EHF PRESS STATEMENT

Vienna, 2 August 2012
16:00 CET

AG København officially withdrawn from the VELUX EHF Champions League season 2012/2013

On 31 July 2012, the European Handball Federation (EHF) received information out of Denmark regarding the serious financial problems of the handball club AG København. Over the next days, the EHF in close cooperation with EHF Marketing GmbH (EHFM) consulted internally, referred to written rule of the EHF Statutes and the competition regulations, and came to the stark realisation that the Federation was facing a precedential situation.

AG København experienced a meteoric rise to the highest club competition level; they participated in the 2012 VELUX EHF FINAL4 and ranked third in front of 20.000 spectators in Cologne. Only a few months later, the European Handball Federation welcomed the AG København delegation to Herzogenaurach in Germany for the season opening draw. Therefore, it came totally unexpected to the EHF that within a few days of this event taking place, the ownership of the club was renounced.

However, the Danish Handball Federation (DHF) informed the EHF the AG København “has been declared insolvent by the Danish Court”.

The European Handball Federation reacted promptly to the situation and has awarded the direct place in the VELUX EHF Champions League to Bjerringbro-Silkeborg who currently participates in the Wild Card Tournament; we can be reminded that last season, Bjerringbro-Silkeborg finished second behind AG København in the Danish League.

Bjerringbro-Silkeborg will assume the place of AG København and will play in Group C of the 2012/2013 VELUX EHF Champions League:

DEN    Bjerringbro-Silkeborg
SLO    Gorenje Velenje
POL    KS Vive Targi Kielce
FRA    Chambery Savoie Handball
RUS    St. Petersburg HC
1./2 QT (HC Metalurg, Haslum HK, HC Dinamo Poltava, Alpha HC Hard)

As a consequence, RK Cimos Koper of Slovenia – who registered for the Wild Card Tournament by its national federation and who reached the quarter-finals of the VELUX EHF Champions League in 2011/12 - will be invited by the European Handball Federation to partake in the Champions League Wild Card Tournament.

Further adjustments of the 2012/2013 European Cup are not foreseen.

The European Handball Federation takes note of this development with deep regret and will however, on a strategic and organisational level and together with the clubs, development measures in order to protect the Champions League product and its participants.

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Contact:
Markus Glaser
Senior Manager Competitions
EUROPEAN HANDBALL FEDERATION
Hoffingergasse 18
1120 Vienna
Austria
Tel.: +43 1 801 51 145