Here are the results of the draw; comments will follow later:

Gr. A (Kristianstad/Lund): France, Spain, Germany, Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain

Gr. B: (Linkoping/Norrkoping): Iceland, Norway, Austria, Hungary, Brazil, Japan

Gr. C: (Malmo/Lund): Croatia, Denmark, Serbia, Romania, Algeria, Australia

Gr. D: (Goteborg): Poland, Sweden, Korea, Slovakia, Argentina, Chile

In an announcement by the IHF, it appears that the plans for holding an Extraordinary Congress in the near future have now been cancelled, after the plans for such an event in Rome last month had to be abandoned due to the major air traffic disruptions.

The announcement, which is rather poorly written and hard to comprehend, http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=57&idart=2731 at least makes it clear that the Extra Congress will be held in Marrakech, Morocco, in 2011. Undoubtedly, this means that it will be held immediately prior to the Ordinary Congress that was already awarded to Morocco, so that the efforts and expenses involved with a separate event can be avoided.

The practical implications of such a long delay are unclear. It could be argued that it would provide more time for negotiations to take place, with the objective of coming up with more appropriate proposals for changes in the Statutes. Perhaps more nations will realize that the existing proposals simply are unacceptable. On the other hand, cynics would argue that it also provides more time for 'political' efforts aimed at strengthening the voting support for the IHF President's intentions to increase his power. Time will tell…

Reports from a recent meeting, where IHF top officials met with representatives for the EHF, top leagues and top clubs, suggest that some progress was made regarding the important issues of a streamlined competition calendar and compensation for federations and for clubs whose players spend time on their national teams in IHF events. An earlier meeting seemed to have been characterized more by complications regarding formalities and procedures. In the meantime, the EHF had been able to conduct similar meetings in a seemingly more constructive fashion.

It would certainly be a positive development if the IHF now follow suits and that, if possible, [u]one[/u] coordinated process with all the relevant parties involved would be feasible. For instance, there seems to be some loosening up of a stubborn reluctance to deal with the representatives that the clubs themselves wish to choose. It also seems that there was more of a focus on possible solutions and less on obstacles.

The issue of compensation appeared to be based on a good deal of agreement on the principles involved: the IHF is prepared to share revenues in such a way that federations participating in World Championships would benefit more than in the past and so that clubs will get compensation for the fact that they are paying player salaries during substantial periods when IHF events make them unavailable to their clubs. It remains as a tough issue for negotiation to determine just [u]how much[/u] the IHF will be able and willing to provide. Clearly, the IHF needs to use a large part of its event-related revenue for global development work and other projects, but the federations and clubs will probably want to become reassured that the IHF does not make itself poorer than it is.

There also seemed to be agreement regarding the need for some kind of insurance arrangement that would cover those unfortunate situations where a club finds that a key player returns from an IHF event with an injury that makes the participation in club matches impossible for an extended period.

Perhaps it may turn out to be more complicated to get to a satisfactory agreement regarding the overall match calendar and the impact of the health and well-being on the players. Presumably all parties agree that it has gone too far, but who will be prepared to cut back on events under their jurisdiction?? IHF events and continental championships may not in themselves constitute the excessive portion of the overall schedule. Instead one might be inclined to say that continental club events are stretched out too much and that some of the top leagues involve too many weak teams and boring games. But this makes the club representatives jump and insist that also the games that are ‘useless’ on the court are valuable for the bank accounts. In other words, the income that is needed to pay player salaries becomes more important then their health. But something has to give!

It will indeed be interesting to see how this whole process continues, and it is certainly nice to see and hear some signs of optimism!

Andrew Jennings is a globally known investigative reporter, author and film maker. He has been active for about 30 years, having written for all the major newspapers in Britain. While he has provided first-hand accounts of stories such as the rebel activities in Chechnya, Mafia enterprises in Sicily, and shady dealings in the 'Iran-Contra' affair, his main focus has been on corruption in sports. He is the author of several award-winning books, translated into a multitude of languages, containing revelations of the 'inside story' of FIFA and of the IOC and the Olympic movement.

