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Flensburg's Holger Glandorf (left) against Igor Soroka (Zaporischschja) in the Champions League group stage (picture from October 2018)
Photo:
BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/Mario M. Koberg/ imago/Beautiful Sports
The Ukrainian handball champions FK Motor Zaporischschja will take part in the coming season as a guest starter in the 2nd Bundesliga.
"We're helping to ensure the existence of the club because it's not possible to play games in Ukraine because of the war," HBL Managing Director Frank Bohmann told the dpa news agency on Wednesday, confirming a corresponding report in the "Bild" newspaper.
The "handball world" portal had previously reported.
Accordingly, the Champions League participant, who has won the domestic championship without interruption since 2013, will play his home games in Düsseldorf and be listed in the table as normal.
However, the plan provides for the games to be deducted from the promotion and relegation battle.
The 2nd division was originally supposed to consist of 19 teams in the 2022/23 season.
As a result, Zaporizhschja can be easily integrated into the schedule as the 20th team.
“That would have been absolutely impossible in the Bundesliga,” said Bohmann.
After the second division clubs voted by a large majority last week to accept the Ukrainians, almost all the formalities, such as the accommodation of the players and their families or the permission of the Ukrainian government, have now been clarified.
A first in the league
"The clubs said: Here we help, handball players help handball players," said league president Uwe Schwenker, according to the sports information service.
The home games take place in Düsseldorf.
According to Schwenker, the North Rhine-Westphalian state capital is also responsible for accommodating the team.
According to "Bild", the players would initially continue to be paid by their main sponsor, a Ukrainian engine manufacturer.
The season in the German lower house begins at the beginning of September.
After Russia's war of aggression, gaming in Ukraine is currently on hold.
Zaporizhschja could collect the necessary game practice for the Champions League through the games in Germany.
However, the European Handball Federation (EHF) would have to give the club a wild card to participate in the premier class.
The idea of integrating the Ukrainian series champion into the German game operation developed a few weeks ago.
ngo/dpa/sid