Kiel to host Men’s EHF Cup Finals

The three-time EHF Champions League winners THW Kiel are to host the next edition of the Men’s EHF Cup Finals.

In a decision reached by the EHF Executive Committee, the German club was selected following a bidding process launched in October. The event will be played on 17/18 May 2019.

The awarding is subject to the club reaching a final agreement with the EHF's marketing subsidiary, EHF Marketing GmbH.

The concept for the event developed by THW Kiel will see the event played on Friday, 17 May (semi-finals) and on Saturday, 18 May (match for 3/4 place and final).

Venue for the event will be the 10,285 capacity Sparkassen-Arena-Kiel.

The last major EHF event to be played in Kiel was the EHF Champions League final back in 2009, the last time the final was played on a home and away basis.

Commenting on the decision, David Szlezak, Managing Director of EHF Marketing GmbH, said: “THW Kiel have been a strong partner of the EHF club competitions for almost three decades now and we are happy to write the next piece of history together.

“From February, handball fans in Germany will be able to follow not only the progress of THW but also that of Füchse Berlin and TSV Hannover-Burgdorf in the EHF Cup on DAZN, the multi-sport streaming service, enabling us to also further strengthen the competition’s media presence.”

THW Kiel’s sports director Viktor Szilagy is very pleased with the decision: „As soon as we knew that we were going to participate in the EHF Cup this season, we communicated our interest in hosting the EHF Cup Finals.

“During the past weeks, we had very constructive conversations with the EHF and EHF Marketing. Now we are happy to offer the numerous handball fans in Kiel and Schleswig-Holstein an additional highlight this season,.”

Kiel’s route to the EHF Cup Finals

Despite hosting the event in May 2019, THW Kiel still need to qualify for the EHF Cup Finals.

If Kiel win their group or finish among the best three second-ranked teams after the group phase, they will qualify directly for the EHF Cup Finals and will not have to play in the quarter-finals. In this case only three quarter-finals will be played.

If THW Kiel finish as the worst-placed second-ranked team, they will have to play the quarter-finals and there will be four quarter-final clashes.

If THW Kiel fail to qualify, they will still host the event but as a neutral organiser.

Group phase tickets on sale from 6 December in Kiel

Kiel fans will be able to buy tickets for the group phase matches of the Men’s EHF Cup from Thursday, 6 December 2018.

With the purchase of a group phase ticket, buyers will also receive priority for the purchase of an EHF Cup Finals ticket when released.

Follow the German trio on DAZN

Handball fans in Germany and Austria will be able to follow the progress of the Men’s EHF Cup on the multi-sport streaming service DAZN.

DAZN will show all Men’s EHF Cup Group Phase home and away matches involving German teams – including THW Kiel, Füchse Berlin and TSV Hannover-Burgdorf – as well as other selected matches and the highlight of the competition, the Men’s EHF Cup Finals.

The first round of the Men’s EHF Cup Group Phase will be played during the weekend of 9/10 February 2019.


Photo credit: THW Kiel/Sascha Klahn