European Handball Federation selects multiple host nations for 2026 Women’s Euro Championships

The European Handball Federation has announced the host nations for the 2026 edition of its Women’s EHF European Championships, signalling a collaborative effort across Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Turkey to showcase top-level international women’s handball.

Bids were submitted by the selected nations before the EHF’s deadline of October 25, 2023. After careful evaluation of each bid’s financial feasibility, potential audience reach and television agreements – coupled with consultations with the respective national handball federations – the EHF opted for a multi-nation approach to “bring top women’s handball to as many European markets as possible.”

The decision to combine the bids from Turkey, Poland/Czech Republic and Romania/Slovakia into a single hosting arrangement was finalised by the EHF’s executive committee on March 7. The 24-team tournament is scheduled to take place from December 3-20, 2026.

During the preliminary round, the teams will be divided into six groups of four, with matches spread across various cities including Oradea (Romania), Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Antalya (Turkey), Brno (Czech Republic), Katowice (Poland) and Bratislava (Slovakia).

Katowice and Cluj-Napoca will host the main round of the tournament, featuring venues such as the 11,000-capacity Spodek Arena and the 10,000-capacity BT Arena.

Cross-border event hosting is a familiar concept in EHF competitions, with the 2022 European Women’s Handball Championship having been held across Montenegro, North Macedonia and Slovenia. Similarly, the upcoming 2024 event will be staged across Austria, Hungary and Switzerland.

Of the five host nations for the 2026 edition, only Romania has previously hosted the Women’s European Championships – back in 2000. Poland and Slovakia have both recently hosted or co-hosted the men’s European Championships, with Poland hosting in 2016 and Slovakia co-hosting in 2022.

The 2026 Women’s EHF European Championships is set to introduce the sport to new markets, paving the way for the 2028 edition, which is slated to be hosted by traditional handball powerhouses Norway, Sweden and Denmark.