Brihault: “The future of European handball is shaped at the Congress”

The European Handball Federation's 49 member federations will meet in the Irish capital, Dublin, on Friday, 19 September and Saturday, 20 September to decide on a number of motions as well as the allocation of hosts of the upcoming EHF EURO events in 2018 and 2020.

Ahead of the Congress’ start, eurohandball.com talked to EHF President Jean Brihault about his expectations, the Congress’ meaning and the most important decisions to be made.

Jean, the 12th EHF Congress takes place in Dublin. For you, being a Professor Emeritus for Irish Literature that must be some sort of homecoming?
Jean Brihault: Absolutely. It’s bringing the two main axes in my life together. So it is a sort of celebration and I’m very happy to be here.

What’s on the EHF President’s mind ahead of an important gathering such as the EHF Congress?
Jean Brihault: In a democratic organisation like ours with much insistence on communication, it is a privileged moment when we analyse the past through the reports, when we hear the remarks concerning the way we have conducted business and articulating this for the future through the motions. This is really a pivotal moment in the life of a democratic institution.

So my personal position is just that the debates should be open, that they should be respectful of everybody and that hopefully the best decisions are made. And the best decision is definition a democratic decision.

Where does the Congress rank among all other gatherings on the EHF calendar, such as EHF Executive meetings, commission meetings, the Conference of Presidents etc?
Jean Brihault: The Congress is at the very top. This is where we make the significant political decisions. The Executive implements the general policy defined in the Congress and it has to make decisions on a lower level than the Congress.

The Conference of Presidents and other nation meeting are places and moments where and when we don’t make decisions. We analyses situations, we prepare the future, we prepare the Congress, but we don’t make decisions. So we have a whole set of democratic levels that complement each other.

Is it fair to say that the future of the EHF and European handball is shaped at the Congresses?
Jean Brihault: It is the case. Clearly the first Congresses had more impact on the life of the EHF than the Congresses we have now as we enter the age of maturity. This means that now we have adjustments to make, but the context is the changing, globally and on the handball level.

Handball has nothing to do today with what it was in 1991 when the EHF was founded. For example, if we take the decisions that we made at recent Congresses concerning stakeholders – and we have more decisions concerning stakeholders in this Congress -, this was not an issue in 1991 or 1992.

What are the most important motions at the EHF Congress here in Dublin?
Jean Brihault: We have two important motions concerning the playing system in the future European competitions, Men’s EHF EURO events with 24 teams. This is a watershed and I think that it will contribute to the further development of handball on our continent.

Furthermore there is the motion regarding competitions for younger age categories (introducing two different divisions with a relegation system instead of qualification): This is quite a new approach and I think it will contribute to the better development of youth handball in every European country.

These two motions are essential for me, plus the continuation of motions corresponding to the stakeholders. In this Congress we are proposing that the stakeholders should be represented by their designated members for a period of four years instead of two years, which means that this is the final point in the integration of these members as full participants in the responsibilities that we have to face.