Dortmund hope for record attendance in group final
Westfalenhalle in Dortmund has been a German temple of handball for decades. Many domestic and international matches have been played in the 11,000-seat arena next to Dortmund’s football ground.
In the 1980s Westfalenhalle hosted several European Cup finals featuring well-known side VfL Gummersbach. Later on it was the venue for several World Championships, including 2007, when the German team played their main round matches in this historic arena. In 2025, Westfalenhalle will again host matches of the IHF Women’s World Championship.
At a club level, this arena holds a very special record – the highest ever attendance of a women’s club handball match in Germany. Some 8,700 fans came to see the second leg of the Women’s EHF Cup finals between Borussia Dortmund and Olimpija Ljubljana way back in 1997 where the hosts won 30:26 – which unfortunately for Dortmund was not enough after losing the first leg 18:26.
Now, Borussia Dortmund aim to break this record next Sunday (14:00 CET, live on EHFTV) in their last EHF European League Women group match against Siófok KC from Hungary – under the motto “Alle in die Halle” (all in the hall).
Both sides qualified for the quarter-finals last weekend, both have eight points on their account and the match will decide top position in group A. As Dortmund lost the first duel at Siófok 24:27, the hosts need to win to finish on top and to avoid a meeting with group B winners Ikast, while for Siófok a draw is already enough.
More than 8,000 tickets have already been sold, and the club hopes that many football fans will come on Sunday. Helpfully, Dortmund’s football team will play a Bundesliga game at 16:30 on Sunday against Hertha Berlin in the arena next door, which is consistently sold out with more than 80,000 fans. Every owner of a football ticket gets a special discount for the handball match.
“We hope for a perfect Sunday in our club colours of yellow and black for the whole Borussia family, handball and football, as our club stands for more than only football. After qualifying for the quarter-finals now we aim to finish on top of the group. And we want to excite old and new fans of Borussia’s handball team. We want to think big and we want to promote handball in Dortmund,” says Rupert Thiele, head of Borussia’s handball department.
“It is our dream to be part of the EHF finals in Graz, an event we have never played before. And we know that the match against Siófok is absolutely decisive for this mission.”
Many former Borussia football stars such as Patrick Owomoyela or Wolfgang ‘Teddy’ de Beer will support the handball team on Sunday and famous football arena announcer Norbert Dickel will host the match.
“We are activating our fans on all levels: social media, posters, even banners at the motorway. You cannot miss our promotional activities in and around Dortmund at the moment. And if we are successful on Sunday, we can think about a repetition for future crucial matches,” says Thiele.
BVB team captain Alina Grijseels, just awarded German Handball Player of the Year for the second time, is fully enthusiastic for Sunday.
“We are truly looking forward to this exceptional match and we are optimistic to break this attendance record in Westfalenhalle. For all of us this will be a highlight match of our career to play in front of so many fans. We want to profit from the atmosphere and the support to win this match and finish our group on top,” Grijseels concludes.
Photo of Siófok vs Dortmund © András Németh
