Gerd Butzeck elected new chairman of Professional Handball Board

On Monday and Tuesday this week, the Nations Board (NB) and the Professional Handball Board (PHB), two important stakeholders within the EHF structure, met in Vienna for their autumn session.

While the NB represents the interest of the EHF’s member federations, the PHB is the common strategic platform for the key stakeholders within European men’s handball.

It is made up of representatives of National Federations, Clubs, European Professional Leagues and Players, with two representatives from each stakeholder group making up the Board, accompanied by two members of the EHF Executive Committee as well as the President and the Secretary General of the EHF. The chairman of the Professional Handball Board also has a seat on the EHF Executive Committee.

Changes in the PHB’s personnel structure were at the heart of Tuesday’s meeting, as a new chairman and vice chairman needed to be elected following the departure of the former chairman, Xavier O’Callaghan, who has taken on new responsibilities within the structure of Spanish club FC Barcelona in the United States.

The PHB also welcomed three new members to its ranks: Nikolas Larsson (SWE) and Frank Bohmann (GER) joined the PHB courtesy of their roles as chairman and vice chairman of the European Handball Leagues Board, which had gathered in Vienna for the first time in September. Gregor Planteu (SLO), in his current role as Forum Club Handball Vice President, has been tasked with representing the Forum Club Handball at the PHB (together with FCH Managing Director Gerd Butzeck (GER)), as O’Callaghan will also resign from his office as FCH President in January 2019.

In an open discussion among the eight stakeholder representatives, it was agreed that the position of the PHB chairman would continue to stay with the clubs, and in unanimous decision Gerd Butzeck was voted the new PHB Chairman.

Butzeck brings a wealth of handball experience, deriving from all fields of the sport, to the office. He has been one of the first professional club managers, he was vice president of the Belarus Handball Federation, an EHF Delegate and even a beach handball delegate. He has been the managing director of Forum Club Handball for several years.

The aforementioned Nikolas Larsson (SWE) was elected the PHB’s new vice chairman. Larsson has been the managing director of VELUX EHF Champions League participants IFK Kristianstad and also holds a mandate in the Swedish league.

As the central part of the meetings current issues of both, the EHF’s club and national team competitions, were also discussed, in particular in the light of the new media and marketing rights contract signed with Infront and Perform, which will come into effect from the 2020 season onwards.

The Women’s Handball Board also met in Vienna on Tuesday with information on the meeting to follow.