29.04.2014, 11:50
Berlin draw: Füchse face Szeged, Montpellier meet Constanta

NEWS REPORT: Semi-final pairings have been set and the new winners' trophy revealed at the Berlin TV Tower.

Berlin draw: Füchse face Szeged, Montpellier meet Constanta

The 2014 EHF Cup Finals hosts Füchse Berlin will face Pick Szeged, while the 2003 EHF Champions League winners Montpellier Agglomeration HB will meet Romanian champions HCM Constanta after the draw at the Berlin TV Tower has set the semi-final pairings of the season-ending tournament in the Max-Schmeling-Halle.

Both semi-final games will be played on Saturday 17 May 2014, the 3/4 placement match and the EHF Cup final will follow on Sunday 18 May. The exact playing times will be released in due time.

Europe’s handball family comes to Berlin

Bob Hanning, Manager of EHF Cup Finals hosts and participants Füchse Berlin, has promised “an event for everyone” when the final weekend of the Men’s EHF Cup comes to the German capital.    

“Füchse Berlin are like a family. Working with young handball talents, supporting young people and social responsibility have the same importance for us as success on the court,” Hanning said.

“We will try and be good hosts, making the EHF Cup Finals a true family event for everyone participating,” Hanning added.

Following a hotly-contested group phase and exciting quarter-finals Füchse Berlin, Montpellier Agglomeration HB from France, Pick Szeged from Hungary and HCM Constanta from Romania qualified for the showpiece event which will be played at Berlin’s 9,000-capacity Max-Schmeling-Halle.

Over 6,000 tickets sold

More than 6,000 tickets have already been sold. Prices for tickets start €49 for Category 3 tickets. Category 2 costs €99, Category 1 is available for €199. Tickets are always valid for both playing days and can be purchased here.

“We had a very successful premiere of the EHF Cup Finals last year in Nantes. Now the tournament enters its second year and the positive development it has undergone in this short amount of time has been impressive,” said EHF Secretary General Michael Wiederer.

“We had seven different cities bidding as hosts; add to this the quality of the matches we witnessed in the group phase and the quarter-finals and these are just two tell-tale signs for the success of this competition.”

Berlin’s Senator for Interior Affairs and Sport, Frank Henkel, who conducted the draw together with Michael Wiederer, added: “Berlin has established itself as true city of sports in recent years, and now Füchse Berlin and the European Handball Federation are bringing yet another high-profile sports event to our capital.

"We are looking very much forward to two days of good entertainment and some great handball.”

New trophy for winners

For the occasion of the 2014 EHF Cup Finals in Berlin a new trophy was crafted.

Weighing more than 15 kg, the new trophy stands on 14 separate feet but only seven reach the bowl at the top, while seven stop half-way through, symbolising that eventually only one handball team will lift the trophy.

Furthermore, as a tribute to the hosting city Berlin and the bear in its coat of arms, a bear’s head ornaments the bowl’s base.  

TEXT: EHF / ts, br