Sport-Union Neckarsulm is the women's handball team of the sports club Sport-Union Neckarsulm, from the town of

Neckarsulm Neckarsulm () is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Heilbronn, and part of the district of Heilbronn. , Neckarsulm had 26,800 inhabitants. The name Neckarsulm derives from the city's location where the Neckar and Sulm rivers ...

in the southwest of

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 ...

. The team competes domestically in the

Handball-Bundesliga The Handball-Bundesliga (HBL) is the top German professional handball league. From 2007 to 2012, the league was sponsored by Toyota and was officially called the ''Toyota Handball-Bundesliga''. In 2012 the Deutsche Kreditbank AG (DKB) became t ...

and the

DHB-Pokal The DHB-Pokal (English: German Handball Federation Cup) is an elimination handball tournament held annually in Germany. It is the second most important handball national title in the country after the Handball-Bundesliga championship. DHB-Pokal ...

. They play their home matches at the Ballei-Sporthalle and usually wear dark navy shirts and shorts.

History

Early years

Sport-Union Neckarsulm was founded on

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

in 2009 as Neckarsulmer Sport-Union (NSU) through the merger of Sportvereinigung Neckarsulm 1946 and Sportfreunde Neckarsulm. The name alludes to the

NSU Motorenwerke NSU Motorenwerke AG, or NSU, was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and pedal cycles, founded in 1873. Acquired by Volkswagen Group in 1969, VW merged NSU with Auto Union, creating Audi NSU Auto Union AG, ultimately Audi. The NSU i ...

, the predecessor of

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

, which was located in the city of Neckarsulm until 1985. The multi sports club consists of 17 different sections of which the women's handball section is one of the best known because of their multi-year participation in the Bundesliga, Germany's most important

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 ...

league.

Climbing up the league pyramid

After two championship titles in regional fifth and fourth tier leagues, coach Emir Hadzimuhamedović led the team also to promotion to the 2. Bundesliga in the summer of 2013. In the following years, the team established itself there and gained promotion to the Bundesliga as second division champions in 2016. A big part in the various promotions from regional amateur levels to professional tiers played the successful under-17 team, which won the German championship in 2011. Talented players of this youth team formed an integral part of the first team in later years.

New name and establishment in the Bundesliga

After promotion to the Bundesliga Neckarsulmer Sport-Union was fighting against relegation for their first three years in Germany's top tier but eventually managed to stay in the league. With coaches Pascal Morgant and Tanja Logvin at the helm, the team established itself in the following years as a solid force in the Bundesliga with a sixth-place finish in the 2020-21 season, the best result to date. In 2021 Neckarsulmer Sport-Union was forced to change its name and crest due to unwanted associations with the right-wing extremist organization

National Socialist Underground The National Socialist Underground (, ), or NSU (), was a German neo-Nazi militant organisation active between 1998 and 2011, and uncovered in November 2011. Regarded as a terror cell, the NSU is mostly associated with Uwe Mundlos, Uwe Böh ...

, although the abbreviation NSU has a long regional tradition in and around the city of Neckarsulm. Now playing as Sport-Union Neckarsulm the club produced players like Selina Kalmbach or

Sarah Wachter Sarah Wachter (born 16 December 1999) is a German handball player for Neckarsulmer SU and the German national team. She was selected as part of the German 35-player squad for the 2020 European Women's Handball Championship The 2020 European ...

who went on to become internationals for

Season to season

Arena

Sport-Union Neckarsulm play their home matches at the Ballei-Sporthalle, a multi-purpose arena which hosts up to 1,500 spectators (1,125 seated and 375 standing). The arena complex also includes a hall for cultural events for up to 1,000 people as well as a restaurant and a bowling alley. The men's handball team of the club plays selected matches at the Ballei as well. The arena is among the most visited in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

. *Name: Ballei-Sporthalle *Location:

*Capacity: 1,500 spectators *Address: Deutschordensplatz 1, 74172 Neckarsulm The club's most prominent supporters' group is ''Blaue Wand'' ("Blue wall"), which is located in sector B of Ballei's ''Foyer-Tribüne''. The ''Blaue Wand'' arranges away day travels as well as meet-and-greets with players and staff and is also heavily involved in the organisation of home matches.

Team

Current squad

:''Squad for the 2024-25 season.''

Transfers

:''Transfers for the 2024-25 season.'' ; Joining *

Johanna Fossum Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek /h/ coul ...

(GK), from Sola HK * Angunn Gudmestad (LB), from Aker Topphåndball * Sinah Hagen (CB), from Buxtehuder SV * Lilli Holste (RB), from HSG Bensheim/Auerbach * Lynn Holtman (CB), from Westfriesland SEW * Stefanie Kaiser (P), from

HSG Blomberg-Lippe HSG Blomberg-Lippe is a German women's handball club, that competes in the Handball-Bundesliga Frauen. They play their home matches in Schulzentrum Blomberg, which have capacity for 900 spectators. They play in blue shirts and black shorts. K ...

