Handball Club Leipzig

History

The origins of HC Leipzig trace back to 1963, when the handball sections of SC Lokomotive Leipzig and BSG Rotation Leipzig-Mitte merged to form SC Leipzig. Before the merger, each of those clubs had won the East German Championship once. SC Leipzig went on to win 13 East German Championships and the European Cup in 1966 and 1974. SC Leipzig was dissolved in 1993, and the women's handball section joined VfB Leipzig. VfB Leipzig later faced economic difficulties in the late 1990s, leading to the formation of the independent club HC Leipzig to preserve the handball team. In its first season under the new name, HC Leipzig won the DHB Pokal. During the second half of the 2016–17 season, the club was found to have accumulated €1.3 million in debt and filed for insolvency, resulting in a four-point deduction. The following summer, HCL lost its Bundesliga license due to the debt and was relegated to the 3. Liga. The club appealed, but the Bundesliga rejected the appeal. The German Handball Association then ruled that HCL could keep its license if it made an irrevocable equity increase payment of €600,000 by July 14, 2017, and paid all outstanding wages through June 2017. The club could not meet the payment deadline and subsequently filed for insolvency, restarting in the 3. Liga on the license of its former second team. In 2019, the club was promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.