To enhance efficiency - German handball introduces novel divisions
### Fresh Developments in German Handball
For the past season, the A-Junior Bundesliga was initiated, and the next step is the B-Juniors. Prior to this, the U17 division was played in regional leagues, where only 16 top teams from the league rounds would compete in the final round.
In the ongoing finals, Füchse Berlin and SC DHfK Leipzig compete against each other. The first leg heavily favoured the Berlin team (38:24), and the decisive second game is set for Saturday, 7 p.m. in Leipzig.
The vision for female U17s is to have 36 qualifying rounds, likely leading to three distinct league bundle with 12 teams in each. Similarly, male U17s are scheduled to be allotted in four leagues of 12 participants each.
In Lower Saxony and Bremen, a different approach is also being adopted. From the upcoming summer, an additional league will be inserted between the third league and the fourth-level Oberliga. This league will comprise 12 female teams and 14 male teams.
"Our goal is to minimize the striking difference between the fourth and third leagues," says Markus Ernst, the Managing Director of the Lower Saxony/Bremen Handball Association (HVNB). "Earlier, it was typically the case that teams that are promoted from the top division would get relegated the following year. We aim to enhance the professionalism."
Here's an interesting update: the HVNB will now be streaming all matches live on its platform at live.hvnb-online.de.
Meanwhile, the German Handball Federation [DHB] is dealing with a significant staff change. The committee will meet on Sunday in Hamburg to choose the next sports director, after the contract for Axel Kromer came to an end without being renewed.
Ingo Meckes, a former Bundesliga player with Bayer Dormagen, is among the hot favourites for the position. Meckes has been Swiss Handball Association's Head of Competitive Sports since 2012 until January 2024. [Handball-World] first reported this.
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Source: symclub.org
