After the postponements, it's time to think about resumption. Even if, for the moment, the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic still remains very far from being controlled. The day after the announcement of the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, which opened the calendar wide this summer, the European Handball Federation (EHF) jumped at the opportunity to think about a recovery program for its various competitions. With a strong idea: resume in early June for the Champions League and the EHF Cup. According to this plan, the Final Four of the Champions League, initially scheduled for May 9 and 10 in Budapest for women and May 23 and 24 in Cologne for men, would be moved to September 5 and 6 and August 22 and 23 respectively. The qualifying phases would take place from June 3 to 28.
The selections also concerned
As a reminder, four French clubs are in the running for qualification for the Final Four, the Paris SG and Montpellier for the men (in the round of 16), Metz and Brest for the women (in the quarters). As for the EHF Cup, the finals, initially scheduled for May 23 and 24 in Berlin, would take place on August 29 and 30. The clubs of Nîmes and Nantes are concerned. The national selections have not been forgotten too: the qualification matches for the 2021 men's world championship, including the double opposition which awaits the French team against North Macedonia, should take place the week of June 29 to July 5. On the other hand, no trace of the Olympic qualification tournaments, which do not however depend solely on the EHF.
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However, she insisted that this project “depends on the evolution of the coronavirus situation and government decisions. In no way do we want to give the impression that we want to impose a timetable. There are much more important things to focus on right now than discussing the possibilities for handball games. However, there are good reasons to develop alternative scenarios. This is what we have been working on, "said EHF President Michael Wiederer in a statement. Otherwise, in France, the Federation had announced the cancellation of the Coupe de France and the amateur championships. However, remains to be seen the position of the National League regarding the resumption of the championship, depending, therefore, on possible European dates.
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