In the handball Bundesliga there is still high tension behind champions Magdeburg with two match days to go. It is still not clear whether second or third place is ultimately enough for the Champions League – criticism is growing.
One group of officials takes refuge in pure irony, the other in scorn and ridicule, some are angry or even resigned – such as Gummersbach boss Christoph Schindler. “If the sun shines on the last day of the game, someone else might come in. It’s really confusing.” Schindler is completely right. To the delight of everyone involved, the European Handball Association has expanded the Champions League from 16 to 24 teams for the 2026/27 season. However, who will be among the lucky ones in the end is only clearly determined in ten out of 24 cases (the champions of the ten top nations). For the rest, the criteria are vague and soft, not to say: they seem arbitrary.
Public relations and brand strength
The EHF has invented what it calls an “upgrade system” for 14 of the 24 future premier class clubs. Unlike in hotels or on planes, where you can upgrade from the basement to the suite or from the wooden class to the luxury class for a hefty surcharge, depending on capacity, things work differently with handball. The fact that a lot of money is involved is certainly comparable, but otherwise, in addition to reasonably tangible criteria such as hall size or TV market, individually quite flexible factors such as “public relations” and “brand strength” are included in a points system that is ultimately supposed to decide on the “upgrade” to the premier class.
10 fixed places for champions of the top ten nations | ||
8 places in top ten nations (upgrade procedure) | ||
4 places for associations without a fixed CL place (upgrade procedure) | ||
2 places for e.g. last year’s winner EL/CL (upgrade procedure) |
In principle, the HBL, which has a very strong brand and is well advertised, should benefit: Instead of the previous two Bundesliga clubs, the league could now be represented by three teams in the Champions League. However, apart from the seeded champions SC Magdeburg, these are not necessarily the next best two teams in the table, i.e. as things stand, the Füchse Berlin and SG Flensburg-Handewitt. Because MT Melsungen – currently only in seventh place in the league – won the European League in the final thriller against THW Kiel (24:23), they have secured their starting place. The winner of the European League will be allowed to take part in the Champions League, the EHF announced this at a meeting in Rotterdam at the beginning of April.
“Lex Deutschland” as a small pitfall for the EHF
Melsungen can now actually assume a starting place in the premier class, but the EHF has also built in a small pitfall here that can probably be described as “Lex Germany”: If the winners of the Champions League and the European League come from one country and both have not qualified through the league, there is only a starting place for the premier class winner.
And it can actually happen the same way. The Berlin Foxes can win the Champions League this year, they will face champions Magdeburg in the semi-finals on June 13th. In the other semi-final, FC Barcelona and Aalborg Handbold with Juri Knorr face each other – the champion will be determined on June 14th. If Berlin wins the title but slips to third place in the league behind Flensburg or even Gummersbach, Melsungen will probably have to compete in the European League again. Incidentally, the German clubs no longer have four starting places as originally planned, but only three.
| Table | Points/Goals | Remaining program |
|---|---|---|
1. SC Magdeburg | 60:4 / + 177 | Gummersbach (H), Wetzlar (A) |
2. Foxes Berlin | 51:13 / + 175 | Melsungen (A), Flensburg (H) |
3. SG Flensburg-Handewitt | 49:15 / + 116 | Eisenach (H), Berlin (A) |
4. VfL Gummersbach | 48:16 / + 127 | Magdeburg (A), Rhine-Neckar (H) |
The remaining program of the trio behind Magdeburg (Kiel in fifth place has no chance and has not won a title) now provides material for all sorts of fairy tales. Gummersbach could even finish second with two wins if the Foxes only concentrate on the Final Four of the Champions League. Flensburg still has a direct duel against Berlin on matchday 34, and everything between second and fourth place is still conceivable for the SG.
Gummersbach’s captain Julian Köster in action
Hanning needs a “certain intellect”
Gummersbach’s coach Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson spoke directly to the EHF about the uncertainty: “Tell me before the season what is enough for what!” And he complained: “This is a bad comedy.” His Füchse colleague Füchse coach Nicolej Krickau called the new regulations one “Science for itself”. And even the Berlin club boss Bob Hanning admitted: “You have to read up on it, there is no planning security. And you need a certain intellect to understand it.”
Now you can be very sure that handball wise Hanning will claim this for himself. But even Hanning won’t be able to predict 100 percent at the moment who the EHF will reward with starting places for the new season in the week after the Champions League final.
Johannes Golla – beyond any doubt
By the way, Johannes Golla has a very special personal constellation. He currently plays for Flensburg, but will move to Melsungen next season. From a purely monetary perspective, the captain of the German national team would actually have to prevent his Flensburg team from jumping into second place in the two remaining league games so that he can increase his chances of playing in the premier class with Melsungen next year. In all this completely crazy handball confusion, one thing is completely certain: Johannes Golla will never distort any competition. He is basically the incarnated alternative to the EHF.