Berlin to host  2014 EHF Cup Finals

The EHF has announced that the right to organise the second edition of the final phase of the EHF Cup has been awarded to the EHF Cup participant, Füchse Berlin. The two-day event will be played in the Max-Schmeling-Hall, which has a capacity of 9,000 spectators.

Six further bids from Meshkov Brest, London GD, AEK Athens, Montpellier Agglomeration HB, the Luxembourgish Handball Federation and in.Stuttgart were also considered.

Füchse Berlin will enter the draw for the Group Phase alongside 15 other top teams from across Europe on Thursday, 5 December 2013 at 12.00 hrs in Vienna. The event will be streamed live at ehfTV.com.

EHF President, Jean Brihault commented: “Handball’s profile in Berlin has grown significantly in recent years, and after the EHF Cup Finals’ highly successful premiere in Nantes last season, I am confident that the German capital is the right choice for the second edition of this top-class club event.”

Manager of Füchse Berlin, Bob Hanning said: “We are very happy to have been chosen to organise the 2014 EHF Cup Finals in Berlin, having already shown the EHF during our matches last season in the VELUX EHF Champions League that we can be a good host.”

Men’s EHF Cup

The Men’s EHF Cup was re-launched at the start of the 2012/13 season and formed from the merging of the EHF Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup. The second tier of top-class European club handball competition, after the VELUX EHF Champions League, the Men’s EHF Cup is played with a qualification phase, group phase, quarter-finals and final tournament.

The EHF Cup Finals were played for the first time in 2013 in Nantes, France, with German team, Rhein Neckar Löwen, taking the title. The two-day event will be played with semi-final matches on Saturday and finals on Sunday.

According to the competition’s regulations and as in the previous season, the host of the EHF Cup Finals can qualify directly for the EHF Cup Finals semi-finals from the Group Phase if they finish in first place in their group or as one of the three best-ranked second placed teams. If the event organiser finishes as the fourth-ranked second placed team then they must play in the quarter-finals to qualify.

About Füchse Berlin

Füchse Berlin have their origins in the traditional club Reinickendorfer Füchse e.V. 1891. They were promoted to the German Bundesliga in 2007. In 2011/12 and 2012/13 Berlin played in the VELUX EHF Champions League and qualified for the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in 2012.

About the Max-Schmeling-Halle

The Max-Schmeling-Halle was built in 1996 and named after famous German boxer Max Schmeling. It has played host to many top international sport events including the World Handball Championships in 2007. Füchse have played their home matches since the 2005/06 season and have named it the “Fuchsbau” (Fox’s Lair).