The 2024 European Women's Handball Championship was held in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

from 28 November to 15 December 2024. This was the first tournament to feature 24 teams.

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

were the two time defending champions and defended their title once again with a win over Denmark.

Bidding processes

First bidding process

Originally, there were two bids for the EHF Women's Euro 2024. *

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

On 5 September 2017, Russia's bid was the only bid left. *

However, later on, when the bids were announced for the 2022 and 2024 EHF Euros, Russia's bid was withdrawn and thus there were no applications left. On 20 June 2018, the day the host was supposed to be confirmed, the EHF voted to delay the awardment of the hosting rights.

Second bidding process

In April 2019, the EHF reopened the bidding process. On 20 September 2019, there were 3 new bids. *

and

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

The host announcement took place on 25 January 2020 at the EHF Extraordinary Congress in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. The winners were Austria, Hungary and Switzerland, who defeated the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia bid, 28–21, in the second round.

Possible hosting change

On 12 January 2023, the Hungarian government's chancellery minister, Gergely Gulyás, announced that Hungary would withdraw as hosts due to financial reasons. A few days prior, the Austrian Handball Federation was informed by the Hungarians about the decision to withdraw. The other co-hosts, Austria and Switzerland, now wanted to negotiate with the EHF about how the tournament will be held. On 28 January, the European Handball Federation released a statement concerning the issue, and said that they were amazed and surprised with the decision to potentially withdraw as co-hosts. On 16 March 2023, the EHF announced a change to the organisation structure of the championships. Hungary remained as a co-host, but played a reduced part in the hosting of the competition, including the whole portion of the tournament at the MVM Dome in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

(one Main Round group and the Final Weekend) being axed and replaced by

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. During all the uncertainty,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

had stated that they would be able to host the tournament if the original hosts could not.

Venues

The final weekend was scheduled to be held at the MVM Dome in

, Hungary, but later it was replaced with the

Wiener Stadthalle Wiener Stadthalle (; English: ''Viennese City Hall'') is a multi-purpose indoor arena and convention center located in the 15th district of Vienna, Austria. Austrian architect Roland Rainer designed the original halls which were constructed b ...

, Austria.

Expansion

Expanding the competition, to 20 or 24 teams, was first considered on 30 August 2018. The idea was proposed by the Euro Delegation, but the EHF competitions commission strongly opposed the proposal, due to the fact that: *It would dilute the quality of the event *Trying to find a host would be more difficult because of a bigger tournament *Not many countries, who don't already qualify for the EHF Euro, would create a lasting legacy by qualifying Despite the opposition from the competitions commission, the EHF received positive feedback from their new commercial partners, Infront and

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about the possible expansion. On 15 December, at the EHF Executive Committee in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, the EHF decided to examine to proposed expansion further. In January 2019, they had introduced a working group to oversee the possible enlargement. On 5 April 2019, based on the recommendations by the working group, the EHF officially decided to expand the tournament to 24 teams.

Qualification

31 teams registered for participation and competed for 20 places at the final tournament.

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

withdraw late which would have been the 32nd team. The teams were drawn into seven groups of four and one group with three teams. The top-two placed teams in each group qualified for the final tournament, alongside the four best-ranked third-placed teams, not counting the matches against fourth-placed teams. The qualifiers draw took place on 20 April 2023 in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, Switzerland. Qualification started in October 2023 and ended in April 2024. All 16 teams from the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

edition qualified, including

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

who qualified for a major handball competition on merit for the first time since

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. Debuting in the first 24 team championship are

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

and Türkiye, with the former becoming the smallest nation ever to qualify for the finals.

return after missing the

edition. The teams returning after long absences include co-hosts

(first time since

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

(first time since

) plus

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, who both return after last appearing at the Euro ten years ago in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

qualified for only their second ever major handball tournament after only participating at the 2008 European Women's Handball Championship.

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

were the first team to secure qualification after defeating

in February, while the Danes,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

all continue their flawless record of making every European Championship.

Qualified teams

Draw

The draw was held at 18:00 CET on 18 April 2024 in

, Austria. The guests for the draw were Norwegian goalkeeper Silje Solberg, Austrian goalkeeper Petra Blazek, Swiss goalkeeper Lea Schüpbach and right wing for the Hungarian national team Viktória Győri-Lukács. The draw started with the teams from pot one being drawn followed by pots two, three and four.

Seedings

The pots were announced on 8 April 2024.

Referees

18 referee pairs were selected on 2 July 2024. It was updated on 4 September 2024, when the Danish pair replaced the Turkish pair. It was updated a second time on 7 November 2024, when the Austrian pair was replaced by another Austrian pair and the Polish pair replaced the German pair.

Squads

Preliminary round

''All times are

UTC+1 +01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+01:00. This time is used in: *Central European Time * West Africa Time * Western European Summer Time **Brit ...

.''

Group A

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Group B

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Group C

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Group D

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Group E

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Group F

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Main round

Points and goals gained in the preliminary group against teams that advance will be transferred to the main round.

Group I

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Group II

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Knockout stage

Bracket

Fifth place game

Semifinals

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Third place game

Final

Final ranking and awards

Final ranking

All Star Team

The All Star Team and awards were announced on 15 December 2024.

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Top goalkeepers

Marketing

The official logo was unveiled on 19 November 2022 at the closing press conference of the 2022 edition in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. The official ball for the 2024 European Championship come out on 7 April 2023, made by manufacturer and EHF partner, Select. The ball in made of faux leather and is decorated in contrasting red tones with green accents and white areas with the tournament's slogan "Catch the Spirit" on the ball as well. The mascot was announced on 2 April 2024. The mascot is a wildcat.

Tickets

For the matches of the European Championship, tickets are offered by the EHF as a package with several matches as follows: *Preliminary round, Group A in

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

(featuring Hungary): three days from 18,600 to 34,800 Ft *Preliminary round, Group B in

: three days from 7,800 to 20,300 Ft *Preliminary round, Groups C and D in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

: three days from 105 to 875

Francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' ( King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

*Preliminary round, Groups E and F in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

: three days from

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

78 to

159 *Main round Group I in

: four days from 32,000 to 57,200 Ft *Main round, Group II in

: four days from

104 to

248 *Final round in

: two days from

74 to

169

Official song

The official song was unveiled on 15 April 2024. It is Live Is Life by Austrian band

Opus Opus (: opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera ...

which has been adapted to fit the tournament. The song was officially unveiled at the draw on 18 April 2024. Music video released 20 August 2024.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:European Women's Handball Championship, 2024

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

European Championship, Women European Championship, Women, 2024 European Championship, Women, 2024 European Championship, Women, 2024

November 2024 sports events in Europe December 2024 sports events in Europe

2020s in Austrian women's sport 2020s in Hungarian women's sport 2020s in Swiss women's sport 2024 in Austrian sport 2024 in Hungarian sport 2024 in Swiss sport