“The EHF FINAL4 is getting more and more international”

In this interview, EHF President Michael Wiederer and David Szlezak, Managing Director of EHF Marketing, draw their event conclusions, recap the club handball season 2023/24, and look ahead to what comes next and what they expect for the future.

The EHF FINAL4 was hosted in Cologne for the 15th time. How do you rate this anniversary?

Michael Wiederer: For me it is the 15th time in Cologne and my 25th EHF FINAL4 in Cologne and Budapest together - and I still love it. It is anything but an obligation. I am always excited to come here.

What were your personal highlights in Cologne this year?

David Szlezak: The start on Friday with the opening party was already outstanding, a peaceful fan festival. The players enjoyed it too, the fans are always in a good mood. What is now even more successful than before the pandemic is the activation of sponsors and partners around LANXESS arena, as shown, for example, by the ‘Dare to-Rise’ crane by Machineseeker. And then of course the performance by Anastacia, whose song "Best days" absolutely fits with the EHF FINAL4 in Cologne. We were sold out with 19,750 fans, and sold over 4,000 tickets in just a few hours in the presale for 2025. With five more years at least in Cologne, we now have the opportunity to tackle the topic of capacity again. I assume that we will be able to offer more tickets for 2025.

You mentioned the new contract with Cologne until 2029. Were there alternative locations for the EHF FINAL4?

David Szlezak: We have explored the market across Europe, but we remain true to the motto 'never change a winning team', which is why we have extended the contract with Cologne and will complete 20 editions in 2029. Therefore, another location is not an option in the current planning.

How important is the German market in this context for your events in Hamburg (EHF Finals Men) and Cologne?

David Szlezak: The German market is of course very important to us. The German fans have a high level of understanding of our sport and they are handball fans, not just club fans. Of course, economic affluence also plays an important role, because this allows us to organise the events with a higher likelihood of return of investment.

What is your opinion on the criticism that there are too many EHF events in Germany?

Michael Wiederer: We have had two European Championships in Germany in 30 years: the women in 1994 and the men in 2024, that's not a lot. As far as the club competitions are concerned, all international clubs are in favour of Cologne as the venue for the EHF FINAL4 and Hamburg as the new venue for the EHF Finals Men. Because everyone knows that these are not German events, but international ones. More than 50 percent of all visitors in Cologne do not come from Germany, the event is absolutely established internationally. And all clubs back the decision to host the EHF FINAL4 in Cologne until 2029.

Is that also because every team can win in Cologne, no matter where they come from?

Michael Wiederer: From a sporting perspective, Cologne is always good for surprises, whether it's in terms of the winners, but also as individual matches such as the semi-final between Barcelona and Flensburg (in 2014) or the legendary final between Kielce and Veszprém have proven. Anything is possible here, as this year once again impressively showed, there is no home advantage. And LANXESS arena has been sold out even if no German team qualified. The fact that Cologne is paying off is underlined by the fact David mentioned, that on Saturday we sold 4,000 tickets for 2025 within three hours. If we would not block the tickets for the participants, the LANXESS arena would be sold out very early on – far before we know which teams will qualify. All of this speaks for Cologne as the location.

How important are the local cooperations for the success of the EHF FINAL4?

Michael Wiederer: We have long-standing, experienced and enthusiastic partners in Cologne for whom the EHF FINAL4 has become their own event: the city of Cologne, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, LANXESS arena, and Stadionwelt. They all support the event, and for us as the EHF and EHF Marketing, it is like coming home every year. When we are here in Cologne, you always see a lot of familiar faces.

What is your recap of the EHF European League and the EHF Champions League season for men and women?

Michael Wiederer: You can see that the gap between the European League and the Champions League is getting smaller and smaller. The top teams in the EHF European League Women, like this year's finalists Storhamar and Bistrita, absolutely have a Champions League level, and that is true for the men's competition as well, thanks to the strong Bundesliga representatives. For me, the biggest surprise this season were EHF Champions League Women finalists SG BBM Bietigheim, who have made incredible progress.

What is your impression on the EHF Champions League season that has just ended, including the EHF FINAL4, as a highlight?

David Szlezak: The EHF Champions League 2023/24 season went incredibly well in all areas. We have seen a significant increase in TV and digital reach and acitivation, but also when it comes to fans in the arenas across Europe. There is a clear development visible. And, of course, it all culminated in the EHF FINAL4 in Cologne. Everything went smoothly, our staff brings a lot of passion and experience to organise these tournaments optimally. There was no rush, a lot of it is routine. The image that the 15th EHF FINAL4 presented to the outside world was extremely good.

You mentioned the series of highlight events, are you now glad that it is over?

David Szlezak: We had three final tournaments on three consecutive weekends, four tournaments in five weeks, which is of course an enormous burden for the employees, but they handled it brilliantly.

Michael Wiederer: Because of the Olympic Games and the European Football Championship in Germany, we had to organise four final tournaments in five weeks this year, which was of course very strenuous and challenging for our employees, but we saw four great tournaments and the work was appreciated everywhere. Now we can breathe a sigh of relief, and the draw for the next Champions League season will take place on 27 June.

From a marketing perspective, in addition to the extension of the contract with Cologne as the host, there was also the new contract with title partner Machineseeker. What significance does this have for the EHF Champions League?

David Szlezak: The extension gives us the opportunity to start detailed planning at an early stage. This helps us in the general development of the EHF Champions League. The partnership with Machineseeker has developed extremely well in two years, we have managed to make their CEO Sven Schmidt become a real handball fan. The partnership is a good fit in all areas: Machineseeker is completely digital, we want to become more digital. The company's physical locations are not in big cities, handball is not something that comes from cities with a population of one million. And: handball is down to earth, we are not upscale, we are not a luxury item, and Machineseeker does not sell luxury items.

What are your general wishes for the future of the EHF FINAL4?

David Szlezak: The extension of the title partnership and the fact that we will announce another partner at the draw on 27 June ensures that we have clarity early on and can start thinking about Cologne 2025 very early on. One wish for the future, in addition to increased capacity at LANXESS arena, is to bring the various stakeholders together even more, like to put together larger packages, for example with European Handball Talks and the Cologne Handball Night party.

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