He has never before written about handball, so it is clearly significant that this week he has seen fit to write a major article on his own web site 'TransparencyInSport', http://www.transparencyinsport.org/ about the long list of transgressions by the IHF president in recent time and over many years. It is not exactly the kind of publicity that an international sports federation and its top officials would like to see. Indeed, it is a warning to the 'international handball family' that what is going on cannot be kept secret, and that the current IHF regime is doing great damage to the image of the sport we love.

According to well-placed and corroborated sources, when the IHF President recently invited the EHF leadership to a meeting, it appears that he had a secret purpose in mind: proposing a merger of the two organizations. This is really an incredible development, especially against the backdrop of the recent accusations back and forth between the IHF and the EHF regarding the seriously flawed proposal for new IHF Statutes. However, it seems that it was precisely the EHF pressure that caused the IHF President to think that this would be a smart initiative in order to gain more control. The EHF, for its part, initially seemed offended by the idea, but appears to have begun to see it as a beneficial move along the lines of the old expression: ‘if you cannot beat them, then join them!’ And now some IHF insiders have even been heard fearing that it may in the end become more of an EHF ‘takeover’ than a neutral merger.

The ‘official’ justifications are more along the lines that the senior managements of the IHF and the EHF have come to realize that it is really a waste of resources, with a good deal of duplication of efforts, to run two separate but very similar organizations. Synergy could be achieved through joint efforts in many areas: marketing and contracting about TV rights and sponsoring, development efforts in small or new handball countries, and relations with national federations, clubs and players. Recent debates regarding the competition calendar have also brought the IHF and EHF top managements together.

Non-Europeans and younger handball fans may not realize that a combined IHF/EHF is not as farfetched as it may sound. While continental federations existed in other continents much earlier, the European Handball Federation (EHF) did not come into existence until 1991. Previously, European matters, including the organization of competitions such as the European Cup (the forerunner of Champions League) were managed directly by the IHF. It now seems that this evolution is coming full circle!

The precise timing of the merger remains to be settled. The IHF Extraordinary Congress later this month will be asked to ratify the arrangement, but then the EHF will also need to obtain the formal acceptance from its membership. Ideally, the merger will take place ‘on paper’ later this year, while some of the practical and physical aspects will not be ready until about a year from now. The competition side will be fully modified only after the completion of the several IHF and EHF events that have already been awarded to specific countries.

Obviously there are many sensitive issues that still require careful negotiations. This includes the critical issue of harmonizing IHF and EHF pay levels for executives. The discussions regarding a suitable name for the new organization seem temporarily stalled. ‘The Global Confederation for Handball’ was suggested as a prestigious-sounding name, but this apparently caused protests from a Dr. Gerd Butzeck, on behalf of the already existing ‘GCH’. A new logo will be designed by a yet-to-be-named consulting firm, following a carefully orchestrated contracting process based on ‘sealed bids’.

By contrast, tentative agreement already appears to have been reached regarding a neutral location for the new Headquarters. Several sites in convenient proximity to at least three continents have been considered, namely Malta, Cyprus and Sicily. All these alternatives would also fit the distinct Mediterranean flavor of the current IHF Executive Committee. (PanAmerican arguments in favor of the Canary Islands, partly for language reasons, appear to have fallen on deaf ears). IHF top people are said to be advocating Sicily, possibly due to the easy local access to experienced specialists in financial and administrative matters. In the end, however, it seems that Cyprus may win out, perhaps because of its strong traditions with sharing agreements among divergent partners.

On the staffing side, it seems to have been concluded that the IHF and EHF bring complementary skills, with the EHF focus on technical and sports matters and the IHF emphasis on office administration. At the top management level, it seems the complete merger will lead to the creation of one joint executive group, with current IHF and EHF top officials presiding on a rotation basis until after the first joint elections. Below this top group, there will be a European Department and a Non-European Department, working in a matrix format with the technical/sports staff and the administrators.

