The prelude to the weekend will be the meeting of the EHF Executive Committee on Friday morning. It is the body's fifth and final of the meeting of the year, and while the Women’s EHF EURO will be the focus, several key decisions are expected to be taken.
Saturday 14 December starts with the 17th EHF Conference of Presidents (CoP). On the occasion, the EHF will present an overview on its running Master Plan activities with a special focus on sustainability and the new EHF Grassroots Charter.
The charter, aimed at creating a wider handball community, expanding the sport’s fan base and the potential handball workforce, was first presented at the Conference for Secretaries General in Copenhagen earlier this year and its introduction confirmed by the EXEC in September.
The CoP closes with an overview on the EHF EUROs just played in 2024, an outlook to the championships in 2026 and a preview of the EHF’s activities in 2025.
EHF Excellence Awards seek the season’s best players
Following the Conference of Presidents, the member federations’ representatives convene for the 16th EHF Extraordinary Congress. Several motions relating to the EHF Statutes and the federation’s legal regulations have been tabled, however, the event’s arguable peak is the awarding of the next cycle of EHF EURO events with the four championships in 2030 and 2032 looking for their organiser.
While the first future hosts of the EHF EUROs in the coming decade will be known by around noon on Saturday, the question who the male and female MVP of the 2023/24 season are will only be answered on Saturday evening when the EHF Excellence Awards take place with more than 500 guests attending the gala event.
On the men’s side, Dika Mem, Emil Nielsen and Magnus Saugstrup have been shortlisted. On the women’s side, Line Haugsted, Stine Oftedal Dahmke and Chloé Valentini are the ‘Top 3’ – but only one player can take the coveted award.
Furthermore, the EHF Excellence Awards will see several legends of the game being inducted to the EHF Hall of Fame.
The row of side events closes on Sunday morning when the ‘European Handball House’, the EHF’s new headquarters in Vienna’s third district, will be officially opened.
With an area of more than 6,000 square metres of space, the new offices will serve as a hub for the international cooperation between the EHF, its 50 member federations and more than 350 clubs participating in European Cup competitions.
