Last Friday, 25 November 2006, a new and important acronym was added to the Team Handball vernacular- the GCH. The GCH or Group Club Handball was formally established at a meeting in Dusseldorf, Germany. The GCH is modeled after soccer’s G14 of elite clubs and seeks to represent the interests of the major European clubs. The 14 “self anointed” clubs are:

Kiel (Germany)
Flensburg (Germany)
Madgeburg (Germany)
Lemgo (Germany)
Ciudad Real (Spain)
Portland San Antonio (Spain)
Barcelona (Spain)
Ademar Leon (Spain)
Montpellier (France)
Celje (Slovenia)
Kolding (Denmark)
Veszprem (Hungary)
Zagreb (Croatia)
Medvedi (Russia)

This membership was principally based upon having won a European Cup since 2000, but new members may be added in the future based on performance. Additionally, Kolding, Veszprem and Zagreb were added based on the prominent role those countries have in
the handball world.

GCH leaders, in interviews have emphasized their desire to work with the EHF and IHF on a number of different issues and that their mode of operations would be “cooperation instead of confrontation.” There are a number of different issues where the GCH will likely play a major role in the near future. Those issues include:

– The EHF’s proposed 4 year cycle for the World Championship
– The total number of games top players are expected to play for club and national team competitions
– The IHF’s proposed World League of Clubs
– The EHF’s future plans for the Champions League (both in terms of marketing and structure)

Sources: (in German)
http://www.handballwoche.de/nncs/handballwoche/2006/11/22/4968200000.html
http://www.handballwoche.de/nncs/handball/2006/11/25/4992400000.html

The EHF-IHF impasse over IHF plans for a new qualification format for the World Championships and a World League appears to not be heading towards a peaceful resolution. At the EHF Presidents meeting in Vienna last week 47 EHF members agreed to propose 12 motions at the next IHF Congress in April 2007. Foremost, the EHF is proposing that the IHF be restructured and that an Extraordinary Congress be held 3 months later to hold new elections. These motions raise the stakes significantly for the IHF leadership as they are essentially a threat to vote them out of office halfway into their 4 year term.
http://home.eurohandball.com/ehf_files/ehf_news/NEWS2006/159_1911.pdf

According to Article 14 of the IHF By-laws http://www.ihf.info/upload/PDF-Download/Regulations/01_-_Bylaws.pdf only a simple majority is required to request an Extraordinary Congress. The IHF has 160 members, so the EHF with 47 members can not reach a majority alone. Hence their recent meetings with the Asian and African Federations to develop a consensus majority voting block.

Additionally, the EHF is also proposing to hold the World Championships only once every four years. The proposed sequence of events would be

2012 Olympics
2013 Continental Championships
2014 World Championships
2015 Continental Championships

As far as when this change would take place, the EHF article does not go into detail. The 2009 World Championships have already been awarded (Croatia- Men, China- Women), but they could probably be moved to 2010. Additionally, the EHF has already awarded their 2010 European championships. As the Continental Championships would move to odd years a transition, in which there is either a short 1 year or long 3 year gap would have to be decided upon

Previous reports on this issue:
13 September 2006: EHF Sues IHF Over New World Championship Qualification Tournaments https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.145
26 October 2006: EHF/IHF Impasse and the Proposed World League https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.177

So do you think you know your Handball? Specifically, Champions League Handball? Here’s your chance to prove it. Predict the winners for the Round of 16 knockout stage and the margin of victory (total goal aggregate for both games) for each of the 8 matchups.

[b]How to Enter: [/b] Click here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=107952898636

[b]Contest Scoring:[/b]
Correct Club: 5 points
Correct Club and margin of victory (10 points)

[b]Prizes:[/b] Right now, just simply bragging rights. We are, however, looking for a sponsor. If interested please let us know.

One entry per email address please

Here’s some very quick analysis on the Draw. We will provide more detail soon.

[b]Most Compelling:[/b] These two matchups should provide the most drama. Both Veszprem and Montpellier are more than capable of knocking out the higher seed.

Montpellier vs Barcelona
Veszprem vs Kolding

[b]Could be Interesting: [/b] The top seeds will be favored, but the second seeds have a legitimate chance to advance. They will need to get a good victory at home in the first match and then hold back the flood waters in the return match.

Pick Szeged vs Valladolid
Celje vs Flensburg
Chehovskie Medvedi vs Gummersbach

[b]Least Suspenseful: [/b] It would take a massive upset for the two Spanish sides and Kiel to get knocked out

Gold Club Kozina vs Portland San Antonio
GOG Svendborg vs Ciudad Real
Chambery vs Kiel

Group play concluded this weekend with a few minor surprises. Notably, Valladolid’s 9 meter throw with one second left that gave them a draw vs Montpellier and a top seed in the round of 16.

A lot is at stake tomorrow and most of the teams are keeping quiet as to who they’d prefer to play. No sense in saying something to motivate the opposition. We don’t have to worry about that so here’s our assessment of the 16 remaining teams and where they stand relative to each other.

[b]The Powerhouses:[/b] These 4 sides are at the top of their game and will be huge favorites to advance no matter who they draw for the round of 16:

1) Portland San Antonio
2) Ciudad Real
3) Kiel
4) Flensburg

[b]The Second Tier:[/b] These 4 sides will likely be favored going into the next round, but they are beatable especially if they meet one of the members of the next category.

5) Kolding
6) Gummersbach
7) Barcelona
8 ) Valladolid

[b]Dangerous 2nd Seeds: [/b] These are the 4 teams that no one will want to see pulled out of the ping pong ball at the drawing on Tuesday. Montpellier and Celje have both won titles in the past. These teams are capable of an upset against the powerhouses and would battle the second tier teams evenly.

1) Celje
2) Montpellier
3) Veszprem
4) Chehovskie Medvedi

[b]Thanks for Participating, We Have some Lovely Parting Gifts: [/b] Reaching the Round of 16 is an accomplishment for these sides- Going farther in the Champions League will be a lot tougher. If matched up against one of the 4 Powerhouses, it would be a major upset for them to advance. If they draw a 2nd tier team they will have some hope, but even then they will be significant underdogs.

5) GOG Svendborg
6) Pick Szeged
7) Chambery
8 ) Gold Club Kozina

The draw is scheduled for 11:00 AM, Tuesday, 14 November. Drawings have been webcast previously, but the EHF site doesn’t indicate whether this one will be.