Women's club competitions enter 2021 in full force and with positive outlook
The start to 2021 bodes well for the European women’s club competitions, as all 16 matches in the DELO EHF Champions League and the EHF European League Women group phase took place last weekend.
Furthermore, almost all postponed matches in the DELO EHF Champions League from the 2020 part of the season have already been rescheduled, putting the top-flight women’s club competition in a good position to finish as scheduled and with all decisions being taken on court.
"The VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne in the last week of December was the signal to the world of men’s handball that we play handball. Now, we have sent the same signal with our women’s competitions," says EHF Marketing Managing Director David Szlezak.
"Successfully rescheduling almost all matches was the first step; playing a full weekend without any postponements the next one. Despite all remaining challenges, we are off to a great start to 2021.
"Our special thanks here go to all the clubs who have been supportive and flexible all the way when it came down to finding new playing dates for their matches."
Preparations are now in full swing for the next matches, with Vipers Kristiansand vs Rostov-Don being the first rescheduled encounter to be played already this Wednesday (13 January), and 16 more matches in the DELO EHF Champions League and the EHF European League scheduled for next weekend.
Additional dates for rescheduled matches have been published on eurohandball.com, including an additional week of top action women’s handball between 27 January and 3 February 2021.
The group phase is set to finish on 13/14 February in the DELO EHF Champions League and one week later in the EHF European League Women.
At the same time, the season highlight events are already looming on the horizon.
While the four best women’s teams will once more gather in Budapest for the DELO EHF FINAL4 on 29/30 May 2021, the EHF European League Women culminates in an EHF European League Finals event, featuring the best four teams, for the very first time. Playing dates are 8/9 May 2021.
"While always having possible Covid-19-related restrictions in mind, the planning for both events has started already. The EHF FINAL4 in Budapest has already established itself as a true celebration of women’s handball. Now, we are looking very much forward to making the next step in the EHF European League Women and bringing the competition to the next level," says David Szlezak.
