Wiederer: "Cologne is now like Wimbledon in tennis"

More than 20,000 fans per matchday were in LANXESS arena for the first time, more than 7,000 tickets have already been sold for the EHF FINAL4 2026. So, Cologne is definitely still a draw?

Michael Wiederer: In the first two or three years, LANXESS arena was also sold out, but we had to fight for spectators. Establishing Cologne has paid off, also because of the good co-operation with the city, the arena, and Stadionwelt. I don't want to exaggerate, but the tournament in Cologne is now something like Wimbledon in tennis. If you have more and more interest after 16 years, it shows that it fits. The location is right, the travel options from all over Europe are good, and there is something on offer: the teams have something to offer and the surrounding area has something to offer. The current contract runs until 2029, so we will be celebrating our 20th anniversary there. 

Two German teams — SC Magdeburg and Füchse Berlin — faced each other in the final. How do you rate this constellation?

Michael Wiederer: We certainly have eight to 10 teams in Europe that can win the EHF FINAL4. And it's also clear that the German league is very strong at the top, but also in its width. That's not contradictory. Of course, the games between the top French teams, Barcelona, Veszprém, or Kielce, teams that are not here, are always on a knife edge. We have already seen a wide variety of constellations here in Cologne with very different results, such as Vardar's victories. It is not special this year that two German teams are in the final, because the whole season has been characterised by top German teams. SG Flensburg-Handewitt won the European League. But you mustn't forget that the quality of the German league means that the top players play there. So it is more difficult for the German national team to be right at the top than it is for the clubs, who play with the best players in Europe.

In view of these results, Magdeburg coach Bennet Wiegert has called for a third EHF Champions League starting berth for German teams.

Michael Wiederer: I can give Bennet Wiegert hope, as we are looking into this question intensively in the event of possible changes to the playing system.

The EHF recently held competition conferences, where possible adaptations of the competition systems were discussed for the EHF Champions League, maybe as of the 2026/27 season. What can you say are the next steps?

Michael Wiederer: The changes in competition systems are of a complex nature, this has to do with the fact that we first have to define the international calendar together with the International Handball Federation for two to three years ahead. We are now in a situation that the mandate of the Executive Committee and of the technical commission ends in September, at the same time all the stakeholders — leagues, clubs, and players — elect and nominate their people for the upcoming four-year period. It is very understandable that the outgoing Executive Committee is not going to make a decision prior to the elections of the congress (ed. 19 and 20 September 2025 in Andau, Austria).

What is the current status?

Michael Wiederer: We are currently evaluating the possibilities regarding the Champions League and the consequences for the European League for both men and women, we are also talking to our partners understanding that media contracts and long-term marketing contracts have an impact. It is a bit of a puzzle and all that has to fit to the existing calendar. Respectively, calendar changes must be coordinated with the stakeholders. A change will also have an impact on national leagues. We see the positive development in men's clubs, and it is a possibility to adapt the competitions. In my opinion, by the end of October we will be able to publish the results of this complex process. At the end of the day we want to reach an identification with the whole product — at the moment, we are simply at the starting point, also when talking about the qualifications to the EHF EUROs and the world championships.

How do you rate the inaugural EHF Youth Club Trophy with the final at LANXESS arena on the morning of the final day of the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4? What kind of impact do you expect from this tournament on the handball ecosystem?

Michael Wiederer: We saw this youth tournament with a probably unexpected result, as GOG were a kind of substituting team to the Danish teams and they've gone all the way. We have really seen high-level handball. It was a short-notice tournament because only in December we opted for having such a competition and my colleagues from EHF Competitions and EHF Marketing managed to set up the four qualification tournaments and the final tournament. Then 13 of the 16 Champions League teams registered and we had three additional teams coming from the European League clubs. Even the preliminary tournaments were on a high level and in the final we have seen really good handball. We have seen players who will for sure in the future be in top-level teams and I think we can regard this tournament as a success. At the same time, the Executive Committee decided on Saturday that we will organise a women's tournament in 2026. We will also continue with the men's tournaments and we think that this is a valuable step to the future, also motivating the top clubs for producing new players and for working with young talents. From my point of view and this is also based on the positive feedback we received, the tournament series was a success and I do hope that everybody who had the chance to see the matches has appreciated it as well.

Is there a special takeaway for you from this year’s TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4?

Michael Wiederer: On Friday, I moderated a fireside chat with Martin Kusej, the director of Vienna’s famous Burgtheater and former first-league handball player, and three-time EHF Champions League winner Dominik Klein under the motto “The whole world is a stage”. And somehow, we are acting in this environment. Already the semi-final day proved we are in a theatre – and LANXESS arena is the perfect stage for our screenplays. We have seen drama, actors, coaches as composers, so to a certain degree our sport handball and how we can organise it on highest level is close to that cultural events with great entertainment.

Main photo © Uros Hocevar / kolektiff; feature photos © Uros Hocevar / kolektiff, Anze Malovrh / kolektiff