The 2026 EGCA Youth (U23) Championships took place in Antalya, the city of Alanya, Türkiye, from 6 to 8 November. Eight teams representing six different countries competed in the fourth edition of the Youth Championships.
The teams were divided into two groups of four, with each team playing every other team in its group once. The group stage was followed by the knockout rounds, featuring quarter-finals, semi-finals, medal matches and placement games.
This article looks back at the tournament, highlighting its biggest moments, outstanding performances and most dramatic encounters.
All results and statistics are available on the official tournament website.
RGC HANSA DOMINATE GROUP A AS GC LYON’S GOLDEN FLASH EXPERIENCE LATE DRAMA
The strongest team in Group A was once again Germany’s RGC Hansa Rostock, winners of every previous edition of the Youth Championships. Boasting an exceptionally deep and talented squad, Rostock won all three of their group matches, although they came remarkably close to dropping their first points against France’s GC Lyon’s Golden Flash.
The match was tied at 13–13 when, with just two seconds remaining, Golden Flash’s leading attacker Elias Ouni committed a penalty. RGC Hansa converted the resulting penalty to snatch a dramatic 14–13 victory.
This was not Golden Flash’s only last-second heartbreak in the group stage. In their opening match against tournament hosts Isparta, the French side appeared to have secured victory. However, with just two seconds left on the clock, the Turkish team earned a penalty while trailing by one goal. Golden Flash elected to throw the penalty, but the Isparta defender made the save. The hosts immediately launched a quick and effective counterattack, scoring the equaliser just before the final buzzer to secure a 12–12 draw.
For Finland’s Aisti Sport, the group stage proved extremely challenging. They suffered a heavy opening defeat against RGC Hansa, conceding 12 goals in the first half alone as the German side took control of the match.
Against hosts Isparta, Aisti Sport remained competitive for a considerable period, but the Turkish team eventually pulled away in the second half to secure a nine-goal victory.
GC Lyon’s Golden Flash also established a substantial advantage early in their match against Aisti Sport, eventually winning 15–6.
FSBU GOTHENBURG TOP GROUP B LED BY OUTSTANDING FELIX ROSVALL
In Group B, Sweden’s FSBU Gothenburg, runners-up at the previous two U23 European Championships, produced the most convincing performances.
They began with a ten-goal victory over Finland’s Old Power before defeating Turkey’s 6 Subat by a similarly comfortable margin.
Their final group match was against familiar opponents Aarhus Goalball from Denmark. The encounter was a thrilling contest with several twists and turns, eventually ending in a 7–7 draw. The result was enough to secure top spot in the group for Gothenburg.
FSBU Gothenburg’s Felix Rosvall was in extraordinary scoring form, finding the net an astonishing 28 times across the three group matches.
Aarhus Goalball experienced an early shock in their opening match when Turkey’s 6 Subat claimed a narrow 11–10 victory. Once again, the decisive moment came in the closing seconds, as a penalty conceded by Sigurd Lund allowed the Turkish side to score the winning goal with just four seconds remaining.
Aarhus bounced back strongly, securing a convincing 17–7 victory over Old Power before drawing with FSBU Gothenburg to finish second in the group.
For 6 Subat, the opening victory over Aarhus remained their only win of the group stage. They subsequently suffered a 15–5 defeat against FSBU Gothenburg.
In their final group match, however, Old Power produced one of the most dramatic comebacks of the tournament. Trailing by three goals, the Finnish side fought their way back into the game and eventually secured victory. Eemi Utriainen scored the winning goal with just one second remaining on the clock.
Despite the impressive comeback, the result was not enough for Old Power to overtake 6 Subat in the group standings.
FAVOURITES HOLD THEIR NERVE IN THE QUARTER-FINALS
The first quarter-final brought together Group A winners RGC Hansa Rostock and Group B’s fourth-placed team, Old Power.
RGC Hansa quickly established a three-goal lead, but a substitution in the Finnish team’s defensive end helped Old Power considerably improve their performance. They fought their way back into the match, with the score standing at 7–5 in Rostock’s favour at half-time.
Old Power managed to level the score twice early in the second half. However, after the match reached 8–8, RGC Hansa took control, scoring two quick goals to regain the initiative. Old Power could not recover, and the German side eventually secured a 14–9 victory.
Davis Hartwig was instrumental for RGC Hansa, scoring ten goals in an outstanding individual performance.
The second quarter-final saw hosts Isparta take on Aarhus Goalball. The Turkish side delivered a strong first-half performance, leading 3–2 at the break.
In the second half, however, Aarhus found their match-winner in Dutch player Sem De Jong. His goals helped the Danish side establish the necessary advantage, eventually securing a 7–5 victory and a place in the semi-finals.
The third quarter-final featured FSBU Gothenburg against Finland’s Aisti Sport. Gothenburg once again demonstrated their attacking strength, with tournament superstar Felix Rosvall proving virtually unstoppable. He scored nine goals to lead his team to a 13–6 victory.
