European Women’s Handball Championship

Publication date: 19 August 2022

The European Women’s Handball Championship is held every two years under the auspices of the European Handball Federation (EHF).

Official website of the European Handball Federation

2026 European Women’s Handball Championship

The Women’s European Handball Championship 2026 will be the 17th edition of the tournament, held across five countries: Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Turkey. The competition is scheduled for December 3–15, 2026, with matches taking place in six venues.

Participants

The tournament will feature 24 teams, including the defending champions, Norway, who will aim to retain the title they won in 2024.

Favorites

• Norway: The dominant force in women’s handball with multiple titles.
• France: A consistent medal contender.
• Denmark: A strong team with ambitious plans.
• Sweden: Capable of surprises and challenging the favorites.

Interesting Facts

1. Five Host Countries: This is the first time the championship will be held across five nations.
2. Record Number of Teams: 24 teams will participate, the highest in the tournament’s history.
3. Norwegian Dominance: Norway has won 9 of the last 14 European Championships.

History of the European Women’s Handball Championship

Handball is a team ball game that consists of two halves of 30 minutes each. Modern handball was first played at the end of the 19th century. Denmark, Germany and Sweden are the countries that started the history of handball.

The official date of handball’s birth is 1898. At that time, physical education teacher Holger Nielsen invited his female students to play a new game of handball.

In 1917, Max Heiser, Karl Schelenz and Erich Koenig compiled the first handball rule book.

Handball has been recognised as an international sport since 1926.

The first European Women’s Handball tournament was held in Germany in 1994, three months after the Men’s European Championship. A total of 12 countries were represented. The winning country was Denmark.

Previous European Women’s Handball Championships results

2028 European Women’s Handball Championship

The next Women’s European Handball Championship is scheduled for 2028. The exact dates and host country have not yet been announced, but the tournament is expected to bring together the continent’s top teams.

Keep an eye on the dates of the European and World Handball tournaments and other events in our Sports Events Calendar.