Looking forward to 2015

Fans visiting the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne have come to see the very best club sides in the world competing.

But whilst those inside the LANXESS arena are watching players like Igor Vori, Siarhei Rutenka and Momir Ilic compete to be crowned ‘Kings of Europe’ for their club sides in the VELUX EHF Champions League, they are less than two years away from potentially seeing them in the next Men's World Championship in Qatar.

Exactly one month ago EHF Marketing GmbH, the marketing arm of the European Handball Federation, announced a new agreement to promote the 2015 World Handball Championship in Qatar, Doha to fans across Europe.

Part of the deal includes the 2013 and 2014 additions of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 and it was at the event this year that handball fans got one step closer to Doha where the tournament will be played from 11 to 27 January 2015 - the first time that the event will be hosted in the Middle East.

“It was important for Qatar to present the brand and attractive colours of the 2015 World Championship,” said Adel Al Mutawa, Deputy Director Marketing & Communications, Qatar 2015.

“Our promotion booths both indoors and outdoors attracted many, many people who came seeking information about the event including the very good hospitality packages we offer” he continued. “We received very positive feedback. “

The promotion booths allowed fans to test their shooting accuracy and Qatar 2015 will be hoping they hit the target when they become the first hosts of the 24-team event to stage all the games in venues across one city – Doha.

“Having all the games in one city will give handball fans the opportunity to easily catch up with the whole tournament by following as many matches as possible,” he explained.

“Here in Cologne we had the opportunity to meet people from the EHF and from the local organising committee and exchange ideas,” he explained. “We took a tour of the whole venue, saw the set up and every functional area - it has been a successful trip.”

Visiting Cologne is part of a long-term plan to engage with the European handball market and the VELUX EHF Champions League in particular which will see Doha 2015 visit different cities throughout the whole season, before returning to the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in 2014.

“We will work in the 2013-14 VELUX EHF Champions League with a more activated plan,” he explained. “We will follow many different events up to 2015, learn from every single one of them and be sure that we are going to present something unique and unforgettable.

“We would like to thank the EHF for the collaboration we had so far and for the opportunity we had to reveal our brand to the European fans of the sport.”

For more information about the 2015 World Championship visit the official website at www.qatarhandball2015.com.