Although FSBU’s substitutions helped Aisti Sport remain more competitive as the match progressed, the Swedish side were never seriously threatened.
The final quarter-final saw GC Lyon’s Golden Flash face Turkey’s 6 Subat. Elias Ouni led the French attack with an impressive nine goals, guiding his team to a 10–7 victory and a semi-final place. For 6 Subat, Ibrahim Gökhan scored all seven of the team’s goals.
FAMILIAR RIVALS REACH THE FINAL AFTER TWO THRILLING SEMI-FINALS
RGC Hansa Rostock faced a serious challenge in their semi-final against Aarhus Goalball. The Danish team made an excellent start, opening up a 4–1 lead during the first half.
However, a series of attacking errors from Aarhus allowed the German side to work their way back into the contest. Aarhus still held a narrow 5–4 advantage at half-time, but RGC Hansa came out aggressively in the second half, quickly equalising before taking the lead.
Rostock eventually completed the turnaround, winning 9–7 and booking their place in a fourth consecutive Youth Championships final.
The second semi-final between FSBU Gothenburg and GC Lyon’s Golden Flash proved to be an extraordinary thriller.
Gothenburg led 4–3 at half-time and extended their advantage to 6–3 early in the second half. However, the French side refused to give up, fighting their way back to level the score.
From that point onwards, the teams’ respective stars, Felix Rosvall and Elias Ouni, traded goals in a fascinating attacking battle.
With over time seemingly approaching, Rosvall had other ideas. He fired the ball into the Golden Flash net with just nine seconds remaining, securing a dramatic 9–8 victory for FSBU Gothenburg.
The result sent the Swedish team into their third consecutive Youth Championships final.
RGC HANSA WIN FOURTH CONSECUTIVE TITLE – AARHUS CLAIM BRONZE ONCE AGAIN
The bronze medal match between Aarhus Goalball and GC Lyon’s Golden Flash proved to be a relatively one-sided affair.
Aarhus dominated proceedings, taking control of the match and eventually bringing it to an early conclusion shortly after half-time with a convincing 12–2 victory.
Sigurd Lund led the Danish attack with seven goals, while Sem De Jong added five. Abdelrahmane Martinez scored both of Golden Flash’s goals. It was the second consecutive bronze medal for Aarhus at the Youth Championships.
The gold medal match between RGC Hansa Rostock and FSBU Gothenburg promised to be another classic, and the two teams certainly delivered.
Their previous two encounters in the championship finals had produced unforgettable moments, and this year’s showdown was no exception.
RGC Hansa made a strong start and quickly established control of the match. They led 5–3 at half-time and appeared to be heading comfortably towards their fourth consecutive European title as the second half progressed.
However, FSBU Gothenburg, inspired by Felix Rosvall, refused to surrender. The Swedish side mounted a late comeback attempt, bringing themselves back into contention during the closing minutes.
Nevertheless, just as they had done two years earlier at the championships in Rostock, RGC Hansa held their nerve to secure the title with a 9–7 victory.
Last year’s final had followed an even more dramatic script. RGC Hansa came back from the brink of defeat, scoring twice in the final minute to level the match before eventually winning the championship with a golden goal in over time.
This time, the German side once again demonstrated why they remain the dominant force in U23 European goalball. Despite facing serious challenges in several matches throughout the tournament, their experience, squad depth and quality proved decisive when it mattered most.
6 SUBAT WIN TURKISH PLACEMENT MATCH AS OLD POWER FINISH SEVENTH
The first placement match, deciding seventh and eighth place, took place on Saturday evening and featured the two Finnish teams, Aisti Sport and Old Power.
Old Power produced a powerful attacking performance, although defensive difficulties and a number of attacking errors allowed their opponents to remain somewhat competitive.
Ultimately, Old Power proved too strong, securing a convincing 15–5 victory.
Last year’s leading scorer, Eemi Utriainen, was once again in excellent form, scoring eight goals in the match and bringing his tournament total to 24.
The fifth-place match between Turkey’s two representatives, 6 Subat and Isparta, took place on Sunday morning.
6 Subat proved to be the hungrier side, establishing a commanding advantage in the first half, which they won 9–4.
Ibrahim Gökhan was once again the standout performer, scoring an outstanding 12 goals.
6 Subat eventually secured fifth place with a 17–9 victory, finishing the tournament as the highest-ranked Turkish team.
ROSVALL DOMINATES THE SCORING CHARTS – DE JONG NAMED MVP
FSBU Gothenburg’s Felix Rosvall finished the tournament as its leading scorer, recording an extraordinary 51 goals in six matches.
GC Lyon’s Golden Flash attacker Elias Ouni finished second with 39 goals, while RGC Hansa Rostock’s Kilian Kollrep claimed third place with 30 goals.
Despite Rosvall’s remarkable scoring achievements, the teams selected Aarhus Goalball’s Sem De Jong as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.
It was the second consecutive year that the MVP award went to an Aarhus player. At last year’s championships, the honour was awarded to Sigurd Lund.