As the 2022 business year draws to a close, the European Handball Federation will close its doors on 23 December for the seasonal break and return in the first full week of January to continue our endeavours to move European handball forward.
The stability within the office allowed for the progression of major projects such as the ‘Circle of a Handball Life’ and the EHF Master Plan, both serving as guidelines in setting up the framework for the future development of handball in Europe, as well as the Younger Age Category events, the new EHF office building, the continuation of additional support projects, and internal developments. During all the processes, the input and feedback from the representatives of European handball were integral to all final decisions that were taken. Now, following the completion of the administrative procedures seen in the 13th Conference for Secretaries General in Berlin and the 16th Conference of Presidents, as well as the outcomes of the various Executive Committee meetings, the implementation phase across the various departments has commenced. Following the seasonal break, we will return with renewed vigour to continue this work.
2022 saw the organisation of our two major events; the Men’s EHF EURO in January and Women’s EHF EURO in November were successfully finished. Both events were organised on the back of COVID-19, which had an impact on the decision-making process. However, with the contribution of our marketing partners Infront, and the tremendous work of all our departments, we have enlarged the fan community, introduced new technologies and set record-breaking TV and digital numbers.
After the thrilling 2022 events, the focus switches to the upcoming EHF EUROs in 2024. To start, Germany will be hosting the men’s event in January 2024, where we aim to create new highlights and witness the event’s biggest impact on the sport of handball. Consequently, we close 2024 with the women’s tournament co-hosted by Hungary, Switzerland, and Austria, where we will throw off with one of our primary objectives, developing women’s handball in countries around Europe.
In anticipation of the many activities in 2023, there will be many opportunities for our Member Federations whether they be taking their chances on the court with the clubs and national teams or off the court by accessing our development programmes; we are ready to engage and will continue to do our utmost to take European handball forward, and we look forward to welcoming all the handball stakeholders on this exciting journey.
With this said, I would like to thank all European Handball Federation’s partners, stakeholders and staff for their exceptional contribution to reaching major achievements in 2022 and moving European handball forward!
Yours in sport,
Martin Hausleitner
Secretary General
