| Sport | Handball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 (age 15) |
| Folded | 2023 (inactive) |
| Teams | (varied by season) |
| Confed | EHF |
| Most champs | Telekom Veszprém Vardar 1961 (5 titles each) |
The South East Handball Association League, or simply the SEHA League, was a regional men's club handball league in Southeast Europe, featuring teams from Croatia, Hungary, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovakia in its final West season. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league was also known as the Gazprom League (or the Gazprom South Stream League earlier).[1] The league exists alongside scaled-down national leagues of the participating nations and all of SEHA League teams join their respective country's own competitions in late spring after the SEHA League regular season and post-season have been completed. 2011–12 was the first season of the competition, with Vardar from Skopje becoming the first champions.
History of the league
The initiative for establishing the regional South-East European handball league was presented during the first half of 2011. After the idea of forming a Regional Sparkasse League failed, during July 2011 it was agreed that the first season of the SEHA League would start in September of the same year. In the first season of SEHA League, 12 clubs took part, but their number reduced during the following years. In the 2020–21 season, there are 10 clubs from 7 countries.
The league is based on a regular season and the Final Four, in which the four best placed clubs from the regular season participate. The most successful participants of the SEHA League during its first eight seasons is Vardar with five titles. Vardar became the first team with more than one title when it won the 2013–14 edition.
During the 2021–22, season was interrupted after Russian invasion of Ukraine, which led Motor Zaporizhzhia left the league, and Meshkov Brest being suspended. Siniša Ostoić, managing director, confirmed that the next season will not include teams from Belarus and Ukraine.[2] Also, European Handball Federation suspended both Russia and Belarus, meaning they are not able to play any competitive game with other EHF members.[3] The following season these clubs founded its own Eastern Division.[4] Season 2022–23 was abandoned after six of eight played games in quarterfinals, with the last game being played on 12 April 2023 between Telekom Veszprém and Partizan.[5]
On 12 May 2023, SEHA YouTube account was hacked by report given on official web page.[6] In the 2022–23 season, several Russian and Belarusian clubs formed their own Eastern Division, operating independently of the original league.[7]
Final Four tournaments
Results by season
Below is the list of winners, finalists and other participants of the Final Four SEHA tournaments.
| Year | Host | Final | Match for third place | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | Score | Second Place | Third Place | Score | Fourth Place | ||||
| 2011–12 Details | Zagreb | Vardar | 21–18 | Metalurg | Zagreb | 31–29 | Tatran Prešov | ||
| 2012–13 Details | Skopje | Zagreb | 25–24 a.e.t. | Vardar | Metalurg | 26–21 | Meshkov Brest | ||
| 2013–14 Details | Novi Sad | Vardar | 29–27 | Meshkov | Zagreb | 36–28 | Tatran | ||
| 2014–15 Details | Veszprém | Veszprém | 32–21 | Meshkov | Zagreb | 26–23 | Vardar | ||
| 2015–16 Details | Varaždin | Veszprém | 28–26 | Vardar | PPD Zagreb | 24−23 | Meshkov Brest | ||
| 2016–17 Details | Brest | Vardar | 26–21 | Veszprém | Meshkov Brest | 23−19 | PPD Zagreb | ||
| 2017–18 Details | Skopje | Vardar | 26–24 | PPD Zagreb | Celje | 31–28 | Meshkov Brest | ||
| 2018–19 Details | Brest | Vardar | 26–23 | PPD Zagreb | Meshkov Brest | 24–19 | Nexe | ||
| 2019–20 Details | Zadar | Telekom Veszprém | 35–27 | Vardar | Meshkov Brest | 29–24 | PPD Zagreb | ||
| 2020–21 Details | Zadar | Telekom Veszprém | 27–27 (pen. 4–2) | PPD Zagreb | Motor Zaporizhzhia | 31–20 | Meshkov Brest | ||
| 2021–22 Details | Zadar | Telekom Veszprém | 32–30 | PPD Zagreb | Eurofarm Pelister | 27–23 | Nexe | ||