As regards the impact on the competition calendar, the preliminary agreements appear to suggest the following in each 4-period: the Olympic Games, one World Championship, one year with a European and a Non-European Championship, and one year for ‘regional’ events. Each of the existing continents, including Europe, would be divided into two regions, partly for political reasons and partly due to travel considerations. It is also expected that the Non-Europeans will eventually want to organize their own Champions League.

Messrs. Moustafa and Lian have declined requests for interviews, and for the moment this is all the information that is available. THN will endeavor to keep you updated as further details become available. In the meantime, we would very much welcome your reactions in our ‘Forum’ or on Facebook!

The German magazine 'Der Spiegel' reports in its new edition today a mixture of 'old news' and new revelations. 'Der Spiegel' comments on the recent exchange of accusations from the European Handball Federation (EHF) and reactions from the IHF president Moustafa and his collaborators. Reference is also made to the scandal involving the President's parallel dealings with Sportfive, until recently the holder of the TV rights to IHF events. And it is reported about the recent demand from the EHF that the IHF president allow a full external audit of the IHF's financial affairs. All these matters have been reported in recent THN articles.

As [u]new[/u] developments, Der Spiegel now indicates that the IHF president apparently has withdrawn his agreement to have an audit undertaken; (perhaps this is intended as a sign of defiance, after the continued pressure from the EHF regarding the Statute changes being pushed by the IHF president).

Der Spiegel also claims that the EHF has plans to use 'formal grounds' to stop the Extraordinary Congress of the IHF, scheduled for late April, where the changes in the Statutes are to be discussed and determined. (There is currently no public information from the EHF in this regard).

Finally, Der Spiegel quotes Reiner Witte, president of the association of the five main handball leagues in Europe, as threatening with a boycott of the next World Championships organized by the IHF.

Undoubtedly, further developments can be expected between now and the start of the Congress…

The International Handball Federation (IHF) Council has sent a letter to the National Federations of Europe in direct response to the European Handball Federation (EHF) letter of 10 March. The IHF letter asserts that the claims made in the EHF letter are false and do not reflect the opinions “shared by the rest of the leadership of the EHF.”

Among the counter claims included in the letter is the assertion that the EHF letter signatories are part of the IHF Council and that EHF VP Jean Brihault was not present at the Council Meeting in China and that EHF President Tor Lian voted in favor of the motions and did not raise objections at the meeting.

The letter also takes the EHF to task by noting that “The phrasing of the letter is not respectable and not worthy of such a major federation. We believe this is a classic example of improper conduct and an illicit attempt to discredit others in the personal interest of a few individuals.”

In terms of the EHF assertion that the proposed by-laws consolidate too much power in the President, the IHF counterclaims the following: “In addition and out of experience as presidents of national federations; we must strength the power of the President as if we have a weak president, the whole handball organization will collapse.”

The letter was signed by 13 of the 17 IHF Council members. Absent, of course, are the signatures of Tor Lian (Norway) and Jean Brihault (France), as well as Joel Delplanque (France), the IHF Secretary General. Hassan Moustafa’s signature is absent, possibly to emphasize the support from the other members of the council.

The letter includes the signatures of the following Europeans on the IHF Council
Miguel Roca (Spain): 1st Vice President
Sandi Sola (Croatia): Treasurer
Manfred Prause (Germany): President, Playing Rules and Referees Commission (PRC)
Leon Kalin (Slovenia): President, Commission of Organizing and Competition (COC)

The IHF Letter dated, 22 March 2010: https://teamhandballnews.com/request67.html
The original EHF Letter dated, 10 March 2010: https://teamhandballnews.com/request66.html

As announced by the IHF on its web site a few days ago, http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=57&idart=2584 a new rule book has been produced with an effective date that fits with the start of the next season in the Northern hemisphere. It will also apply in the IHF World Championships for Women’s Junior and Women Youth, as well as in the Youth Olympics.

