The Andersen League kicks off on Saturday

Nine teams will take part in the re-launched second division ice hockey championship, whose title sponsor is Andersen Hungary, a major player in the Hungarian consultancy market. The Andersen League field is made up of teams from the U21 league and the former OB II championship.

The teams entered in the Andersen League are: South Buda HC Wolves, DAB-ASP, FTC-Telekom, Goodwill Pharma Szegedi Vízmű, Lehel HC, MAC Ikonok, Sportországi Cápák, UNI GYŐR ETO HC, Worm Angels. The tournament features young talent and experienced players, former national team players and Erste Liga winners, so you can expect exciting and interesting matches.

“Some of the U21 teams are competing in the Andersen League alongside the U21 lower division, and our former OB II teams are also competing here. Each team operates in different circumstances, so there will be some teams with former Erste Liga players, others with U21 teams. The main organizing principle is that this is an U25 championship, but in order to increase competitiveness, players over 25 years of age can also play, and clubs will use this option to varying degrees,” said Attila Somogyi, head of the federation’s competition office and manager of the Andersen League.

The regular season will run from 8 October to 25 February, followed by the play-offs, which will be contested by the top eight finishers. The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be played to two or two winners, and the final to three winners.

“I am convinced that for the long-term development of Hungarian ice hockey, we need a secure backdrop, a second division of high professional standards, as is the case in many other team sports. These things have to build on each other: you cannot build a castle by building only the top level, the tower, and nothing underneath. It is a miracle that the overall standard of Hungarian hockey has not been seriously affected by the lack of a valuable second line in the last ten years. With the support of the Andersen League, we want to change this,” said Károly Radnai, Managing Partner of Andersen, the main sponsor, who also previously held the position of Vice President of the MOL League.

Andersen is a US-based tax and legal services group with a Hungarian member firm and nearly 100 employees. Andersen Hungary has supported the work of the MJSZ and the development of Hungarian ice hockey in various forms for more than 10 years.