Women's EHF EURO 2024: “a great championship in the heart of Europe”

EHF President Michael Wiederer underlined that the extension of the Women’s EHF EURO 2024 to 24 participants was a huge success: “Following the positive development of the men’s events after increasing the number to 24 teams, we will see the same for European women’s handball. The value of our sport is not only defined by the top teams, but also by those who challenge them. More nations will produce more quality, which finally strengthens women’s handball all over Europe. The new nations, who debuted in 2024, did a good job. The motivation in many countries to invest in women’s handball will rise and the value of the EHF EURO will increase.”

Besides, Wiederer praised on one hand “the great atmosphere in all venues” and on the other the job of the three organisers and the cooperation with the EHF: “They had the experience, but also showed a lot of friendliness towards all guests, as all people involved had identified themselves with the event. This means that we have a very positive outlook for the future.”

Predrag Boskovic, EHF Vice-President, focused on two major side events on the fringes of the Women’s EHF EURO 2024, the EHF Women’s Handball Conference and the EHF Excellence Awards, both hosted in Vienna. 140 participants from more than 30 countries were part of the second edition of the Women’s Handball Conference. “The whole handball system will profit when women’s handball increases, and we already see a great development on and off the court in terms of women’s empowerment in handball. We had great feedback from all sides for this conference,” said Boskovic.

Talking about the EHF Excellence Awards, the Montenegrin highlighted those new female players, who were added to the EHF Hall of Fame: “Those legends did not only have remarkable achievements on the court, but also play a crucial role in handball after the end of their active career, they make handball, especially women’s handball, much stronger.”

Martin Hausleitner, EHF Secretary General, presented many figures on the Women’s EHF EURO 2024: almost 200,000 tickets were issued in the four venues in three countries. “5,000 fans in Switzerland and 3,500-4,000 fans in Austria were the highest numbers ever for women’s handball matches in those countries, while the arena in Debrecen was sold-out several times, which is normal for Hungary”, said Hausleitner. “And we could recognise again that EHF EURO events attract a more and more international audience, the organisers do not only have to rely on the local markets, as the arenas are an attractive place for handball fans from all over Europe.”

Hausleitner also announced the media figures of the Women’s EHF EURO 2024, which was broadcasted in 110 countries, 30 more than two years ago. The visibility of women’s handball rose significantly in many countries, of course highlighted by Denmark and Norway, with a market share between 50 and 60 per cent and up to more than one million viewers per match of the two finalists.

A huge increase was analysed in the digital media, with 220 million contacts and 80,000 new followers on the 22 different channels of the EHF. The most successful video was a reel of a goal scored by Norwegian player Camilla Herrem, with 32 million clicks until Sunday. Hausleitner also thanked all sponsors, partners and suppliers for their support of this “really successful event”.

Markus Plazer, President of the Austrian Handball Federation, as representative of the three EHF EURO hosts, was delighted that the whole handball family was happy: “Players, who gave their hearts on the court, crazy fans on the stands, volunteers and employees and the members of all federations, who gave all to make this event a success. We are highly satisfied with the outcome, this was a great championship in the heart of Europe.”

Switzerland and Austria were hosts of a Women’s EHF EURO for the first time, while for Hungary it was the third time after 2004 and 2014. “The event was a real push for women’s handball all over Europe,” said Plazer, adding: “But we need many more events like this to boost women’s handball in future.”

Finally, the official flag handover for the next Women’s EHF EURO took place with the Presidents of the EHF, the three 2024 hosts Austria, Hungary and Switzerland and the 2026 hosts Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania and Türkiye.

Presentation of the future hosts

Men’s EHF EURO 2026

The next Men’s EHF EURO will be staged from 15 January to 1 February 2026 in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Anita Kristiansen, Event Manager Danish Handball Association, and Tobias Frejfors, Event Manager of the Swedish Handball Federation, gave an overview of the tournament, which will be played under the motto “Pure greatness – beyond world-class” and will have a clear focus on sustainability in all aspects.

The venues are the Unity Arena in Baerum/Oslo (Norway) for groups C and D of the preliminary round, Malmö Arena for preliminary round group E and a main round group and Kristianstad Arena for preliminary round group F (both Sweden) and Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning for preliminary round groups A and B, as well as the main round and the final weekend. The preliminary round takes place from 15 to 21 January 2026, followed by the main round from 22 to 28 January 2026 and the final round from 30 January to 1 February.

Denmark start their journey in group B in Herning, Norway in group C in Oslo and Sweden in group E in Malmö. If qualified, Germany play in group A in Herning, Faroe Islands in group D in Oslo and Iceland in group F in Kristianstad.

Women’s EHF EURO 2026:

“Be here” is the slogan of the upcoming women’s pinnacle event in European handball. For the first time ever, five countries will host the Women’s EHF EURO – Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania and Türkiye. Radoslaw Wasiak, First Vice President Polish Handball Federation and Petr Hercik, Executive Director Playbook House, presented the key facts of the event.

The six host cities are Katowice (Poland/preliminary Round, main round, final round), Brno (Czechia/preliminary round), Bratislava (Slovakia/preliminary round), Oradea (Romania/preliminary round), Cluj-Napoca (Romania/main round) and Antalya (Türkiye/preliminary round). The preliminary round will be played in six groups from 3 to 9 December 2026, followed by the main round from 10 to 16 December and the final weekend between 18 and 20 December.  The venues' capacities range from 5,300 to 13,300.

Photos © Kolektiff Images