Economic foundation falters, causing turmoil in Ludwigsburg
The HB Ludwigsburg women's handball team is in the midst of a significant financial crisis, leading to their disqualification from the 2025/26 Women's Champions League and potential disruption in the German Bundesliga.
The team's financial troubles began when key sponsorship negotiations unexpectedly collapsed, leaving them unable to secure the necessary funding for the upcoming season. This led to the initiation of provisional insolvency proceedings about two weeks ago [1].
Dr. Holger Leichtle, the provisional insolvency administrator, stated that the decision was inevitable under the current circumstances [2]. As a result, the players of HB Ludwigsburg have been informed that they are no longer bound by their contracts [3].
The economic foundation for the team is lacking, and efforts to secure funding have been unsuccessful. This has led to the disqualification of HB Ludwigsburg by the European Handball Federation (EHF) from the Champions League due to their inability to guarantee financial requirements [4]. The Norwegian club Sola HK has replaced them in the competition [4].
Legal proceedings have been initiated by the EHF against HB Ludwigsburg and the German Handball Federation regarding registration regulation compliance [1]. The crisis has sparked criticism and concerns about the integrity and financial health of German women's handball, with rival clubs describing the club's previous success as compromised by fraud and deception [2].
The Bundesliga faces disruption because Ludwigsburg's expected matches (20+ games) could be lost, forcing a substantial reconsideration of the league schedule and format [2]. The German Handball Bundesliga (DHB) has announced a deduction of eight bonus points for HB Ludwigsburg at the end of the regular season due to the initiation of insolvency proceedings [5].
The insolvency proceedings for HB Ludwigsburg are being conducted according to § 8b of the league's statutes. Despite their best efforts, the board was unable to find a solution to bridge the financial gap [6]. The board is now reviewing the continuation of the project on a smaller scale with reduced financial resources [7].
It is unclear how things will proceed for HB Ludwigsburg beyond the current situation. The team won the championship and the cup under their new name last season, having moved to Ludwigsburg from Bietigheim the previous year [8]. The players have also been informed about the review of the continuation of the project, and the decision was made after careful consideration by Dr. Holger Leichtle [9].
References: 1. BBC Sport 2. Sport Bild 3. Handball-Planet 4. EHF 5. DHB 6. Handball-Planet 7. Handball-Planet 8. Handball-Planet 9. Handball-Planet
The financial troubles of HB Ludwigsburg have extended beyond the Women's Champions League, as they were also disqualified from the German Bundesliga. With no new sponsors found and legal proceedings initiated by the European Handball Federation, the team's future in European leagues, such as the Champions League, seems uncertain.
