According to the decision of the executive committee of the European Handball Federation, Romania is one of the countries that will host the European Women’s Handball Championship in 2026. There will also be matches in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Turkey.

EURO-2026 in women’s handball will be hosted by Romania, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Turkey

The move aims to bring top-level women’s handball to as many European markets as possible.

Following the end of the bidding process, with a deadline of October 25, 2023, the EHF received offers from Turkey, as well as joint offers from the Czech Republic/Poland and Romania/Slovakia.

In the following months, evaluations of various proposals, analysis of the television situation and possible audiences, consultations with federations interested in hosting the championship, and initial site visits took place.

With the information available, a joint step was taken, highlighting the merits of each proposal and the possibility of further promoting handball in the five countries, and the federations agreed to jointly organize the EURO 2026 Women’s Handball Championship, a decision that was confirmed by the Executive Committee on Thursday.

What you need to know about EURO 2026 in women’s handball

• The EHF EURO 2026 European Championship is scheduled for December 3-20, 2026. This 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 the following cities: Oradea, Cluj-Napoca, Antalya, Brno, Katowice and Bratislava.

• The main groups will play in Cluj-Napoca and Katowice. The Polish city of Katowice, which has already hosted the EHF EURO 2016 Men’s Handball as well as the 2023 World Handball Championship, will host the teams on the final weekend.

• Selected venues 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.

Last summer, the EHF EXEC was given the mandate to redistribute the EHF EURO 2026 Women’s European Handball Championship, as it is not possible to host it in Russia, the original host of the championship.

Following the decision, the top national women’s handball teams will enter eleven European markets in the coming years.

The European Championship EHF EURO 2024 (November 28 – December 15) is held in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland, the European Championship EHF EURO 2026 – in the previously mentioned countries, and the European Championship EHF EURO 2028 – in Norway, Denmark and Sweden, the publication writes. Handball Federation of Romania.