Line-up confirmed for EHF Champions League 2024/25
One of the meeting’s core topics was the confirmation of teams for the upcoming editions of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League and the EHF Champions League Women.
Provided with the overview of upgrade requests and the corresponding evaluation of these requests according to the competitions’ regulations, the EXEC approved seven upgrades for the EHF Champions League Women and six for the Machineseeker EHF Champions League.
In addition, for the men’s competition Danish side Fredericia Håndbold Klub received a wild card for next season.
With nine teams each fixed already, the line-up for the EHF Champions League 2024/25 with 16 teams each in the women’s and men’s event has therefore been confirmed (>> read more)
Hosts approved for younger age category and beach handball events
Looking ahead to 2025, the Executive Committee approved the hosts for the Women’s 19 (9-20 July) and the Women’s 17 EHF EURO (30 July – 10 August) next year as well as for the joint event of the YAC17 and senior EHF Beach Handball EURO 2025 (3-6 and 8-13 July).
The Women’s 19 and Women’s 17 EHF EURO will be played in Montenegro. The beach handball championships will take place in Alanya, Türkiye.
The application for the latter by the Turkish Handball Federation (THF) was in principle approved, however it was remarked by the EXEC that a full approval remains conditional on the provision of additional information to be sent by the THF in due course.
The same holds true for the ebt finals 2025, for which an application of the city of Trapani, Italy, has been received, and for the EHF Beach Handball Champions Cup for which the current organiser in Porto Santo, Portugal, has expressed its willingness to extend the existing agreement.
EHF EURO bids for 2030 and 2032
The EXEC was informed on the bidding status for the EHF EURO events in 2030 and 2032. With the end of the application deadline on 10 June, the following bids had been received:
- Men’s EHF EURO 2030
- Czechia/Poland/Denmark
- Croatia
- Women’s EHF EURO 2030
- Men’s EHF EURO 2032
- Türkiye
- Germany/France
- Croatia
- Women’s EHF EURO 2032
The EXEC confirmed the bids as such as they have been received. They will now be further evaluated based on the conditions outlined in the bid documents and while additional documentation to complete the bids will be requested.
As foreseen in the timeline, the final confirmation of all bids received will follow by the EHF Executive Committee in its September 2024 meeting.
The allocation of the EHF EURO events will take place at the Extraordinary Congress on 14 December in Vienna during the final weekend of the Women’s EHF EURO 2024.
Additional motions
Dealing with two additional motions submitted by the EHF’s competitions department, the EXEC first approved the playing format for the Women’s EHF EURO Cup 2026.
The competition that runs parallel to the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers will be played with eight teams, the five organisers of the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 (Poland, Romania, Czechia, Slovakia and Türkiye) and the three best ranked teams of the Women’s EHF EURO 2024 which are automatically qualified for the EHF EURO 2026.
The eight teams will be separated in two groups of four, with the last matches to be played on 11-12 April 2026. In a new addition to the format, the two winners and the two second ranked teams of each group qualify for the final tournament which will be played in a ‘Final4’ format with two semi-finals and two finals in one venue on one weekend.
It is foreseen that this tournament takes place in a national team week in September 2026.
Dealing with the second motion, the EXEC confirmed to adapt the age limit for indoor referees to end their career from 50 years to 55 years.
Consequences on a technical level including respective requirements for the ‘new age category’ from 50 years to 55 years will be evaluated by the Technical Refereeing Committee and the Competitions Commission.
The motion followed a decision by the IHF Council in April 2024 to raise the age limit of IHF referees to end their career from 50 to 55 years.
EHF business activities
The Executive Committee was provided with the detailed report on the European Handball Federation’s business activities in the second quarter of 2024.
Among other topics, the report also touched on the latest update of the European Handball Master Plan for the support of grassroots activities across Europe.
More than 15 project are running; a new agreement, which focusses on the introduction of mini handball in primary schools, has been signed with the Portuguese federation. Applications have been received from Israel, Cyprus, Albania and Serbia.
Furthermore, the federations of Azerbaijan, Faroe Island and Andorra have expressed distinct interest in joining the Master Plan.
An update was also provided on the work of the EHF’s Sustainability Board which had come together in January at the Men’s EHF EURO 2024 for the first time and meanwhile held its first offcial meetings.
For the start, the Board focussed its work on a vision and mission statement, which will we published in due course, as well as on educational measures for staff and federations.
Legal activities
Extensive reports and notes were also received by the EXEC following the annual meetings of the Legal Commissions in May.
Based on the meetings and subsequent discussions several legal motions relating to the EHF Statutes and Legal Regulations have been tabled with the majority to be assigned to the EHF Extraordinary Congress in December for decision.
As part of the legal report, the EXEC took note of current cases being dealt with by the EHF’s legal system with some cases of precedence being discussed in more detail.
2023 accounting process
Meetings of the EHF Comptrollers and the external auditor took place in April. The comptrollers delivered their report as well as the external auditor, who provided the unqualified opinion which confirmed the correct handling of the financial business of the European Handball Federation.
With the respective documents at hand, the Executive Committee took note that the European Handball Federation’s business year 2023 has been successfully closed.
The documents will be presented to the 2025 Congress for final approval.
Looking ahead to the end of 2024 and beyond
At the end of the meeting the Executive Committee was informed on the timeline for the 16th Extraordinary EHF Congress and 17th Conference of Presidents in Vienna in December as well as for the 17th Ordinary EHF Congress in 2025.
The Extraordinary Congress and the Conference of Presidents will take place on 14 December; the first official information to all Member Federations has been provided. The Extraordinary Congress, which includes the awarding of the EHF EURO events in 2030 and 2032, and the CoP are part of an extensive programme on the final weekend of the Women’s EHF EURO 2024.
This programme also includes the gala event for the EHF Excellence Awards 2024 as well as the official opening of the European Handball House, the new office building for the EHF in Vienna.
The 17th Ordinary Congress is scheduled to take place on 19/20 September 2025 in Andau, Austria at the ‘Scheiblhofer – The Resort’. The location has been chosen for its Vienna airport proximity and offers a very reasonable environment to organise the EHF Congress.
Next to come
Following the summer events, i.e. the Men’s 20 and Men’s 18 EHF EUROs and the corresponding EHF Championships as well as the EHF YAC16 Beach Handball EURO and the EHF Beach Handball Championship, the EHF’s Technical Commissions will meet at the end of August.
Their work will also serve as the preparation for the next meeting of the EHF Executive Committee which is scheduled for 20 September.
