One of the world’s biggest multi-sport facility in the world, the majestic Hamdan Sports Complex will add another feather to its cap when it hosts two of Europe’s biggest club handball teams - nine-time European Champions League winners FC Barcelona Handbol and 2016 continental champions PGE Vive Kielce – in the inaugural “500 Super Final Handball” match
DUBAI (Pakistan Point News - 9th May, 2018 ) One of the world’s biggest multi-sport facility in the world, the majestic Hamdan Sports Complex will add another feather to its cap when it hosts two of Europe’s biggest club handball teams - nine-time European Champions League winners FC Barcelona Handbol and 2016 continental champions PGE Vive Kielce – in the inaugural “500 Super Final Handball” match. Host of the 2010 Fina World Swimming Championships, the 15,000-seater Hamdan Sports Complex has been chosen as the venue for the first of the five 500 Super Final Handball that will be staged in Dubai every year until 2022.
Owned by Team Player Management and organised under the aegis of the International Handball Federation and Dubai Sports Council, the 500 Super Final Handball will see the winner of the match on December 21 taking home $300,000, while the losing team will get a cheque of $200,000. The winner this December will also earn the right to play in the second edition of the Super Final in 2019, where they will take on Austria’s Telekom Veszprem HC.
“The Hamdan Sports Complex is an amazing venue,” said Slawek Gebka, the owner of the event, who toured the facility along with FC Barcelona Lassa player Kamil Syprzak earlier in the week. “We looked at a number of options to host the inaugural 500 Super Final Handball and honestly, there is no shortage of options in Dubai. “We have some incredible facilities here, but Hamdan Sports Complex ticks all the boxes for us.
It is a massive facility and it has the experience of successfully hosting a number of international events, both aquatic and non-aquatic. Of course, there are few sports facilities in the world that can match the magnificence of Hamdan Sports Complex.” With the venue for the match finalised, Gebka expects the preparations for the match and the activities around it, which includes a clinic to introduce young kids to handball, to pick up.
“The 500 Super Final is an ambitious long-term project,” added Gebka, who has roped in Frenchman Bertrand Gille, considered one of the best pivots to ever play the game, to promote the game among children in the UAE. “We are not afraid of failures and we are willing to take chances to make this game exciting, fun and educational for the viewers around the world,” said Gebka, who expects the match to be telecast live around the globe.
“We want to see them enjoy this great sport of handball by producing fantastic entertainment around the game. But most importantly, we want youths here in the UAE to get interested by bringing the world’s best handball players here, and the world’ best clubs. “I believe if you create the right environment for any sport, and awareness and opportunities on a professional level, success will come sooner or later. You need to be patient, but you need to be absolutely determined.”