However, in contrast to the most recent rules editions, such as 2005 and especially 2001, there are [u]not[/u] many changes in the substance of the rules, so you do not need to worry that there will be a noticeable impact on how our game is played. In fact, there was a widespread opinion in the world of handball that the changes should be kept to a minimum this time.

As indicated in the documents that IHF provide together with the rule book text, the main focus has been on a restructuring and a new approach in Rule 8, which is the rule regarding fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct. [u]The structure now consists of two parallel ‘ladders’, one for fouls and one for unsportsmanlike conduct[/u]. The intention is to clarify what actions warrant ‘progressive punishment’ (i.e., starting with a ‘yellow card’), a direct 2-minute suspension, a direct disqualification, and a disqualification accompanied by a report intended to be the basis for post-game punishment.

Moreover, the previous approach has been to try to use examples to indicate at which step of the ‘ladder’ that specific actions belong. In the new rules text, [u]the emphasis is instead on criteria[/u], involving aspects such as the position of the guilty player, the part of the body against which the action is aimed, the dynamics of the action, and its impact. The hope is to achieve more clarity and consistency.

The rules have also been expanded in the Clarification regarding [u]passive play[/u]. The sense is that the weak point has been the inconsistencies in referee judgment and action, [u]after[/u] the forewarning signal has been shown. New instructions have been added on this point.

There are a number of other places in the rules where small changes in the substance have been made or where minor changes in the wording have been undertaken to facilitate the correct understanding. The IHF is offering, for the sake of those who now need to reflect these changes in the rule books of their own languages, a summary that points out where in rules text you will find such changes.

Regarding the changes in Rule 8, the IHF intends to issue DVDs for educational purposes, as this is clearly a more effective method than mere words to explain the new interpretations. Clearly this should be of interest, not just to referee instructors, but also to coaches who want to have the advantage of understanding how some nuances in the rules may make a difference for their own tactics and methods.

[i]Der Spiegel[/i] has posted a new story providing more detail concerning salaries and honorariums for top IHF officials: http://www.spiegel.de/sport/sonst/0,1518,679098,00.html

The following is a direct translation of the article that appears on Der Spiegel's internet site:

“IHF president Moustafa gets an increase of 1,567 percent

The total annual ‘expense allowances’ for the top officials in the International Handball Federation (IHF) will, according to information obtained by [i]Der Spiegel[/i], increase from 204,000 Swiss Francs per year to 1,325,000 per year. The increase for President Hassan Moustafa is particularly drastic.

The top officials of the IHF allow themselves a magnificent compensation for their services. This becomes clear in a document from the IHF Council that had until now been kept secret; the Council is the forum for the 17 IHF top officials. According to this document, when the Council met last December in Nanjing, China, they arranged for themselves an increase in the expense allowances from an aggregate of 204,000 Sw.Frs. to 1,325,000 Sw.Frs.

The most grandiose increase concerns the president: 1,567 percent. The Egyptian Hassan Moustafa, who last summer was re-elected in his position until 2013, will now get 500,000 per year instead of 30,000.

The Council members also allow themselves an increase in their daily allowances – instead of 250 Sw.Frs. per day, when they are on duty for the IHF, they will now receive 400. For Moustafa this adds up to a six-digit amount, as he last year claimed to have been on duty for the IHF during 280 days.”

* * *

Note: The current exchange rate is $1 = .929 Swiss Francs

[i]THN[/i]: it is possible that [i]Der Spiegel[/i] will offer additional information in its printed version which appears on Monday. We will hold off on any commentary in the meantime. For the sake of a better understanding of the different forms of monetary compensation inside the IHF, the readers may wish to refer to an earlier article: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.932

Some clarifications may, however, be useful regarding the report in [i]Der Spiegel[/i]:
What is referred to as ‘expense allowance’ may be more appropriately regarded as an honorarium, an annual lump sum in lieu of salary, given that the elected officials are volunteers and not employees.
As reported in the article linked above, the Council approved a request from president Moustafa to become a full-time employee of the IHF. In other words, the 30,000 Sw.Frs. was an honorarium, while the 500,000 is a salary, so technically it is a comparison of ‘apples and pears’. On the other hand, if the president previously was already on duty 280 days per year, then perhaps Der Spiegel is implicitly asking how much more the IHF could get for its money when now hiring the president as an employee at a salary of 500,000.

