22.05.2024, 12:00
First EHF Finals in Hamburg enjoy overwhelming interest from fans and partners

MEDIA RELEASE: Marketing efforts on track as thousands of supports are ready to create an electrifying atmosphere at the EHF Finals Men next weekend

The EHF Finals Men, the final tournament of the EHF European League, will celebrate its debut in Hamburg’s Barclays Arena this coming weekend, 25 and 26 May. It is the first time since the event’s introduction in the 2020/21 season that the competition’s eventual champions will be crowned on neutral ground.

The move has opened new opportunities for EHF Marketing, the marketing arm of the European Handball Federation and the entity behind the organisation of the EHF Finals, to attract fans and sponsors alike, and with less than a week to go until the first throw-off the efforts are bearing fruit.

More than 8000 tickets have already been sold and the demand is still high. All four teams can expect to be cheered on by hundreds of fans. For those who want to follow the action on site, tickets are still available here.

Sponsor interest is equally high, with several brands using the opportunity to reach the European handball audience, benefitting from the increased visibility the EHF Finals provide.

This includes three German brands: Hella Mineralbrunnen, a mineral water company; HanseMerkur, an insurance provider and AVI Prod Netzbau, a specialist for gas, water and electrical infrastructure. The fourth new brand is Baumit Romania, a leading provider for construction material.

This quartet is complemented by two existing partners of EHF Marketing - Maschinensucher and SELECT. Maschinensucher, the current title partner of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, joins the EHF Finals, as they underline their trust in the strength of European club handball.

David Szlezak, EHF Marketing Managing Director, says: “The EHF European League’s campaign motto reads ‘All in – greatness is earned’. EHF Marketing did go ‘all in’ and took over the sole responsibility to organise the event – and it fills us with pride that the response by fans and sponsors ahead of the event is overwhelmingly positive. At the same time this is an obligation for us to deliver an event at the highest standards possible to match and, where possible, even exceed the expectations that our stakeholders have.”

World-class players meet in Hamburg

There is good reason to believe that the level of handball will be at its highest as the four qualified teams, SG Flensburg-Handewitt, Dinamo Bucuresti. Rhein-Neckar Löwen and Füchse Berlin, have some of the sport’s biggest stars in their squads.

Among the stars taking to the court on 25 and 26 May is Flensburg’s Simon Pytlick, current Danish world champion and winner of the previous season’s EHF MVP trophy, the EHF Excellence Award. He is joined by Bucharest’s Croatian Luka Cindric, a three-time winner of the EHF Champions League, Rhein-Neckar Löwen’s German playmaker Juri Knorr, the 24-year-old member of the All-star Teams at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship and at the Men’s EHF EURO 2024, and Füchse Berlin’s Mathias Gidsel. Like Pytlick, Gidsel is a current world champion with Denmark; furthermore, he was recently named ‘World Handball Player of the Year’ by the International Handball Federation.

In Saturday’s semi-finals SG Flensburg-Handewitt play Dinamo Bucuresti at 15:00 CEST and Rhein-Neckar Löwen face Füchse Berlin at 18:00 CEST. Sunday’s match for third place and the final throw off at the same times.

Worldwide coverage of the EHF Finals Men is guaranteed with 26 broadcasters delivering the action on court to more than 50 territories.

In Germany, the EHF Finals Men will be live on DAZN and DYN, the latter delivering an extended coverage of the event across its platform and digital channels. In Romania, the matches will be live on the competition’s three official broadcasters, Digi Sport, Orange Sport and Prima Sport.

TEXT: European Handball Federation