2026 European Women's Handball Championship

The 2026 EHF European Women's Handball Championship, commonly referred to as the EHF EURO 2026, will be the 17th edition of the EHF European Women's Handball Championship. It will be held from 3 to 20 December 2026.

2026 EHF European Women's Handball Championship

Mistrzostwa Europy w Piłce Ręcznej Kobiet 2026 (in Polish) Campionatul European de Handbal Feminin din 2026 (in Romanian) 2026 Mistrovství Evropy v házené žen (in Czech) Majstrovstvá Európy v hádzanej žien 2026 (in Slovak) 2026 Avrupa Kadınlar Hentbol Şampiyonası (in Turkish)
Tournament details
Host countries	Czech Republic Poland Romania Slovakia Turkey
Venue(s)	6 (in 6 host cities)
Dates	3–20 December
Teams	24 (from 1 confederation)
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The championship was originally scheduled to be held in Russia, but due to the invasion of Ukraine, they were stripped of the hosting rights.^[1] On 8 March 2024, the EHF announced Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey as co-hosts.^[2]

Bid process

Main article: 2026 European Women's Handball Championship bidding process

First bidding process

Bids

On 11 May 2021 it was announced that the following nations sent in an official expression of interest:^[3]

•  Russia
•  Denmark,  Norway &  Sweden (withdrew)

On 20 October the final bids were presented. The Scandinavian bid was withdrawn, leaving Russia unopposed.^[4][5]

•  Russia

Host selection

As only the Russian bid remained it was unanimously selected at the 14th EHF Extraordinary Congress on 20 November 2021.^[6][7]

Second bidding process

On 4 July 2023, the EHF confirmed that Russia would not host the event due to the war in Ukraine,^[8] and thus reopened the bidding process. On 25 October, the EHF announced the official bids.

•  Czech Republic and  Poland
•  Romania and  Slovakia
•  Turkey

The hosts were originally going to be announced on 28 January 2024 in Cologne, but the EHF decided to delay the announcement to April while also inviting every bidding nation to a meeting in mid-February.^[9]

During the meeting in mid-February, Romanian media reported that a possible five-country co-hosting plan was being negotiated by all five bidding countries and the EHF after it was reported that none of the three bids fulfilled all the requirements.^[10]

On 8 March 2024, the EHF announced all five countries, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey, as co-hosts.^[2] This marks the second time a sports tournament has been held in more than four countries, after UEFA Euro 2020.

Venues

Katowice	Katowice Brno Bratislava Oradea Cluj-Napoca Antalya	Oradea
Spodek Capacity: 11,036		Oradea Arena Capacity: 5,500
Brno		Cluj-Napoca
Arena Brno Capacity: 12,000		BTarena Capacity: 10,000
Bratislava		Antalya
Ondrej Nepela Arena Capacity: 10,000		Antalya Arena Capacity: 10,000
	Katowice will host preliminary round, main round and knockout stage. Cluj-Napoca will host preliminary round and main round. Brno, Bratislava, Oradea and Antalya will host preliminary round only.

Qualification

Main article: 2026 European Women's Handball Championship qualification

Qualified teams

Team	Qualification method	Date of qualification	App	First	Last	Streak	Best placement in tournament	Rank[11]
Czech Republic	Host nation	8 March 2024	9th	1994	2024	2	Eighth place (1994, 2002)	TBD
Poland			10th	1996		7	Fifth place (1998)	TBD
Romania			16th	1994		10	Third place (2010)	TBD
Slovakia			4th			2	Twelfth place (1994, 2014)	TBD
Turkey			2nd	2024			Twentieth place (2024)	TBD
Denmark	Top three at 2024 edition	13 December 2024	17th	1994		17	Champions (1994, 1996, 2002)	TBD
Norway							Champions (Ten times)[a]	TBD
Hungary		15 December 2024					Champions (2000)	TBD

Notes

1. Norway have won in 1998, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022 and 2024.