The ‘daily allowances’ mentioned by [i]Der Spiegel [/i]are really best seen as ‘pocket money’. Expenses related to meals, hotels and travel are taken care of separately by the IHF. Also, these allowances are normally paid only when someone is on duty away from home, for instance, at a World Championship, conference or meeting. In other words, if the president will now be de facto residing in Basle, it is not clear if he really should/will receive the daily allowance for the many days when he will be present at Headquarters.

In an in-depth interview published in Neue Zuercher Zeitung today, two days prior to the opening of the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, IOC President Jacques Rogge anwers a broad spectrum of questions, many of a political nature or related to the role and responsibilities of the IOC. http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/kultur/film/wir_koennen_nicht_alle_probleme_dieser_welt_loesen_1.4892027.html

In this interview, the IOC President is asked very specifically about his views on the recently reported https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.933 revelation that IHF president Moustafa had a lucrative personal contract with Sportfive, at the same time as this company had acquired the TV rights for all IHF events.

At first, the IOC President attempts to avoid the question, by saying that "Moustafa is not an IOC member; therefore it is not up to us to take any measures.' However, when the interviewer follows up with a hypothetical question, "but what if Moustafa had been an IOC member?". [u]The answer from the IOC President is very clear: "In that case I surely would not tolerate such a behavior."[/u] It should be noted that this is in sharp contrast with Moustafa's defense that he had sought clearance from the IOC Ethics Commission.

Transparency International (TI) is the foremost global organization in the fight against corruption in all fields. Its stated mission is to ‘create change towards a world free of corruption’. ‘It raises awareness and diminishes apathy and tolerance of corruption, and devises and implements practical actions to address it’. For more information about TI: http://www.transparency.org/

TI does not normally undertake investigations of alleged corruption or expose individual cases. Instead, it will generally bring individual matters to the attention of the relevant authorities or the general public, so that appropriate action can be taken by those who carry the responsibility. Yesterday, TI in Germany issued a Press Bulletin http://www.transparency.de/2010-01-29-Beratervertraege-Sp.1567.0.html apropos the matters revealed in the recent article in the German magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.930 and discussed in Thursday’s posting here in THN, https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.933 regarding the IHF president Moustafa and the sports marketing agencies Sportfive and UFA Sports.

In its Press Bulletin, TI Germany demands regulation of personal business contracts for sports officials as they relate to their functions as elected decision-makers in sports. TI notes that such contracts inevitable raise suspicions and conflicts, and urges that sports officials refrain from such involvement. If nevertheless such contracts exist, then there must be clear rules and absolute transparency. As a minimum, such contracts must be presented for approval within the official’s own organization. Contracts with entities which compete for arrangements such as TV rights and sponsorship must be prohibited.

It is indeed noteworthy that TI has found it necessary to go public about these issues of fundamental principle apropos the dealings of Moustafa with Sportfive and UFA Sports.

The highly regarded German news magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ reports in its latest issue that International Handball Federation (IHF) President, Hassan Moustafa, had a private services contract with the sports and marketing company, Sportfive. Sportfive, ‘coincidentally’ is the very same company which had obtained the TV rights to IHF events during the period of Moustafa’s private contract with them. The issue that obviously arises is that of a conflict of interest, with Moustafa apparently profiting substantially (602,000 Euros) from IHF business relations with Sportfive.

Der Spiegel (21 Jan 10): Moustafa had secret agreement with marketing agency: http://www.spiegel.de/sport/sonst/0,1518,673558,00.html

The following is a true translation of the article in ‘Der Spiegel.’

