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Insolvency at HB Ludwigsburg: Handball champions very worried!
HB Ludwigsburg files for bankruptcy before the World Cup. Financial worries are weighing on the champions and the course of the season is uncertain.
Insolvency at HB Ludwigsburg: Handball champions very worried!
The news of the bankruptcy of HB Ludwigsburg has made waves in German women's handball. An application to open insolvency proceedings was submitted to the Ludwigsburg district court, which caused concern among many fans and officials. Just a month before the start of the season and just four months before the home World Cup, the situation is causing considerable unrest. Loud Mopo Andreas Thiel, chairman of the Handball Bundesliga Women (HBF), expressed concern and described the news as surprising. Nevertheless, he emphasized that such situations are not uncommon.
HB Ludwigsburg is not an unknown name in handball: the club has won four championship titles in a row since 2022 and even reached the Champions League final last year. This makes the situation appear all the more fatal, as managing director Sebastian Götz cites the tense economic environment and failed sponsorship negotiations as reasons for the insolvency application. Even though the club is currently in talks with creditors, sponsors and associations to ensure its continued existence, there are already the first signs of a painful points deduction. If insolvency proceedings are opened, the club will have eight points less in its account at the end of the main round like from southern Germany is to be experienced.
Effects on game operations
What happens next? At first glance, you might think that gaming operations will stop immediately. But that's not the case: despite the bankruptcy filing, gaming operations will continue unchanged for the time being. Loud Sports show Participation in gaming operations would also be possible during insolvency proceedings. The provisional insolvency administrator Holger Leichtle will manage the club's fortunes during this time.
Preparations for the coming season continue, even if there is great uncertainty. “We have a good hand in planning and the preparation for the season is going according to plan,” says Leichtle optimistically. The most important first test, the Supercup, is just around the corner on August 23rd, and Ludwigsburg's participation is still uncertain.
The look into the future
National coach Markus Gaugisch was emotionally affected by the situation, but emphasized that it is an economic matter that should not be ignored. “The situation is unfortunate, but we have to focus on what matters,” he said. Despite all these challenges, the league hopes that Ludwigsburg will be the twelfth team to play in the Bundesliga. Simply safety for the supporters of the most successful team in German women's handball remains the goal.
Overall, it remains to be seen how the situation will develop. What is certain, however, is that those responsible are doing everything they can to keep Ludwigsburg as a handball location in the long term and to maintain continuity in this successful club. The fans and the entire handball community now have to keep their fingers crossed and hope that things will be smoothed out soon.