A new record attendance is expected for the 22^nd General Assembly of Forum Club Handball, taking place in ClarionSign Hotel in Stockholm on 24^th January 2020. 54 clubs from 29 countries registered more than 80 participants. Jointly the club representatives will attend the Semifinals of the EHF EURO 2020.

In the meeting information on the upcoming changes will be provided. As of season 20/21 there will be significant increase of revenues for the participants in the various European Cup competitions.

IHF President Dr. Hassan Moustafa is expected to address the participants with a welcome speech.

During the ordinary Board meetings in October 2019 the boards (men and women) of Forum Club Handball decided to adapt the structure of the organization to the changes which will be implemented with the start of the season 20/21. According motions will be presented to the General Assemblies, taking place in Vienna (Women) and Stockholm (Men) in January 2020.

The term of office for FCH Board members has already been prolonged from 2 to 4 years. Now the FCH Board proposes to adapt the number of Board members to the new EHF Club ranking system. The number of Board members shall be increased from 10 to 12. In order to be more flexible concerning appointment of FCH officers for various tasks, the difference between Board members and Deputy Board members shall be abolished. The according decisions have to be taken by the General Assemblies with a 75% majority.

Financials will be the important topic of the upcoming FCH General Assemblies in Budapest (Women, 12.5.19) and Cologne (Men, 2.6.2019).

According to the new contract between EHF Marketing GmbH and Infront/Dazn, a new distribution system for the European Cup revenues will be set up. The General Assemblies will decide upon the split between men’s and women’s competition and about the split between Champions League, new European Handball League (=former EHF-Cup) and new EHF-Cup (=former Challenge Cup) for the seasons 20/21, 21/22 and 22/23.

Due to the change of the term of office for EHF Office holders, the term of the current office holders of FCH is expected to be prolonged until 2021.

A big number of European Top clubs is expected to participate in the meetings in Budapest and Cologne.

The 20^th General Assembly of FORUM CLUB HANDBALL took place on the fringes of the IHF World Championship 2019 in Hamburg on 26^th January 2019.

As a guest IHF President Dr. Hassan Moustafa welcomed the representatives from 45 European top clubs from 22 countries. He congratulated Germany for the good organization of the tournament and Denmark/Norway which played the best handball and deserved to be in the final on Sunday. The President put emphasis on the global situation in handball and underlined the important role of China and USA as developing handball markets. He asked the FCH member clubs to support the according IHF activities.

The FCH members clubs welcomed the organization of the World Championship, but criticized the playing schedule. Many times various teams had to play two matches in two days or 3 matches in four days. The IHF President took note of the concerns of the clubs and promised to take care of this question.

EHF Vice-President Predrag Boskovic also welcomed the club representatives. He underlined the good cooperation between clubs and EHF and the developing implementation of club representatives into the various bodies of EHF.

Having listened to the various reports, the participants elected David Barrufet as new Board member FCH from Spain, replacing Xavier O’Callaghan (both FC Barcelona). Gregor Planteu/Celje was elected President, Peter Leutwyler as Vice-President FCH. As a consequence, the list of the various new FCH office holders reads as follows:

FCH President:

Old: Xavier O’Callaghan

New: Gregor Planteu/Celje

FCH Vice-Presidents:

Old: Dierk Schmäschke + Gregor Planteu

New: Dierk Schmäschke/Flensburg + Peter Leutwyler/Kadetten

FCH Board members:

Old: O‘Callaghan, Schmäschke, Planteu, Szabo, Leutwyler

New: David Baruffet/FC Barcelona, Schmäschke, Planteu, Szabo, Leutwyler

FCH Deputy Board members (no changes):

Teo Storm, Pep Blanchart, Robert Molines, Davor Stojanoski, Stathis Papachartofilis

EHF PHB representatives:

Old: O’Callaghan/Butzeck

New: Planteu/Butzeck

EHF Competitions Commission (no changes).

