The EHF has completed the selection of its new European Handball Players Board, giving active and recently active players a more direct voice in the governance of European handball.
The six-member board consists of three women and three men: Slovenia’s Ana Gros and Blaz Janc, Serbia’s Andrea Lekic, Norway’s Vilde Ingstad, Spain’s Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas and Denmark’s Rasmus Lauge.
Four players were elected directly by their fellow players following a vote involving 922 eligible players. Gros and Lekic were the women’s representatives, while Pérez de Vargas and Janc received the most votes among the men. The EHF Executive Committee completed the board with Ingstad and Lauge.
The group brings considerable experience at the highest level. Gros and Lekic are both members of the Champions League’s 1,000-goal club, while Pérez de Vargas has won the European title five times with Barça. Janc has four Champions League titles to his name, while Lauge is a three-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist with Denmark.
The board’s first mandate will run until 2029 and is expected to meet twice a year alongside the EHF’s other stakeholder bodies.
It will also have a direct route into the EHF’s wider decision-making structure. The board will nominate one male and one female representative to the Professional Handball Board and Women’s Handball Board respectively. Subject to approval by the EHF Congress, one member will also receive a seat on the EHF Executive Committee.
“This is about giving players a platform to shape the future of handball,” EHF president Michael Wiederer said.
The new structure marks a further step towards giving players a formal role in decisions affecting the European game.