The Executive Committee of the European Handball Federation has decided to allocate the organization of the 2026 European Women's Handball Championship to the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey, in a move aimed at bringing top-level women's handball to as many European markets as possible.
Romania will host the EC from 2026
After the end of the application process, with the deadline of October 25, 2023, EHF received the offers of Turkey, as well as the joint offers of the Czech Republic/Poland and Romania/Slovakia, according to Agerpres.
“In the months that followed, there were evaluations of the various offers, analyzes of the TV situation and possible audiences, consultations with the federations interested in hosting the championship, as well as initial site visits. With the available information, a joint move was made, highlighting the advantages of each offer and the possibility to further promote handball in the five countries, and the federations agreed to jointly organize the European Championship EHF EURO 2026 in women's handball, a decision that was confirmed on Thursday by the Executive Committee“, states the quoted source.
The European Championship – EHF EURO 2026 is scheduled for the period 3-20 December 2026 and will be the second European Women's Handball Championship in which 24 teams will participate.
The preliminary round will take place with one group in each of the following cities: Oradea, Cluj-Napoca, Antalya, Brno, Katowice and Bratislava.
The main groups will take place in Cluj-Napoca and Katowice. The Polish city of Katowice, which has already hosted the EHF EURO 2016 in men's handball, as well as the 2023 IHF Men's Handball World Championship, will host the teams in the final weekend.
The chosen halls include, among others, the Spodek Arena in Katowice, with a capacity of 11,000 spectators, as well as the BT Arena in Cluj Napoca, with a capacity of 10,000 seats.
Last summer, the EHF Executive Committee received the mandate to reallocate the 2026 European Women's Handball Championship, as its hosting in Russia, the original organizer of the championship, is not possible.
The European Championship – EHF EURO 2024 (28 November – 15 December) will take place in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland, and the European Championship EHF EURO 2028 in Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
