European Women's Handball Championship
International handball competition in Europe for women's national teams
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The European Women's Handball Championship is the official competition for senior women's national handball teams of Europe, and takes place every two years. In addition to crowning the European champions, the tournament also serves as a qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games and World Championship. As of December 2024, the only teams that have ever won the championship are Norway (ten times), Denmark (three times), Hungary, Montenegro and France (each once).
Current season, competition or edition: 2026 European Women's Handball Championship | |
| Sport | Handball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 |
| No. of teams | 16 (finals) |
| Continent | Europe (EHF) |
| Most recent champion |  Norway (10th title) |
| Most titles | Norway (10 titles) |
History
In year 1946, the International Handball Federation was founded by eight European nations,[1] and though non-European nations competed at the World Championships, the medals had always been taken by European nations.[2] European Handball Federation is founded in 1991. At the same time (1995), the World Championship was changed from a quadrennial to a biannual event, and the European Handball Federation now began its own championship – which also acted as a regional qualifier for the World Championship.[3] The tournament will be expanded to 24 teams in 2024 to take place in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland.
Tournaments
Medal table
Statistics
Summary (1994–2024)
Source (Table Section): [4][5]
| Rank | Team | Part | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | 16 | 123 | 103 | 6 | 14 | 3532 | 2725 | +807 | 212 |
| 2 |  Denmark | 16 | 115 | 76 | 4 | 35 | 3020 | 2787 | +233 | 156 |
| 3 |  Hungary | 16 | 109 | 59 | 5 | 45 | 2908 | 2816 | +92 | 123 |
| 4 |  France | 13 | 92 | 59 | 3 | 30 | 2331 | 2118 | +213 | 121 |
| 5 |  Germany | 16 | 102 | 53 | 5 | 44 | 2596 | 2557 | +39 | 111 |
| 6 |  Russia | 14 | 94 | 49 | 11 | 34 | 2480 | 2284 | +196 | 109 |
| 7 |  Romania | 15 | 100 | 49 | 4 | 47 | 2519 | 2530 | -11 | 102 |
| 8 |  Sweden | 14 | 87 | 39 | 7 | 41 | 2238 | 2229 | +9 | 85 |
| 9 |  Montenegro | 8 | 53 | 31 | 1 | 21 | 1345 | 1334 | +11 | 63 |
| 10 |  Netherlands | 10 | 62 | 28 | 2 | 32 | 1639 | 1624 | +15 | 58 |
| 11 |  Spain | 13 | 77 | 24 | 10 | 43 | 1896 | 1973 | -77 | 58 |
| 12 |  Croatia | 13 | 63 | 26 | 2 | 34 | 1505 | 1632 | -127 | 54 |
| 13 |  Ukraine | 12 | 62 | 18 | 7 | 40 | 1489 | 1627 | -138 | 40 |
| 14 |  Serbia | 13 | 60 | 17 | 3 | 40 | 1604 | 1731 | -127 | 37 |
| 15 |  Austria | 9 | 50 | 19 | 0 | 31 | 1202 | 1327 | -125 | 38 |
| 16 |  Poland | 9 | 43 | 16 | 1 | 29 | 1017 | 1161 | -144 | 27 |
| 17 |  Slovenia | 9 | 40 | 12 | 0 | 28 | 1010 | 1165 | -155 | 24 |
| 18 |  North Macedonia | 7 | 33 | 7 | 3 | 23 | 756 | 934 | -178 | 17 |
| 19 |  Czech Republic | 8 | 37 | 8 | 0 | 29 | 863 | 951 | -88 | 16 |
| 20 |  Belarus | 4 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 460 | 509 | -49 | 9 |
| 21 |  Switzerland | 2 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 264 | 326 | -62 | 5 |
| 22 |  Slovakia | 3 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 303 | 427 | -124 | 3 |
| 23 |  Iceland | 3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 196 | 250 | -54 | 2 |
| 24 |  Faroe Islands | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 66 | 78 | -12 | 1 |
| 25 |  Turkey | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 68 | 102 | -34 | 1 |
| 26 |  Portugal | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 128 | 181 | -53 | 0 |
| 27 |  Lithuania | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 124 | 183 | -59 | 0 |
Total hosts
| Rank | Nation | Hosts | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denmark | 6 | 1996, 2002, 2010, 2020, (2028), (2032) |
| 2 | Hungary | 3 | 2004, 2014, 2024 |
| Sweden | 2006, 2016, (2028) | ||
| 4 | Germany |
2 | 1994, (2032) |
| North Macedonia |
2008, 2022 | ||
| Poland |
(2026), (2032) | ||
| Romania |
2000, (2026) | ||
| Norway |
2010, (2028) | ||
| 9 | Austria | 1 | 2024 |
| Croatia | 2014 | ||
| Czech Republic | (2026) | ||
| France | 2018 | ||
| Montenegro | 2022 | ||
| Netherlands | 1998 | ||
| Serbia | 2012 | ||
| Slovakia | (2026) | ||
| Slovenia | 2022 | ||
| Switzerland | 2024 | ||
| Turkey | (2026) |
Top scorers by tournament
The record-holder for scored goals in a single Euro Championship is Bojana Radulović, where she scored 72 goals Hungary at the 2004 European Women's Handball Championship in Hungary.
