budapest, Team Esbjerg, Solva HK and Brest Bretagne throughout September, October and November.

The two clubs also meet in the Romanian Super Cup semifinal scheduled for 22‑23 August in Bistriţa. CSM Bucureşti will field Danish national‑team players Emma Friis and Anne Mette Hansen under new head coach Bojana Popović. Manager Aurelia Brădeanu said the squad, despite a 80 % roster overhaul, remains ambitious. The other semifinal pits SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea against Corona Brașov, both having replaced most of their line‑ups since last season.