The European Handball Federation and the German Sport University Cologne would like to congratulate the latest graduates of the European Handball Manager program.

The fifth year of the highly coveted course was passed by 16 successful participants from across Europe – taking the number of candidates to pass since it began in 2015/16 to 81.

In what proved to be unique circumstances given the outbreak of Covid-19, the third and final attendance phase of the course was postponed from May, which was finished this month with the completing of the written and oral exams.

“In the oral exams in particular, the participants had to show how they can apply their knowledge to the current Corona situation in handball clubs, be it in the management of sponsorship relationships, in strategic management or in controlling,” said the head of the program, Dr Stefan Walzel of Sport University Cologne.

The course has welcomed a host of high-profile names in the world of handball over the years and this year was no exception, with Frank von Behren, former German international and now managing director of sport at the Bundesliga side GWD Minden, among this year’s graduates.

Furthermore, Germany’s leading referee instructor, Kay Holm, passed with distinction.

“Understanding structures, organisation, strategies and marketing in the association or in the clubs and transferring them to my area of ​​responsibility can create ideas for change potential to a professionalisation within the framework of referee teaching,” said Holm.

In addition to the exams, the participants also completed media and communication training with the well-known sports moderator Valeska Homburg and Dr Christoph Bertling from the German Sport University Cologne. Dealing with journalists and behaving in front of the camera is still unusual for many handball managers and so they were able to benefit from the experience of the two media experts.

The sixth year of the European Handball Manager has already thrown off in the self-study phase. 14 participants from Europe, Africa and North America have started their studies. The students will get to grips with sports law and economics as well as marketing and financing issues.

About the European Handball Manager Certificate Programme

The European Handball Manager Certificate Programme is a one-year in-service training programme that covers the basics of economics, management, governance, law, marketing and communication. The programme is offered in German and English in alternating years.

The course is conducted in cooperation between the German Sport University Cologne and the European Handball Federation. It was first run in 2015, with the goal of educating handball managers from clubs, federations and leagues. In January 2019, the EHF and the University signed an agreement to continue the cooperation until at least 2021.

For more information, visit www.dshs-koeln.de/ehm.

Find below the names of all 81 successful graduates of the European Handball Manager.