The Kvindeligaen () is the top professional league for Danish women's

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

clubs. It is administered by the

Danish Handball Federation Danish Handball Association () is the national sport governing body, governing body for team handb ...

, and the winners are recognized as Danish champions. The league was previously called Bambusa Kvindeligaen for sponsorship reasons. It has previously been known as HTH GO Ligaen, Primo Tours Ligaen, Boxer Dameligaen, TOMS Ligaen and GuldBageren Ligaen. The current title holder is Team Esbjerg (2024). The

European Handball Federation The European Handball Federation (EHF) is the umbrella organisation for European handball. Founded on 17 November 1991, it is made of 50 member federations and two associated federations (England and Scotland), and is headquartered in Vienna, Au ...

(EHF) ranks the Danish league 4th in the coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the past seasons.

Competition format

The Kvindeligaen shares the season style with the men's league. It consists of 14 teams, each playing 26

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

games. The eight best teams of the regular season advance to further games, where they are divided into two groups of four teams each. No. 1 and 2 from the regular season start with 2 points. No. 3 and 4 start with 1 point, while no. 5-8 start with no points. After these six games the two top teams in each group will play semifinals. No. 1 from one group is up against no. 2 from the other. The winners will meet in finals, while the losers will play against each other for the bronze medal. Semifinals, finals, and bronze games are all played in best of 3. The lowest placed team of the regular season is directly relegated to the second-best division, and replaced by the winner of this. The teams finishing as 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 are put in a group where they will play against each other. In the second-best division, the teams that end up 2nd and 3rd will play against each other in best of 3. The winner of those games will get to meet the lowest placed team from the 9-13 group from the top league, yet again in best of 3. The winner will get to play in the top league next season, while the loser plays in the second-best division.

Seasons

Current teams (2024/25)

The fourteen teams of the 2023/24 season are:

Champions

The complete list of champions since 1936:

Medal table

The all-time medal table for the women's championship is as follows:

Top scorers

The following list shows the top scorers since 1965/66: * 1965/66: Birthe Hansen, FIF (80) * 1966/67: Jytte Skøtt Mikkelsen, Hjallese GF (63) * 1967/68: Ingeborg Jensen, Randers Freja (93) * 1968/69: Aase Jensen, Glostrup IC (86) * 1969/70: Birthe Hansen, FIF (85) * 1970/71: Karen Rasmussen, H.G. (94) * 1971/72: Tove Nielsen, V.R.I (88) * 1972/73: Karen Rasmussen, H.G. (98) * 1973/74: Jette Madsen, Næstved IF (97) * 1974/75: Anne Grete Enggård, Funder GF (78) * 1975/76: Bente Lauridsen, AIA-Tranbjerg (84) * 1976/77: Ann Andreasen, Svendborg HK (87) * 1977/78: Bente Lauridsen, AIA-Tranbjerg (101) * 1978/79: Bente Lauridsen, AIA-Tranbjerg (87) * 1979/80: Karen Rask, Ejstrupholm GF (91) * 1980/81: Birte Carlsen, Helsingør IF (104) * 1981/82: Karen Frandsen, Lynge-Uggeløse IF (107) * 1982/83: Tove Okkerstrøm, Holstebro KFUM (103) * 1983/84: Conni Olesen, NNNfH (105) * 1984/85: Hanne Green, NNNfH (108) * 1985/86: Anette Rytter, IF Stjernen (115) * 1986/87: Anette Rytter, IF Stjernen (129) * 1987/88: Vibeke Nielsen, AIA Tranbjerg (105) * 1988/89: Helle Petersen, Helsingør IF (92) * 1989/90: Helle Petersen, Helsingør IF (93) * 1990/91: Gitte Madsen, Horsens HK (119) * 1991/92: Betina Nørager, Svendborg HK (136) * 1992/93: Lise Lotte Lauridsen, Lyngså BK (139) * 1993/94: Sisse Bruun Jørgensen Virum-Sorgenfri HK (141) * 1994/95: Heidi Astrup, Viborg HK (157) * 1995/96:

Mette Vestergaard Mette Vestergaard Larsen (born 27 November 1975) is a former Danish team handball player and coach. During her playing career she became two times Olympic champion. She received gold medals with the Danish national team at the 2000 Summer Olympi ...