Emeric Paillasson/Saint Raphael Var

EHFM Steering Committee:

New: Gregor Planteu

EHFM Advisory Board members:

Old: O’Callaghan/Butzeck

New: Leutwyler/Butzeck

EHFM Men’s Club Board members

Old: O’Callaghan, Storm, Martini

New: Szabo/Veszprem, Storm/Kiel, Martini/Paris

EHFM Comptroller:

Old: Peter Leutwyler

New: Gerd Hofele/Göppingen

EHFM Working Group development:

Pep Blanchart/Granollers

Karl Lofmark/Lugi Lund

Magnus Clarke/Dublin

Raul Srugo/Maccabi Rishon Le Zion

The newly elected President underlined the importance of the upcoming months, as the split of the revenues as of season 20/21 has to be agreed between men’s and women’s clubs on the one side, and between new Champions League, European Handball League and new EHF-Cup on the other side.

At the end of the General Assembly the participants elected Xavier O’Callaghan as ‘Honorary President FCH’.

As reported earlier, FCH President Xavier O’Callaghan will resign from his office in January 2019. The FCH Board delivered his tasks for the transitional period as follows:

EHF Professional Handball Board: Gregor Planteu/Celje

EHFM Men’s Champions League Board: Janos Szabo/Veszprem

EHFM Advisory Board: Peter Leutwyler/Kadetten

The necessary elections will take place during the next General Assembly, taking place in Hamburg on the fringes of the semifinals of the World Championship 2019 on 25./26.1.2019.

FCH President Xavier O’Callaghan has been promoted to become ‘FC Barcelona Representative USA’. According earlier announcements have been confirmed by the club today. The Board of FCH congratulates Xavi to this promotion and wishes him all the best for the future. The 7-times-Champions League Winner and Bronze medalist from the 2000 Olympics will remain in office till the next ordinary General Assembly of FCH, to be held in Hamburg on 26th January 2019. GB

The sport director of HC Kuban/Krasnodar, Russia has been appointed as Director Sports of the Russian Handball Federation. FCH congratulates Stas to this promotion and wishes all the best for his future. The former top player has been Women FCH Board member for more than 4 years and resigned from his office today. GB

The European Handball Federation and EHF Marketing GmbH have signed a major new deal with Infront and Perform Group signalling the start of a long-term partnership that is set to transform the sport. The European Handball Federation and its marketing arm, EHF Marketing GmbH, put pen to paper ahead of the final matches of the VELUX EHF Champions League season in Cologne on Sunday, 27 May, signing a new 10-year media and marketing partnership from 2020 with two of the leading companies on the international sports market, Infront and Perform Group. The deal, worth between 500 and 600 million euro over 10 years, is the biggest in the history of the sport. It brings not only a significant financial investment over the duration of the contract (2020-2030) but also industry-leading know-how, expertise and services from both the EHF’s existing partner, Infront, one of the world’s leading international sports marketing companies, and Perform Group, a global leader in digital media. At the core of the partnership is a new long-term strategy, which will see the two companies work closely with the EHF and EHF Marketing GmbH – together with Forum Club Handball, the organisation representing Europe’s top men’s clubs – to secure significant growth for the sport across both existing and new markets. A key focus of the strategic plan will be to grow the appeal of the sport, particularly to younger audiences, through an enhanced digital offering. Perform is well-placed to provide the innovative media rights strategy and extensive digital expertise required to achieve these objectives. With a proven track record of success with long term rights partnerships with the likes of WTA, FIBA, Conmebol and NFL and digital focussed brands including DAZN, the sport streaming service; and Spox.com, a leading sports website in the German-speaking market, the UK-based company is recognised as the digital leader in global sports media.

The EHF’s long-term media and marketing partner for the EHF EURO events, Infront, provides continuity within the new partnership. Having worked with the EHF since the first European Championship in 1994 and at 25 EHF EURO events since, the company – majority owned by the Chinese company Dalian Wanda Group Co., Ltd, – has worked closely with the EHF to develop the EHF EURO into one of the highest profile national team sports events on the international sports market. In 2016, the Men’s and Women’s EHF EURO events in Poland and Sweden achieved an all-time high with a cumulative TV audience of 2.2 billion. The contracts were signed at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne by the EHF for its national team competitions including the EHF EUROs (2022-2030), youth and beach events and by EHF Marketing GmbH, the federation’s subsidiary and marketing arm, for club competitions including the EHF Champions League and other European Cup competitions from the start of the 2020/21 season through to 2029/30. EHF Marketing GmbH will continue its successful cooperation with its existing partner MP & Silva for a further two seasons until 2020. Statements on the signing of the new contracts Michael Wiederer, EHF President, said: “This is a watershed moment for our sport and the EHF. The new partnership with Infront and Perform will shape the future of handball on a club and national team level, not only in financial terms but also with the huge potential it brings for future growth and development. “Handball today is a very different sport, both on and off the court, and the dimensions of this agreement underline the fact that we have a top product with the ability to electrify people worldwide.”