“Hassan Moustafa, the President of the IHF had, through his personal, Cairo-based company ‘Sport Group,’ a contract as an advisor to the marketing firm Sportfive. Under this contract, Sportfive, which had the IHF TV rights until the end of 2009 and thus was the clearly largest business partner of the IHF, paid the IHF top official 602,000 Euro for his lobbying services from October 2007 through the end of 2009. At least half of this payment was transferred to Moustafa at a private account at a branch office of BNP Paribas in the Egyptian town of Gizeh.

As it is specified in the contract, which is available to ‘Der Spiegel’, Moustafa was expected to use ‘his good connections with sports organizations and their decision-makers’ as well as his contacts with media companies exclusively for the business interests of Sportfive. Furthermore, Moustafa should ‘use his best efforts to support the aims of Sportfive to secure the marketing rights for important events’.

Moustafa confirmed the existence of the contract. Also Robert Mueller von Vultejus, the former Managing Director of Sportfive, who co-signed the contract in October 2007, confirmed the procedure. Mueller, who is currently the Managing Director of Ufa Sports, an agency for sports rights, also stated that Sportfive already had a contract with Moustafa in the spring of 2007, but that this contract ‘was slightly modified at the request of Moustafa’ in October 2007. In the revised version, which replaced the earlier one, Sportfive explicitly agreed to refrain from using Moustafa’s ‘good relations with decision-makers’ with regard to handball and to ASOIF, the Association of Summer Olympic Sports. This caveat was missing in the earlier version.

Moustafa informed ‘Der Spiegel’ that he said both a draft and the final, signed version of the contract from October 2007 to the Ethics Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Ethics Commission was said to have had no objections. Moustafa was not willing to allow this to be verified. ‘He did not have the right to make this document available’. The IOC informed that Moustafa had not sought ‘the advice of the Ethics Commission’ until some time in 2008, long after the payment of the 602,000 Euro had been transferred.

Moustafa is an important person in international sports politics. His opponents view him as the prototype for disreputable functionaries, who have a court of people ‘saying yes’ and ‘nodding agreement, and a nepotism, where money is moved back and forth in strange ways.

One of the most frequent accusations is that over the years Moustafa has enriched himself to the tune of hundreds of thousands of Swiss Francs through shoddy expense accounting.

But no other issue caused such a worldwide stir as the scandal involving a game in a qualification tournament for the 2008 Olympic Games between Kuwait and the favored team from South Korea. Moustafa ensured that the game would not, as planned, be refereed by two referees from Germany but by two referees from Jordan, who decided all contested situations to the disadvantage of South Korea. Kuwait won the game. The tournament had to be repeated, as the decision of the international sports court, CAS, was: game manipulation. From then on, the accusations of corruption follow Moustafa.”

* * *
The question now is whether and how the IHF Council and the IHF membership will react, upon learning about this well-researched and documented matter. THN will return to this matter and to other recent developments at the IHF with a commentary in the near future.

According to an email message from the Group Club Handball (GCH) General Manager, Gerd Butzeck, International Handball Federation (IHF) President Hassan Moustafa is now drawing a salary from the IHF. The email which was sent to all of the member clubs of the GCH, references an article from the sports website Sportcal (www.sportcal.com (subscription required)) and includes several quotes from the IHF President defending recent actions and upheaval in the IHF office.

In citing the IHF’s council decision to place him on the payroll Mr. Moustafa emphasized that “Nobody has my experience,” adding that he spent 10 years as an international player, 10 years as an international coach, time as an international referee and that he completed a masters degree in handball.

The article goes on to state that Moustafa had no indication that outgoing Sports Administration Head, Ekke Hoffmann, was unhappy and he suggested that his dissatisfaction must have come from the decision to make the president a full-time employee. Hoffman apparently will be replaced by the Competition Director, Patric Stubb. Moustafa also indicated that the former Head of Administration had been fired over a dispute concerning sick leave.

THN (6 Jan 2010): IHF Front Office Shakeup: Head of Administration is quietly replaced by former Egyptian Handball Federation official: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.915
THN (11 Jan 2010): Commentary: Has it not gone too far now? IHF president forces key employee to resign!: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.920
IHF Administration Page: http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=115 (Obviously, needing some substantial revision)