FIFA.com, 25.5.2012

FIFA’s new Club protection programme (CPP) which is now set for implementation was part of the 62nd FIFA Congress agenda.

The Club protection programme constitutes an important measure after years of consultations with all members of the international football family on the issue of compensation of clubs for injuries to players while on duty in all ‘A’ international matches listed in FIFA’s international match calendar. This topic is a matter of fundamental importance for FIFA bringing now a sustainable solution on a long term debate between FIFA, the clubs and the Member Associations.

FIFA’s Club protection programme on behalf of the Member Associations will be applicable on a world-wide level in form of a player insurance for all matches listed in the international match calendar for the period 1 September 2012 until 31 December 2014 (the Club protection programme will also include the Olympic Football Tournament in London 2012).

The amount insured is the player’s annual fixed salary with a maximum of a daily amount of about $27,000 (€20,548) paid by the insurance for a maximum period of 365 days making a total amount of $9.7m (€7.5m) per player. The overall estimated cost of this programme is around $75m.

Through the Club protection programme FIFA achieves a global harmonised solution on the insurance of players’ question to the benefit of Confederations, Member Associations, players and clubs. With this program FIFA marks an important step for the benefit of the entire football family in a spirit of dialogue and solidarity.

The 8th General Assembly took place in Cologne/Germany on the fringes of the VELUX EHF Championsleague Final4.

In the first part FCH Board members reported to 40 member clubs about the activities in the various EHF/M bodies.

Volker Zerbe summarized the financial situation.

The board and the General Manager were granted discharge.

In the second part the elections took part.

The following persons were elected as

–        Board Members:

Nation 1 (GER): Dierk Schmaeschke, Flensburg

Nation 2 (ESP): Joan Marin, Madrid

Nations 3-6 (FRA, RUS, HUN, SLO): Tomaz Jersic, Celje

Nations 7-12 (DEN, SUI, ROU, CRO, POR, MAK): Soren Colding, Copenhagen/DEN

Nations 13-49 (SWE, BIH, SRB, POL, NOR, AUT …): Bertus Servaas, Kielce/POL

–        President

Tomaz Jersic, Celje, SLO

–        Vice-President

Joan Marin, Madrid, ESP

Dierk Schmäschke, Flensburg, GER

–        Vice-President Finances

Dierk Schmäschke, Flensburg, GER

–        Deputy Board Member

Nation 1 (GER): Sabine Holdorf-Schust, Kiel

Nation 2 (ESP): Xavi O’Callaghan, Barcelona

Nations 3-6 (FRA, RUS, HUN, SLO): Robert Molines, Montpellier

Nations 7-12 (DEN, SUI, ROU, CRO, POR, MAK): Peter Leutwyler, Kadetten/SUI

Nations 13-49 (SWE, BIH, SRB, POL, NOR, AUT …): Karl Löfmark,  Lund/SWE

–        FCH representative ‘Professional Handball Board’ (PHB)

Joan Marin, Madrid, ESP

Gerd Butzeck, FCH General Manager

–        FCH representative ‘Men’s Club Marketing Board’ (MCMB)

Nation 1 (GER): Christoph Wendt, Hamburg

Nation 2 (ESP): Xavi O’Callaghan, Barcelona

Nations 3-6 (FRA, RUS, HUN, SLO): Tomaz Jersic, Celje, SLO

Nations 7-12 (DEN, SUI, ROU, CRO, POR, MAK): Jens Boesen, Kolding, DEN

Nations 13-49 (SWE, BIH, SRB, POL, NOR, AUT …): Radek Wasiak, Kielce, POL

–        Comptroller

Gerd Hofele, Göppingen, GER

In the third part the 8^th General Assembly after discussion unanimously advised the FCH Board to take all necessary measures to resolve existing issues with IHF.