Philippe Blatter, CEO & President of Infront, said: “Our partnership with the EHF stretches back over two decades, and together over that time we have created a must-have product with the EHF EUROs. This new agreement is testament to the fact that when we enter partnerships with sports properties, we bring great experience and value. “We are all about uniting people in sports by creating emotions, fulfilling the dreams of millions of fans and allowing them to share their passion. I am delighted to continue this journey with EHF. We have an opportunity to grow the popularity of European handball by expanding into a younger and more digitally focused fan base and by engaging the audience beyond the sixty minutes of the game.” Jacopo Tonoli, Chief Commercial Officer of Perform, said: “We are delighted to announce this long-term partnership with the European Handball Federation and look forward to working closely with Infront and EHF, bringing handball to a new audience and entertaining a new breed of fan. “At Perform Group we are changing the world of sport for fans and have a proven track record of working with some of the biggest rights holders to help them commercialise and grow their sport. This is a significant moment for handball and we look forward to bringing our innovative approach and expertise to this deal to help grow the sport for fans across the world.” David Szlezak, Managing Director of EHF Marketing GmbH, said: “The EHF Champions League has undergone a tremendous development since the founding of EHF Marketing in 2005. We have introduced clear standards, developed a high-quality media product and been successful in establishing both the men’s and women’s FINAL4s as the benchmark events in European indoor sport. “There is still a lot of potential in the marketing of our sport and it seems that the market has taken notice of this. As the sports market experiences digital disruption, we are facing an exciting period of transformation and by bundling all of European handball’s media and marketing rights together we believe that we have taken the right step at the right time. “Together with Infront and Perform we are ready to further elevate handball and look forward to a bright future for our sport.”

Xavier O’Callaghan, President Forum Club Handball, said: “The new long-term agreement with Infront and Perform offers tremendous opportunities for the development of handball in the long term, now is the moment to work together to build a better and stronger product. “The EHF and EHF Marketing GmbH have been extremely professional in their approach to the tender together with Forum Club Handball, and I would like to emphasise the positive and transparent cooperation between equal partners. “I am convinced that we have made the right choice and I am really looking forward to seeing what we can all achieve together in the years ahead.” About Infront Sports & Media Infront Sports & Media, a Wanda Sports company, is one of the most respected sports marketing companies in the world, managing a comprehensive portfolio of top properties. Led by President & CEO Philippe Blatter, Infront covers all aspects of successful sporting events – including distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production, event operation and digital solutions – and has won a reputation for its high standards of delivery. As the number one player in winter sport and with a leading role in football, summer and endurance sports, Infront enjoys long-lasting partnerships with close to 170 rights-holders and hundreds of sponsors and media companies. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of more than 900 experienced staff working from over 35 offices across more than 15 countries, delivering 4,100 event days of top class sport around the world every year. In November 2015, Infront was integrated into Wanda Sports Holding, part of the Chinese conglomerate the Dalian Wanda Group. More information: infrontsports.com

During the last General Assemblies of the Men’s (Zagreb January 2018) and Women’s Forum Club Handball (Hamburg Dec 2017) it was decided to prolong the cooperation between both independent bodies until 30th June 2022.  The according agreement was signed by the two Presidents Xavier O’Callaghan (Men) and Zsolt Akos Jeney (Women) in Vienna on  6th March 2018. Accordingly Gerd Butzeck will remain Managing Director of both organizations until 2022.

On the fringes of the IHF-Congress, taking place in Belek/Turkey at the moment, for the first time ever FORUM CLUB HANDBALL and IHF signed a partnership agreement.

The document was signed by Women’s Forum President Zsolt Akos Jeney, Men’s Forum President Xavier O’Callaghan and IHF President Dr. Hassan Moustafa. It regulates the relationship between European top clubs and IHF on issues concerning release of players to the National team, compensation, insurance, calendar and others.

In the same congress IHF implemented clubs as stakeholder into the IHF statutes. FCH member clubs will receive full information on the partnership agreement in the upcoming General Assemblies in Hamburg and Zagreb.  GB