| 2022–23 Details | League canceled during the quarterfinals | ||||||||
Hosts
| Year | Final four host | Hall | Date | Attendance | Final (att.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | Zagreb | Arena Zagreb | 14–15 April 2012 | 5,500 | 1,500 |
| 2012–13 | Skopje | Boris Trajkovski Sports Center | 12–13 April 2013 | 13,450 | 5,500 |
| 2013–14 | Novi Sad | SPC Vojvodina | 11–13 April 2014 | 15,710 | 5,160 |
| 2014–15 | Veszprém | Veszprém Aréna | 25–29 March 2015 | 16,100 | 5,000 |
| 2015–16 | Varaždin | Varaždin Arena | 1–3 April 2016 | 20,611 | 5,486 |
| 2016–17 | Brest | Universal Sports Complex Victoria | 7–9 April 2017 | 12,150 | 2,750 |
| 2017–18 | Skopje | Jane Sandanski Arena | 13–15 April 2018 | 16,650 | 6,000 |
| 2018–19 | Brest | Universal Sports Complex Victoria | 2–3 April 2019 | 11,135 | 3,210 |
| 2019–20 | Zadar | Krešimir Ćosić Hall | 4–6 September 2020 | 2,000 | 500 |
| 2020–21 | Zadar | Krešimir Ćosić Hall | 3–5 September 2021 | ||
| 2021–22 | Zadar | Krešimir Ćosić Hall | 2–4 September 2022 |
Records and statistics
By club
| Club | Won | Runner-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | 3 | 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 | 2013, 2016, 2020 | |
5 | 1 | 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021, 2022 | 2017 | |
1 | 4 | 2013 | 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 | |
0 | 2 | 2014, 2015 | ||
0 | 1 | 2012 | ||
| Total | 11 | 11 |
By country
| Club / Nation | Won | Runner-up | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Macedonia | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Hungary | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Croatia | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Belarus | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 11 | 11 | 22 |
Participating clubs
Bold indicates the winning years.
| Club | Seasons | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Vardar 1961 | 12 | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| PPD Zagreb | 12 | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Tatran Prešov | 12 | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Nexe Našice | 12 | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Meshkov Brest | 10 | 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 |
| RK Vojvodina | 9 | 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| RK Metalurg Skopje | 7 | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Telekom Veszprém | 7 | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Borac | 5 | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 |
| Izviđač | 4 | 2012, 2013, 2017, 2019 |
| RK Eurofarm Pelister | 4 | 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Lovćen | 3 | 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Metaloplastika | 3 | 2012, 2020, 2021 |
| Partizan | 3 | 2014, 2022, 2023 |
| Celje | 2 | 2017, 2018 |
| Gorenje | 2 | 2017, 2018 |
| Motor Zaporizhzhia | 2 | 2020, 2021 |
| Spartak Moscow / CSKA Moscow | 2 | 2020 |
| Bosna | 1 | 2012 |
| Crvena zvezda | 1 | 2012 |
| Sutjeska | 1 | 2012 |
| Sloga | 1 | 2013 |
| Radnički | 1 | 2015 |
| Maks Strumica | 1 | 2016 |
| Spartak Vojput | 1 | 2016 |
| Dinamo Pančevo | 1 | 2018 |
| CSA Steaua București | 1 | 2019 |
| Železničar | 1 | 2019 |
| Beijing Sport University | 1 | 2020 |
References
- ^ "SEHA - GAZPROM LEAGUE - Official website". SEHA. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- ^ "SINIŠA OSTOIĆ: 'SEHA liga ide dalje, ali bez klubova iz Ukrajine i Bjelorusije'" [SINIŠA OSTOIĆ: "SEHA league goes on, but without clubs from Ukraine and Belarus"] (in Croatian). Nacional. 6 August 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- ^ "Russia and Belarus suspended by EHF". Handball planet. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- ^ "WORLD NEWS". WORLD NEWS. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ "Results". SEHA. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
- ^ "SEHA YouTube account under cyber attack". SEHA. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
- ^ "SEHA to form “Eastern division”". Handball planet. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2025.