| Year | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Ágnes Farkas |
48 |
| 1996 | Kjersti Grini |
48 |
| 1998 | Ausra Fridrikas |
68 |
| 2000 | Simona Gogîrlă |
68 |
| 2002 | Ágnes Farkas |
58 |
| 2004 | Bojana Radulović |
72 |
| 2006 | Nadine Krause |
58 |
| 2008 | Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth |
51 |
| 2010 | Cristina Neagu |
53 |
| 2012 | Katarina Bulatović |
56 |
| 2014 | Isabelle Gulldén |
58 |
| 2016 | Nora Mørk |
53 |
| 2018 | Katarina Krpež Slezak |
50 |
| 2020 | Nora Mørk |
52 |
| 2022 | Nora Mørk |
50 |
| 2024 | Katrin Klujber |
60 |
Best players by tournament
Participating nations
- Legend
- 1st – Champions
- 2nd – Runners-up
- 3rd – Third place
- 4th – Fourth place
- 5th – Fifth place
- 6th – Sixth place
- 7th – Seventh place
- 8th – Eighth place
- 9th – Ninth place
- 10th – Tenth place
- 11th – Eleventh place
- 12th – Twelfth place
- 13th to 16th – Thirteenth to sixteenth place
- Q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
- q – may still qualify for upcoming tournament
- • – Did not qualify
- •× – Disqualified
- × – Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
- – Hosts
For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.
| Nation | 1994 |
1996 |
1998 |
2000 |
2002 |
2004 |
2006 |
2008 |
2010 |
2012 |
2014 |
2016 |
2018 |
2020 |
2022 |
2024 |
2026 |
2028 |
 2030 |
2032 |
Participations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria |
9th | 3rd | 4th | 12th | 9th | 10th | 10th | 15th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 14th | Q | 10 | |||
| Belarus |
• | • | • | 11th | 16th | 16th | • | 12th | • | • | • | • | • | • | × | × | × | 4 | |||
| Croatia |
5th | 6th | • | • | • | 13th | 7th | 6th | 9th | 13th | 13th | 16th | 16th | 3rd | 10th | 19th | Q | 14 | |||
| Czech Republic |
8th | • | • | • | 8th | 15th | • | • | • | 12th | • | 10th | 15th | 15th | • | 15th | Q | 9 | |||
| Denmark |
1st | 1st | 2nd | 10th | 1st | 2nd | 11th | 11th | 4th | 5th | 8th | 4th | 8th | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | Q | Q | Q | 18 | |
| Faroe Islands |
× | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | 17th | Q | 2 | |||
| France |
• | • | • | 5th | 3rd | 11th | 3rd | 14th | 5th | 9th | 5th | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 4th | 4th | Q | 14 | |||
| Germany |
2nd | 4th | 6th | 9th | 11th | 5th | 4th | 4th | 13th | 7th | 10th | 6th | 10th | 7th | 7th | 7th | Q | Q | 17 | ||
 Greece |
• | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | Q | 1 | |||
| Hungary |
4th | 10th | 3rd | 1st | 5th | 3rd | 5th | 8th | 10th | 3rd | 6th | 12th | 7th | 10th | 11th | 3rd | Q | 17 | |||
| Iceland |
• | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 15th | 15th | • | • | • | • | • | 16th | Q | 4 | |||
| Lithuania |
• | 12th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | |||
| Montenegro1 |
• | • | 6th | 1st | 4th | 13th | 9th | 8th | 3rd | 8th | Q | 9 | |||||||||
| Netherlands |
• | • | 10th | • | 14th | • | 15th | • | 8th | • | 7th | 2nd | 3rd | 6th | 6th | 6th | Q | 11 | |||
| North Macedonia |