, FIF (172) * 1996/97: Merete Møller, Vorup FB (163) * 1997/98: Camilla Andersen, FIF (188) * 1998/99: Camilla Andersen, FIF (180) * 1999/2000: Camilla Andersen, FIF (163) * 2000/01:

, FIF (133) * 2001/02: Camilla Andersen, Slagelse FH (181) * 2002/03: Camilla Andersen, Slagelse FH (215) * 2003/04: Bojana Petrović, Slagelse FH (175) * 2004/05:

Bojana Popović Bojana Popović née Petrović, (born 20 November 1979) is a handball coach and a retired Montenegrin handballer. She is considered by many to be the best female handball player of the 2000's, despite not being given any official recognition. A ...

, Slagelse FH (174) * 2005/06: Tanja Milanović, Ikast-Bording EH (172) * 2006/07: Mette Sjøberg, FCK Håndbold (167) * 2007/08:

Nadine Krause Nadine Krause (born 25 March 1982, in Waiblingen) is a former Germany, German Team handball, handballer who last played for Bayer 04 Leverkusen (handball), Bayer Leverkusen as a left back. She made her debut on the German A-Team in 1999, at the a ...

, FCK Håndbold (153) * 2008/09: Grit Jurack, Viborg HK (125) * 2011/12: Mette Gravholt, Team Tvis Holstebro (141) * 2012/13: Estavana Polman, SønderjyskE Damer (138) * 2013/14: Estavana Polman, Team Esbjerg (152) * 2014/15: Jette Hansen, Silkeborg-Voel KFUM (157) * 2015/16: Nathalie Hagman, Team Tvis Holstebro (191) * 2016/17: Trine Troelsen, Silkeborg-Voel KFUM (199) * 2017/18:

Ida Bjørndalen Karlsson Ida Bjørndalen Karlsson (born 6 May 1983) is a former Norwegian handball player, who last played for Team Esbjerg. She made her debut for the Norwegian national team in 2004. She won the Champions League with Viborg HK in 2009. She had initia ...

, Team Esbjerg (168) * 2018/19: Laura Damgaard Lund, EH Aalborg (158) * 2019/20: Mia Rej, København Håndbold (170) * 2020/21: Kristina Jørgensen, Viborg HK (180) * 2021/22: Mathilde Neesgaard, Aarhus United (179) * 2022/23: Henny Reistad, Team Esbjerg (204) * 2023/24: Line Gyldenløve, Bjerringbro FH (173)

Statistics

EHF coefficients

The following data indicates Danish coefficient rankings between European handball leagues. ;Country ranking: EHF League Ranking for 2022/23 season: *1. Disc Plain yellow dark

(''1'')

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, ), also known as NB I or Fizz Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank's webshop subsidiary, is a professional association football league in Hungary and the highest level of the Hungarian football league system. Twelve ...

(157.67) *2. (''5'') Ligue Butagaz Énergie (118.50) *3. RedDownArrow

(''2'')

Russian Superleague The Russian Superleague (, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was considered the second-best league in the world, after the Nation ...

(114.50) *4. RedDownArrow

(''3'') Bambusa Kvindeligaen (109.00) *5. (''6'') REMA 1000-ligaen (102.17) *6. RedDownArrow

(''4'') Liga Națională (94.50)

Broadcasting rights

TV2 Danmark TV 2 is a Danish government-owned broadcast and subscription television station, based in Odense, Funen. The station was founded in 1986, and made its first official broadcast in 1988. It makes daily broadcasts of regional and national news, as ...

* TV2 Sport

In European competitions

References

{{Women's Global Handball Leagues Women's handball in Denmark Women's handball leagues Professional sports leagues in Denmark Women's sports leagues in Denmark