Handball: Kiel Managing Director Storm:”I’d rather have a four-year rhythm”.

Thorsten Storm, Managing Director of the German record holder THW Kiel, spoke out in favour of equalising the international tournament calendar before the European Championships in Croatia, which start on Friday,”As a person involved, I feel the same way as many handball fans. Less would sometimes be more. I would prefer a four-year rhythm like in football,”said Storm in an interview with the FAZ. At present, both the European Championship and the World Cup are held every two years.

Despite the fact that the elimination of the national team is confusing the German record-breaking championship, the 53-year-old sees positive effects:”Successful international players are doing well. They are our faces in the German media, alongside international stars such as Domagoj Duvnjak and Niklas Landin,”said Storm, who gives Germany a good chance to defend its title.

“I’ve been seeing the national team consistently ranked among the top four in world handball for two or three years. That was not the case for a long time before. This development is also due to the fact that German international players are constantly having to prove themselves on a high level in the league,”said Storm. He also thinks a lot of the new national coach Christian Prokop.

In order to remain competitive both nationally and in Europe, Kiel restructured the management level and the system had to be adapted. That’s what set us back. If we, as THW, want to play a dominant role in the Bundesliga and Champions League at the same time, we have to increase our budget substantially once again and open up new markets and sources of income,”said Storm, who is now concentrating fully on the commercial sector.

The long-time Bundesliga player and former Kieler Viktor Szilagyi has been taking care of the sporting part since the beginning of the year.