× | × | 8th | 8th | • | • | 12th | 7th | • | 16th | • | • | • | • | 16th | 18th | Q | 8 | |||
| Norway |
3rd | 2nd | 1st | 6th | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 5th | 1st | 1st | 1st | Q | Q | 18 | ||
| Poland |
• | 11th | 5th | • | • | • | 8th | • | • | • | 11th | 15th | 14th | 14th | 13th | 9th | Q | Q | 10 | ||
| Portugal |
• | • | • | • | • | • | • | 16th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 22nd | • | 2 | |||
| Romania |
10th | 5th | 11th | 4th | 7th | 7th | • | 5th | 3rd | 10th | 9th | 5th | 4th | 12th | 12th | 11th | Q | 16 | |||
| Russia |
6th | 7th | 9th | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | 7th | 6th | 14th | 7th | 2nd | 5th | × | × | × | 14 | |||
| Serbia1 |
14th | 13th | 14th | 4th | 15th | 9th | 11th | 13th | 15th | 21st | Q | 11 | |||||||||
| Slovakia |
12th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | • | 24th | Q | 4 | |||
| Slovenia |
• | • | • | • | 10th | 9th | 16th | • | 16th | • | • | 14th | 13th | 16th | 8th | 10th | Q | 10 | |||
| Spain |
• | • | 12th | • | 13th | 8th | 9th | 2nd | 11th | 11th | 2nd | 11th | 12th | 9th | 9th | 13th | Q | 14 | |||
| Sweden |
7th | 8th | • | • | 15th | 14th | 6th | 9th | 2nd | 8th | 3rd | 8th | 6th | 11th | 5th | 5th | Q | Q | 16 | ||
| Switzerland |
• | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 14th | 12th | Q | 3 | |||
| Turkey |
• | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 20th | Q | 2 | |||
| Ukraine |
11th | 9th | 7th | 2nd | 12th | 6th | 13th | 10th | 12th | 14th | 16th | • | • | • | • | 23rd | Q | 13 | |||
| Historical national teams | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Serbia and Montenegro1 |
12th | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| FR Yugoslavia1 |
× | • | • | 7th | 6th | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Total | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | |
- 1 FR Yugoslavia competed as such until 2003 when the FRY was reconstituted as a State Union Serbia and Montenegro. Since the dissolution of the union in 2006, national teams exist for both countries.
Most successful players
Boldface denotes active handball players and highest medal count among all players (including these who not included in these tables) per type.
| Rank | Player | Country | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katrine Lunde | Norway | 2002 | 2024 | 7 | 2 | – | 9 |
| 2 | Camilla Herrem | Norway | 2008 | 2024 | 6 | 1 | – | 7 |
| 3 | Karoline Dyhre Breivang | Norway | 2004 | 2014 | 5 | 1 | – | 6 |
| Marit Malm Frafjord | Norway | 2006 | 2020 | 5 | 1 | – | 6 | |
| Stine Oftedal Dahmke | Norway | 2010 | 2022 | 5 | 1 | – | 6 | |
| Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth Koren | Norway | 2004 | 2014 | 5 | 1 | – | 6 | |
| Silje Solberg-Østhassel | Norway | 2012 | 2024 | 5 | 1 | – | 6 | |
| Tonje Larsen | Norway | 1994 | 2010 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |
| 9 | Kari Aalvik Grimsbø | Norway | 2006 | 2016 | 5 | – | – | 5 |
| Nora Mørk | Norway | 2010 | 2022 | 5 | – | – | 5 | |
| Heidi Løke | Norway | 2008 | 2020 | 4 | 1 | – | 5 |