The International Handball Federation (IHF) Arbitration Commission http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=112 has ruled that IHF Council decisions to change World Championship and Olympic Qualification formats and create a World League for Clubs to be null and void. This finding is based on the fact that these changes were not put before an IHF Congress, which is the highest decision-making body of the IHF and the body authorised to take decisions in matters relating to changes and amendments to the Statutes.
This finding is a clear victory for the European Handball Federation (EHF), which had initiated legal action and threatened to call for an IHF Extraordinary Congress to restructure and hold new elections for the IHF leadership. http://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.198 At the heart of this power struggle was the EHF’s concerns that these new competitions would be outside of EHF jurisdiction and financial control and would lead to an excessive number of games for top players.
Next week’s IHF Congress will still likely address a number of issues to include the EHF’s proposal to hold the World Championships once every four years instead of the current two year cycle.
EHF Official Statement: http://www.eurohandball.com/inc/print.asp?oid=10253