Wiederer poised for second term as EHF president

Michael Wiederer is to serve a second term as president of the European Handball Federation, after the Austrian executive was the sole nomination ahead of this week's candidate deadline.

Wiederer was elected in 2016 to succeed Jean Brihault having served 25 years as secretary general of the Vienna-based EHF, and set out his intention to stand for re-election last November.

The 65-year-old has overseen significant commercial development at the EHF since taking the reins, most notably the near-€600 million ($724 million) deal with the Infront agency and DAZN, the over-the-top international streaming platform, which runs from 2020 to 2030.

There have also been format tweaks aimed at improving the value of the sport's club and national team competitions, such as the switch of men’s EHF Champions League games from the weekend to the middle of the week from 2020-21, the rebranding of the second-tier EHF Cup as the European Handball League (and expansion of the group stage of the men’s competition from 16 to 24 teams), club competition finals being moved to after the conclusion of domestic seasons and the expansion of the women’s European Championships to 24 teams from 2024.

While the presidential election at the 23 and 24 EHF Congress in Luxembourg appears a foregone conclusion, a competitive ballot is expected for the executive committee, with 21 candidates for nine positions for the 2021 to 2025 term.