The EGCA Youth (U23) Championships will be held in Antalya, Türkiye, from 6–8 November. Eight teams from six different countries will take part in the tournament. The main organiser of the event is the local club Isparta GESK.
In this preview, you will find information on how to follow the tournament, an overview of the competition format, and an introduction to the teams and their prospects heading into the event.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE EVENT
You can find the official tournament website here.
The official website provides team rosters, participating referees, the match schedule, results and statistics.
All tournament matches will be available to watch via livestream on the EGCA GoalballTV YouTube channel.
EGCA’s social media channels will also provide results and updates from Antalya throughout the tournament.
COMPETITION FORMAT
The teams have been divided into two preliminary groups of four teams each as follows:
Group A: Isparta (TUR), RGC Hansa Rostock (GER), Aisti Sport (FIN), GC Lyon’s Golden Flash (FRA)
Group B: FSBU Gothenburg (SWE), Aarhus Goalball (DEN), Old Power (FIN), 6 Subat (TUR)
Within the groups, teams play a single round-robin format. After the group stage, the tournament advanced to the quarterfinals, where the winner of one group faces the fourth-placed team of the other group, and the second-placed team faces the third-placed team from the other group.
The winners of the quarterfinals advance to the semifinals, while the losing teams play placement matches for places 5–8.
The quarter-final losers are ranked based on their results at the Group Stage. The two teams with the best Group Stage results will play for 5th and 6th place, while the two teams with the weakest Group Stage results will play for 7th and 8th place in the tournament.
The winners of the semifinals advance to the tournament final. The teams that lose in the semifinals compete in the bronze medal match.
The tournament is played under existing IBSA 2025 rules. A team earns 3 points from a win, 1 point from a draw and 0 points for a loss in a preliminary group game. The ranking of teams in a preliminary group is determined by the following system:
A. Earned points
B. Goal difference
C. Goals against
D. If two teams remain tied after criteria A–C, priority shall be given to the team that won the head-to-head match between them.
E. If two teams remain tied after criteria A–D, an extra throws competition is organised between those teams to determine their ranking.
In the quarterfinals, semifinals, medal matches and placement matches, each game is played to a decisive result. If the match is tied after regulation time, a 6-minute golden goal overtime is played (the first team to score wins). If the game remains tied after overtime, an extra throws competition is used to determine the winner.
GROUP A – WILL RGC HANSA ROSTOCK CELEBRATE ITS FOURTH CONSECUTIVE EUROPEAN TITLE, OR CAN THE TALENTED HOSTS CAUSE AN UPSET?
The biggest pre-tournament favourites in Group A, as well as in the tournament overall, are Germany’s RGC Hansa Rostock, who have won every edition of the EGCA Youth Championships held so far.
Last year, they claimed the title in the final against FSBU Gothenburg thanks to a golden goal scored by John Turloff. Although John Turloff is now too old to feature in RGC Hansa’s squad, the team still boasts an impressive lineup of highly talented players.
Kilian Kollrep and Phillipp Schrader are already experienced Champions League players, and they also celebrated winning the European title alongside Jonathan Dunckelmann in Berlin in September.
One of the team’s brightest rising stars is Davis Hartwig, who, at just 17 years of age, was part of the German national team at the World Championships in China in June, where Germany claimed the silver medal.
France’s GC Lyon’s Golden Flash is another interesting team, having won bronze at the Youth Championships two years ago.
Their roster features several female players with considerable international experience, as well as two exceptionally talented male players. One of them, Elias Ouni, is considered one of the most promising goalball players on the continent.
Ouni topped the tournament’s scoring charts two years ago, and last year the youngster played a major role in helping Belgian club Ha. Vi. 2 Bruxelles win the Champions League. Golden Flash are among the potential contenders to reach the medal matches.
The host team, Isparta, is also a very competitive side.
As many as three of their players will represent Türkiye at the Youth World Championships in Kazakhstan at the end of November: Erdal Mih, Batuhan Gökce and Enes Malik Tuluk.
Of these players, Erdal Mih is an exceptionally talented centre player, while his older brother Musa Mih already made a strong impression at international tournaments last year.
Last month, Isparta also secured promotion to the top division of the Türkiye Goalball League for next season. This means the team is heading into the Antalya Youth Championships in excellent form, and we are certainly looking forward to seeing just how far the hosts can go!
Finland’s Aisti Sport have participated in every edition of the Youth Championships, but have yet to achieve a major breakthrough.
Aisti Sport’s most internationally experienced player is undoubtedly Jasmin Mikkola, who won bronze with the Finnish women’s national team at last year’s European Championships. In August, she also celebrated winning the Women’s Champions League title with Old Power.
Aisti Sport have plenty of talent in their squad. Lauri Saapunki, for example, who was already part of the team last year, has made significant strides in his development over the past 12 months.
Nevertheless, Aisti Sport enter Group A and the tournament overall as one of the underdog challengers.
GROUP B – WILL GOTHENBURG FINALLY CLAIM THE CROWN, OR WILL TALENT FROM NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES STEAL THE SHOW?
Group B features Sweden’s FSBU Gothenburg, silver medallists at the previous two editions of the Youth Championships. They will undoubtedly be determined to finally get their hands on the title.
The team’s roster remains completely unchanged from last year’s tournament, when they came within seconds of winning the European title.
The two brightest stars in the squad are centre player Alexander Smedberg and right winger Felix Rosvall, who consistently produces impressive scoring performances from one tournament to the next.
We will be particularly interested to see who earns the most playing time alongside this outstanding duo in the starting line-up.
Denmark’s Aarhus Goalball won bronze last year, while the team’s superstar Sigurd Lund received the Most Valuable Player award.
Alongside Lund, we will be keeping a close eye on another regular member of the Danish national team, Mads Faurholt, and his performances in this year’s tournament.
Sixteen-year-old Valdemar Kristensen impressed at last year’s Youth Championships, while Sem De Jong is known from various EGCA competitions as a particularly powerful attacking player. Aarhus are therefore once again ready to compete for a place on the podium.
Finland’s Old Power are one of Europe’s leading goalball clubs, and this year they finally have a team competing in the Youth Championships.
And this is certainly not a team that anyone should underestimate. Their squad includes, among others, last year’s tournament top scorer Eemi Utriainen, who is undoubtedly one of the leading favourites to compete for the top scorer award again this year.
British player Conall Moore brings considerable experience to the team, Tuomas Halonen provides stability in the centre position, and rising talent Ali Reza Ahmadi offers additional attacking support for Utriainen.
The fourth team in Group B, Türkiye’s 6 Subat GESK from Kahramanmaras, is perhaps the tournament’s biggest unknown, as their players have yet to feature on the international stage.
Last month, the team secured promotion to the second-highest division of the Türkiye Goalball League, demonstrating clear progress in their performances.
All of the team’s players were born in 2003, meaning they will be too old to compete in next year’s Youth Championships. They will therefore undoubtedly be highly motivated to make their mark this time around.
It remains to be seen just how far they can go!