Israel welcomes EHF president for cooperation visit

EHF President Michael Wiederer visited Israel in March at the invitation of the Israel Handball Association.

He attended the finals of the Israeli cup in Tel Aviv on 13 March; matches were played in front of a capacity crowd with Maccabi Arazim Ramat Gan winning the women’s trophy and Hapoel Rishon LeZion taking the men’s title for the 16th time.

Mr Wiederer met with officials of the Israel Handball Association, including President David Zarfati, and was provided with information on the federation’s plans for the future development of the game.

These include the ‘Project 2024’ programme with the ambitious aim of achieving Olympic qualification within the next six years.

The project sees young and talented players spend up to eight months in Germany, developing their skills in the training hall of top Bundesliga club VfL Gummersbach.

Additional support is provided by the Israeli military, which enables the young players to combine handball training with their military service upon their return to Israel.

Impressed with the projects and plans of the Israeli federation, Mr Wiederer also highlighted the new opportunities the expansion of the Men’s EHF EURO from 16 to 24 teams will offer EHF member federations, like Israel, not currently playing at the top level of European handball.

Looking to the future, Mr Zarfati also outlined plans for a possible bid for a younger age category event as well as the hosting of the EHF Congress, an event that Israel last organised back in 2000.