Too Expensive, Too Risky? Why Clubs Avoid the 2nd Bundesliga
Demanding situation for Handball Bundesliga as Handball-World stated about lack of interest for playing at Second league among TOP Third Bundesliga teams.
As the 3rd Liga season heads toward its conclusion, the focus is not only on who can go up, but also on who actually wants to. And once again, the number of clubs prepared to make the leap to the 2nd Handball Bundesliga remains surprisingly small.
At the start of March, teams from all four third-division groups were invited to submit their applications for the promotion round. The deadline expired on March 31, and by then only seven clubs had officially declared their willingness to compete for a place in the second tier.
The list includes MTV Braunschweig and EHV Aue from the Northeast, TV Emsdetten, ASV Hamm and TuS Vinnhorst from the Northwest, as well as TV Gelnhausen and HG Saarlouis from the Southwest.
However, not all seven applicants can actually take part in the promotion playoffs. The format allows for a maximum of six participants, with no more than two teams from the same division. That leaves the Northwest group with a problem, as Emsdetten, Hamm and Vinnhorst are all in contention, but only two of them can advance.
The absence of any club from the South division is particularly striking. No team from that league registered for the promotion round. In the days leading up to the deadline, several clubs had already publicly ruled out a bid for the second division, including league leaders Kornwestheim and former 2nd Bundesliga side Wölfe Würzburg. HSG Hanau also decided against entering the race.
That trend once again raises a familiar question around German handball: has promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga become more of a burden than a reward for many third-division clubs?
The promotion round itself begins on May 16/17 and will feature six teams divided into two groups of three. Within each group, teams will meet each other home and away, with only the group winners securing promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga.
