Following a video conference with the EHF Member Federations currently participating in the Men’s EHF EURO 2022 Qualifiers and the EHF EURO Cup 2022, the European Handball Federation has outlined the progress of the qualification campaign as circumstances remain challenging.

“It is the first and foremost goal of the European Handball Federation to finish the EHF EURO 2022 Qualifiers within schedule and that all decisions are taken on court,” said EHF Secretary General Martin Hausleitner.

“This is done in the interest of fairness, but also to serve the fans of our sport and to uphold our media and marketing agreements as a reliable partner.”

To date, qualification matches have been played at the beginning of November and in early January, with two more periods of Qualifiers being scheduled for the week commencing on 8 March and the week commencing on 26 April.

The final tournament draw is scheduled for 6 May in Budapest and shall form the natural finish to the Qualifiers campaign.

During the conference, the EHF underlined that the current focus is on the qualification matches scheduled from 8 to 14 March.

Following this playing period, the status will be evaluated on a group-by-group basis and all participating federations will be contacted in order to find the best possible solutions for all stakeholders involved.

Hausleitner explained that, if necessary, the EHF Executive Committee in its late March meeting will take decisions on the further procedure, but a ‘reserve national team week’ in September is only viewed as the last resort for otherwise unsolvable situations.

At the same time, he encouraged all federations to approach the EHF with requests and potential solutions.