EHF launches ‘Youth Trophy’ as its first-ever younger age category event for clubs
MEDIA RELEASE: Official name and logo released for the European Handball Federation’s first youth club competition.
With the 2024/25 European handball season well underway, a new competition organised under the umbrella of the EHF will see the light of day in April.
Following the EHF Executive Committee's decision in late 2024 to vote in favour of introducing an EHF youth club handball competition, the inaugural 16-team EHF Youth Club Trophy features the male under-18 sides (players born 1 July 2006 or later) of 13 of the clubs competing in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2024/25, plus the youth teams of three clubs from this season's EHF European League Men.
With the qualification tournaments approaching, the new event has now officially been named ‘EHF Youth Club Trophy’ and the logo has been revealed.
Featuring four shades of green and four shades of blue, the logo embodies four key characteristics of the game: Speed, dynamics, toughness and physicality. Next to blue as the EHF’s core colour, green has been chosen as a positive colour representing youth, growth, community and a new beginning.
The logo has been inspired by a player’s blocking and it represents the excitement of the youth – with their hands – at a handball match. It also embodies the letter ‘Y’ as a hidden element.
Four qualification tournaments and the ‘Road to Cologne’
The 16 men's teams have been split into four qualification tournaments to be played in mid-April 2025, which will consist of semi-finals, a third-place match and a final.
Each qualification tournament will be hosted by one of the participating teams and will act as a ‘Road to Cologne’ event, as the winners of each will qualify for the final tournament, to be played on the weekend of the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4, 14/15 June 2025.
The final will be played in the morning of Sunday 15 June at LANXESS arena, ahead of the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 bronze medal match.
The details of the 2025 qualification tournaments are as follows:
Qualification Tournament 1
- Host: Veszprém Handball Academy / HUN
- Venue: Veszprém Arena (HUN)
- Dates: Tuesday 15 & Wednesday 16 April 2025
Semi-finals:
Veszprém Handball Academy (HUN) vs Vojvodina (SRB)
HC Zagreb (CRO) vs OTP Bank - PICK Szeged (HUN)
Qualification Tournament 2
- Host: Barça / ESP
- Venue: Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper (Barcelona, ESP)
- Dates: Wednesday 16 & Thursday 17 April 2025
Semi-finals:
Barça (ESP) vs HBC Nantes (FRA)
U18 – Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA) vs Sporting CP (POR)
Qualification Tournament 3
- Host: Füchse Berlin / GER
- Venue: MBS Arena (Potsdam, GER)
- Dates: Thursday 17 & Friday 18 April 2025
Semi-finals:
Füchse Berlin (GER) vs IK Sävehof (SWE)
GOG (DEN) vs SC Magdeburg (GER)
Qualification Tournament 4
- Host: CS Dinamo Bucuresti / ROU
- Venue: Dinamo Arena (Bucharest, ROU)
- Dates: Thursday 17 & Friday 18 April 2025
Semi-finals:
CS Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU) vs Orlen Wisla Plock (POL)
KSS Iskra Kielce (POL) vs HC Eurofarm Pelister (MKD)
Furthermore, and with the experience of the premiere edition, the plan is to introduce a similar tournament for women’s club teams as of 2026.