The 9^th General Assembly of FCH will take place on occasion of the Semifinals of the next World Championship in Barcelona/Spain on 26^th/27^th January 2013. GB

FIFA.COM News:  The FIFA Congress will also be asked to approve the new worldwide player insurance project which was approved by the Executive Committee in March. Starting in August 2012, this major new undertaking will see FIFA insure all players involved in all international “A” matches listed in the international match calendar. The provisional budget for this project amounts to USD100 million. FIFA is also working on an insurance solution for the Olympic Games.

39 Clubs from 19 countries registered for the 8th General Assembly of FORUM CLUB HANDBALL, taking place in Cologne on 27th May 2012 on occasion of the EHF VELUX CHAMPIONSLEAGUE FINAL4 event. In the first part of the meeting the club representatives will listen to the reports. In the second part the assembly will elect a new board and representatives for the various bodies in EHF and EHFM. After a break the assembly will discuss the relation between clubs, EHF and IHF. The relation between clubs and EHF is based on a Memorandum of Understanding, an according agreement with IHF is missing. In March 2012 IHF refused one more time to base the relation on a contractual basis. GB

The football Championsleague final produced a record TV-audience in Germany, but not in Europe. In England, Italy, Spain and France the TV audiences were smaller than last year.

The handball EHF Velux Championsleague Final4 will be transmitted live and delayed in more than 100 countries, among them:

Albania (Eurosport 2), Algeria (Dubai Sports 1/2), Angola (Setanta Africa, SPORT.TV Africa), Armenia (NTV Plus, Eurosport 2), Australia (Eurosport Asia-Pacific), Austria (Sport+, Eurosport 2), Azerbaijan (NTV Plus, Eurosport 2), B, hrain (Dubai Sports 1/2), Belarus (NTV Plus, Eurosport 2), Belgium (Eurosport 2), Benin (Setanta Africa), Bosnia Herzegovina (Arena Sport, Eurosport 2), Brunei (Eurosport Asia-Pacific), Bulgaria (Eurosport 2), Burkina Faso (Setanta Africa), Cameroon (Setanta Africa), Cape Verde (SPORT.TV Africa), Costa Rica (TDN), Croatia (HRT 2, Eurosport 2), Cyprus (Cyprusport, Eurosport 2), Czech Republic (DigiSport, Eurosport 2), Denmark (DR 1, TV2 Sport, Eurosport 2), Djibouti (Dubai Sports 1/2), Dominican Republic (TDN), Egypt (Dubai Sports 1/2), El Salvador (TDN), Eritrea (Dubai Sports 1/2), Estonia (Eurosport 2), Fiji (Eurosport Asia-Pacific), Finland (Eurosport 2), France (Sport+, Eurosport 2), FYR Macedonia (Sitel 3, Eurosport 2), Gabon (Setanta Africa), Georgia (GMG Sport 1, NTV Plus, Eurosport 2), Germany (Eurosport Germany, Eurosport 2), Ghana (Setanta Africa), Greece (Eurosport 2), Guatemala (TDN), Honduras (TDN), Hong Kong (Eurosport Asia-Pacific), Hungary (DigiSport 1, 2, Eurosport 2), Iceland (RUV, SportTV, Eurosport 2), India (Ten Sports), Indonesia (Telkom Vision, Eurosport Asia-Pacific), Iran (Dubai Sports 1/2), Iraq (Dubai Sports 1/2), Ireland (Setanta Sports, Eurosport 2), Israel (Sport 5), Italy (Sport Italia 2, Eurosport 2), Japan (EX Sports), Jordan (Dubai Sports 1/2), Kazakhstan (NTV Plus, Eurosport 2), Kenya (Setanta Africa), Korea (Eurosport Asia-Pacific), Kosovo (Eurosport 2), Kuwait (Dubai Sports 1/2), Kyrgyzstan (NTV Plus), Latvia (Eurosport 2), Lebanon (Dubai Sports 1/2, Eurosport 2), Libya (Dubai Sports 1/2), Lithuania (Eurosport 2), Luxembourg (Eurosport 2), Madagascar (Setanta Africa), Malaysia (Astro, Eurosport Asia-Pacific), Mali (Setanta Africa), Malta (Eurosport 2), Mauritania (Dubai Sports 1/2), Mexico (TDN), Moldova (NTV Plus, Eurosport 2), Montenegro (Arena Sport, Eurosport 2), Morocco (Dubai Sports 1/2), Mozambique (SPORT.TV Africa), Myanmar (Skynet, Eurosport Asia-Pacific), Netherlands (Eurosport 2), Nicaragua (TDN), Nigeria (Setanta Africa), Norway (TV2 Sporten, Eurosport 2), Oman (Dubai Sports 1/2), Palestinian Territories (Dubai Sports 1/2), Panama (TDN), Papua New Guinea (Eurosport Asia-Pacific), Philippines (Solar Entertainment, , urosport Asia-Pacific), Poland (Polsat Sport, Eurosport 2), Portugal (Sport TV 1, 2, 3, Eurosport 2), Qatar (Dubai Sports 1/2), Romania (DigiSport, DigiSport +, Eurosport 2), Russia (NTV Plus, Eurosport 2), Rwanda (Setanta Africa), Saudi Arabia (Dubai Sports 1/2), Serbia (Arena Sport, Eurosport 2), Singapore (StarHub, Eurosport Asia-Pacific), Slovakia (DigiSport, Eurosport 2), Slovenia (RTV 2, Eurosport 2), Somalia (Dubai Sports 1/2), South Africa (Setanta Africa), Spain (TVE Teledeporte, Eurosport 2), Sri Lanka (Eurosport Asia-Pacific), Sudan (Dubai Sports 1/2), Sweden (Viasat Sport, Eurosport 2), Switzerland (SSF, Eurosport 2), Syria (Dubai Sports 1/2), Tajikistan (NTV Plus), Tanzania (Setanta Africa), Thailand (TrueVision), Togo (Setanta Africa), Tonga (Eurosport Asia-Pacific), Tunisia (Dubai Sports 1/2), Turkey (SportsTV, Eurosport 2), Turkmenistan (NTV Plus), UAE (Dubai Sports 1/2), Uganda (Setanta Africa), Ukraine (NTV Plus Sport, Eurosport 2), USA (TDN), Uzbekistan (NTV Plus), Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City TV, Eurosport Asia-Pacific), Yemen (Dubai , ports 1/2), Zambia (Setanta Africa)