* Aleksandra Orowicz (GK), from SG 09 Kirchhof *

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(RW), from Boden Handboll IF ; Leaving * Nina Engel (RB), to HSG Bensheim/Auerbach *

Arwen Gorb Arwen Undómiel is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in the novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. Arwen is one of the half-elven who lived during the Third Age; her father was Elrond half-elven, lord ...

(LB), to BSV Sachsen Zwickau * Marloes Hoitzing (RB), to BSV Sachsen Zwickau * Sharon Nooitmeer (P), to

Thüringer HC Thüringer Handball Club Erfurt-Bad Langensalza e. V is a German professional women's handball team from the Thuringian cities of Erfurt, Bad Langensalza and Nordhausen, Thuringia, Nordhausen. The club has its seat in Erfurt and plays the home m ...

* Valentyna Salamakha (GK), ''retired'' *

Amber Verbraeken Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...

(RW), to

* Agni Zygoura (CB), Unknown :''Transfers for the 2025-26 season.'' ; Joining * Merle Albers (P), from Palente Besançon HB *

Kamila Kordovská Kamila Kordovská (born 4 December 1997) is a Czech handballer for french league club Handball Plan-de-Cuques and the Czech national team. She participated at the 2018 European Women's Handball Championship The 2018 European Women's Handball ...

(LB), from Handball Plan-de-Cuques * Meret Ossenkopp (RW), from HL Buchholz 08-Rosengarten * Alicia Soffel (LB), from HSG Bensheim/Auerbach * Paulina Uścinowicz (LB), from HSV Solingen-Gräfrath ; Leaving * Veronika Andrýsková (LB), Unknown * Vasiliki Gkatziou (RW), Unknown * Sinah Hagen (CB), ''retired'' * Stefanie Kaiser (P), ''retired'' * Aleksandra Orowicz (GK), to

1. FSV Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...

* Rabea Pollakowski (LW), to SG Schozach-Bottwartal

Technical staff

:''Technical staff for the 2024-25 season.'' * Head coach: Thomas Zeitz * Assistant coach: Gernot Drossel * Goalkeeping coach: Branka Zec * Sporting director: Thomas Zeitz * Fitness coach: Maurice Meister * Fitness coach: Matze Treiber * Team coach: Mike Vogelgesang * Physiotherapist: Sergi García * Physiotherapist: Dominik Pfeifer * Physiotherapist: Nikolay Popovski * Team doctor: Dr. Boris Brand * Team doctor: Dr. Urs Riemann * Team coach: Jutta Perger

Personnel

Notable former players

* Maike Daniels * Nina Engel * Ann-Cathrin Giegerich * Selina Kalmbach * Lucie-Marie Kretzschmar * Nele Reimer * Luisa Schulze * Johanna Stockschläder *

* Mette Gravholt * Mia Møldrup * Michelle Goos * Lynn Knippenborg *

Anouk Nieuwenweg Anouk Nieuwenweg (born 20 August 1996) is a Dutch handballer who plays for Neckarsulmer SU and the Netherlands national team. She arrived this summer (2019), from Germany, in the club of Chambray Touraine Handball Chambray Touraine Handball ...

* Irene Espínola Pérez * Daphne Gautschi * Seline Ineichen * Celia Schneider * Chantal Wick * Emilia Galińska *

Birna Berg Haraldsdóttir Birna Berg Haraldsdóttir (born 1993) is an Icelandic team handball player for ÍBV and the Icelandic national team. She participated at the 2011 World Women's Handball Championship in Brazil. Playing career On 10 May 2019, Birna signed with ...

* Valeria Gorelova * Melanie Herrmann *

Mirjana Milenković Mirjana Milenković (born 14 March 1985) is a former Montenegrin handball goalkeeper who plays for the Montenegrin national team. Club career Milenković started to play handball in Serbian club Radnički from Belgrade. In 2003, she joined Knj ...

* Alena Vojtíšková * Nives Ahlin

Appearances and Goalscorers

''Competitive matches and goals in the

only.'' ''As of 26 April 2025.''

Former coaches

Competitive matches in the

only.'' ''As of 26 April 2025.'' A. Win percentage is rounded to two decimal places.

Honours

* 2. Bundesliga **''Champions (1):'' 2016 * 3. Liga (Süd) **''Champions (1):'' 2013 * Baden-Württemberg Oberliga **''Champions (1):'' 2012 * Württembergliga **''Champions (2):'' 2011, 2024 (Second team)

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

References

External links

Official site

Club profile
at Handball Bundesliga Frauen {{DEFAULTSORT:Neckarsulmer SU Women's handball clubs in Germany Handball clubs established in 2009 Women's handball in Germany Neckarsulm Sport in Stuttgart (region)