EHF seeks alternative host for Women’s EHF EURO 2026

One focus was the situation of the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 which had been awarded to Russia in November 2021. Consultations with the Handball Federation of Russia took place after the EXEC meeting, and it was decided to seek an alternative host.

Furthermore, the Executive Committee took note of the latest reports and minutes received, among others, from the Finance Delegation, the Legal Delegation, the June meeting of the EHF Marketing Advisory Board, the latest stakeholder meetings and the Technical Commissions.

Special mentions highlighting their importance were given to the meetings of the Women’s League Convention in Budapest at the beginning of June to start the organisational process to integrate women’s leagues into the handball stakeholder network as well as of the Emerging Nations Round Table in Cologne in mid-July.

The Round Table provided the opportunity to have a comprehensive exchange of information, common discussions, as well as individual talks with the view of arranging Master Plan projects

EHF EURO events in 2024 and beyond

For the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 the mandate was given to establish contact to the Russian handball federation as awarded organisers due to the current situation.

This contact has been established at the beginning of the week with the outcome that holding the event in Russia is not possible within the given timetable. Therefore, an alternative host shall be sought by the EHF according to the decision of the EXEC. Additional information on the new awarding process will be provided in due time.

The Executive Committee received a detailed report on the status of the upcoming EHF EURO events. For the Men’s EHF EURO 2024 in Germany (10-28 January), the strong ticket sales were highlighted. Updates were also given on the organisation of the Women’s EHF EURO 2024 in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland and the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

For the EHF EUROs in 2030 and 2032, it was confirmed that the bidding process shall start later this year with a request for letters of interest, with the four championships in question to be awarded in late 2024 on the occasion of an EHF Extraordinary Congress at the new European Handball House during the Women's EHF EURO 2024.

EHF Congress

The 16^th Ordinary EHF Congress will take place on 13-14 September 2023 in Basel Switzerland.

With the deadline for motions having passed on 14 May, the congress agenda has been finalised. Several motions will be dealt with which relate to changes of the EHF’s statutes, including topics such as calendar sovereignty as well as ethical standards and good governance. The Handball Federation of Norway also submitted a motion related to gender equality and the economic prerequisites for teams participating in the EHF Champions League.

The Congress will also be updated on the topics of sustainability, the EHF Master Plan and the media and marketing situation.

Meetings of the Technical Commissions and of the Executive Committee will take place on 13 September. The Ordinary EHF Congress will gather on 14 September.

Finances

The EXEC took note of the EHF’s final accounting for 2022 as well as an update to the budgets of 2023 and 2024. It was furthermore discussed that the 2025/26 budget is built and based on the current and concluded contracts.

In April, the review of accounts by the EHF Comptrollers and the audit of the annual financial statements for 2022 took place, confirming that the financial business of the European Handball Federation has been conducted in compliance with all the relevant legal regulations.  A full financial report will be provided to the EHF Member Federations at the Ordinary EHF Congress in September.

EHF Anti-doping Unit

The EXEC was presented with the latest report of the EHF’s Anti-doping Unit (EAU), with all tests conducted until the cut-off date in early June turning out to be negative. Looking ahead, the EXEC approved the unit’s recommendation that the EHF shall approach its Member Federations to nominate a dedicated anti-doping representative in order to improve the communication between the federations and the EAU.

Master Plan status report

The Executive Committee received the status report for the second quarter of 2023 for the EHF’s Master Plan. The applications received from the National Federations of Belgium, Great Britain, Montenegro and Slovenia were approved by the EXEC. The EHF is in contact with Israel, Luxembourg, Serbia and Switzerland looking to future agreements.

European Handball House

The Executive Committee received an update on the building process of the European Handball House. Construction started in May and is running on time for a 'soft opening' in October 2024. The main move is expected to happen in January 2025 after the Women’s EHF EURO 2024 in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland.__PRESENT