European club competitions to merge
European club competitions to merge
Following approval from the EHF Executive Committee at its meeting on 8 and 9 April 2011, the two men’s EHF club competitions, EHF Cup and Cup Winners' Cup, are to merge and become a “new” European Cup. The change will be introduced from the 2012/2013 season.
The new concept, which was presented to Europe’s top clubs in January 2011 at the Forum Club Handball in Copenhagen, has been developed in conjunction with all stakeholders within men’s professional handball.
Although the exact format of the qualification rounds in the competition has yet to be decided, the final round will be played as a tournament with four teams, in one venue and over one weekend.
The requirements and standards for the competition will be lower than for the VELUX EHF Champions League but higher than for the Challenge Cup.
The long term strategy of the EHF is to create a three tier men’s competition system, with the VELUX EHF Champions League as the premium product, followed by the European Cup and then Challenge Cup. The changes will be made in the men's competition only at this stage.
Following the decision of the Executive Committee to support the proposal, the plans and format of the competition will be further developed by the Competitions Commission and a further proposal tabled for the next Executive Committee meeting in June 2011.