The information was provided by EHF Media service.

Information of the FCH Election Supervisor: According to the statutes every club may nominate a FCH board member. The candidate board member had to be nominated until 13.5.2012.

According to the EHF European Cup Club Ranking 12/13 the nation, ranked first, the nation ranked second, the nations ranked 3-6, the nations ranked 7-12 and the nations ranked 13-49 will receive one seat in the board each (plus deputy).

In due time FCH Member Clubs nominated the following candidates as FCH Board Members:

Nation 1 (GER): Dierk Schmaeschke, Flensburg (member) + Sabine Holdorf-Schust, Kiel (deputy)

Nation 2 (ESP): Joan Marin, Madrid (member) + Xavi O’Callaghan, Barcelona (deputy)

Nations 3-6 (FRA, RUS, HUN, SLO): Tomaz Jersic, Celje (member) + Robert Molines, Montpellier (deputy)

Nations 7-12 (DEN, SUI, ROU, CRO, POR, MAK): Soren Colding, Copenhagen/DEN (member), Peter Leutwyler, Kadetten/SUI (deputy)

Nations 13-49 (SWE, BIH, SRB, POL, NOR, AUT …): Karl Löfmark,  Lund/SWE + Bertus Servas, Kielce/POL + Magnus Clarke, Dublin/IRL

The FCH General Assembly will elect the board members. The election will take place on 27^th May 2012 during the 8^th ordinary FCH General Assembly.

Gerd Butzeck/Election Supervisor

According to an official announcement EHF executive Alexander Toncourt passed away today. One of the best of this handball world has gone. He was always available for all members of the handball family – and he was always a friend. ‘Ali’, we will never forget you!