MARTIN HAUSLEITNER
If we look back beyond the start of 2023, many of the steps taken have been instrumental in the success of the past 12 months, the EHF has diligently followed the Masterplan to develop the handball whilst sustaining the ‘Circle of a Handball Life’ with vitality and content.
The intense collaborations with our member federations have seen significant growth in the areas of grassroots handball, school activities, and the development of future talents - a fact that we are extremely proud of.
As we move into 2024, we are excited to continue with our corporate stratagem to strengthen the sport and to secure the future of the game for the next generation. The transfiguration of handball will see the animation of the EHF Sustainability Strategy, the implementation of its Board, which will give the organisation and the sport another layer of stability. The presentation of the EHF’s plans to go beyond the standard sustainable conformities was well received by its members at the 16th Ordinary EHF Congress in Basel, and in the new year this is another project that will move forward.
Turning to the handball environment, it has been exciting to watch the development of the new home of handball over the past year, we have gone from breaking ground to completing several floors. As the year turns, the building will be capped, and the internal arrangement will begin. The professionals have eagerly followed the construction through the weekly updates from the site camera stills.
Lending a word from the President, the legacy of European handball will continue from this new building that will hold space for 120 employees, which will also be the home base for all our internal board and committee meetings.
Both on and off the court, the EHF is ready to kick-start the year with a record-breaking Men’s EHF EURO in Germany, and summer 2024 will see the newly reconfigured competition system incorporate 24 teams into the Younger Age Category events, as well as see enhanced TV production for the YAC EURO events following on from the success of the 2022 M20 in Portugal; this will bring a whole new level of exposure to the young athletes. There is so much action to look forward to, including the four Final4 events of the men’s and women’s Champions and European Leagues. With a full competition programme over the next 12 months to come, the year will close with a premier in the realm of women’s handball, as we present the EHF EURO with 24 teams; the host nations of Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland will be ready to welcome the handball family from 28 November to 15 December.
Off the court, we once again take aim at the future with the Grassroots Convention and the Leadership Conference to be held on the fringes of the event in Germany, where we will bring the heads of handball together for another stimulating exchange of information.
The EHF will also continue to strengthen and develop the relationship with our members; cooperation is truly the key to our success. Therefore in March, I look forward to welcoming the representatives of the National Federations to Denmark for the 14th Conference for Secretaries General. The European Handball Federation will also wholly engage at the stakeholder level as the inaugural meeting of the Women’s European Handball League Board will take place in May; with this step, in the 2025 electoral period, the WEHLB will be incorporated formally into the EHF structure. Moreover, one of the final organisational events in December will be the second edition of the Women’s Handball Conference, first seen in Slovenia in 2022.
But, as always, none of the aforementioned activities and successes are possible without the unwavering dedication and every single hour of hard work given by the 88 professionals. I send them all into the seasonal break with my thanks, and as we now will take a well-deserved break with our loved ones, I sign off with my best wishes to you and yours!
Yours in sport,
Martin Hausleitner,
Secretary General