EHF EURO history
The first Women's EHF European Championship was organised in 1994 in Germany. Back then, only 12 teams were playing for the coveted trophy.
In the years since, Scandinavian teams have been dominating the tournament, with Denmark winning three times and record winners, Norway, lifting the trophy on eight occasions.
Apart from Denmark and Norway, only three other nations have won a Women's EHF EURO. In 2000, Hungary came first; 12 years later Montenegro won the EHF EURO 2012 played in Serbia.
In 2020, in a nerve-wracking, nail-biting game, Norway sealed their eighth EHF EURO title, after a 22:20 win against defending champions France.
Dive deeper into the EHF EURO history here: 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020.
Only three months after the inaugural Men's EHF EURO in Portugal, the Women's EHF European Championship celebrated its premiere from 17 to 25 September 1994 in Germany.
The hosts made it all the way to the final at which they were eventually beaten by Denmark, back then coached by the nowadays even more famous Ulrik Wilbek, 27:23 in front of 4,000 spectators in Berlin.
Overall 12 teams competed at this championship. Norway grabbed their first EHF EURO bronze medal following a 24:19 victory in the match for third place against Hungary.
Find a full tournament summary including all match results here.
Women's EHF EURO 1996
Two years after they had won the EHF EURO title at the event's inaugural edition in 1994, it was again Denmark that celebrated at the 2nd Women's EHF European Championship.
Playing on home court, they did not give away one single match, winning all their five group matches before beating Germany 22:20 in the semi-final and Norway 25:23 in the final.
Germany, who had won silver in 1994, was this time left empty-handed as they lost the bronze medal match 23:30 against Austria.
Norway's Kjersti Grini became the event's top scorer with 48 goals. The silver medalists also had the tournament's best goalkeeper. Heide Tjugum, while Denmark's Anja Andersen was awarded the best player.
Find a full tournament summary including all match results here.
Following two successive final victories for the Danish women's national team, Norway eventually broke Denmark's dominance, beating their neighbours 24:16 at the third edition of the Women's EHF EURO. The tournament took place in the Netherlands from 11 to 20 December 1998.
That Norway would be a force to reckon with became clear in the group phase when they became the first team to that date to take points away from Denmark at EHF EURO level beating them 28:19.
In the semi-final Norway held down Hungary 28:14, while Denmark took a never threatened 35:24 victory against Austria, the third-ranked team from the 1996 championship. Hungary then had the upper hand in the match for third place, beating Austria 30:24 to take bronze.
All-star Team
Goalkeeper: Cecilie Leganger (Norway)
Left wing: Sabina Soja (Poland)
Left back: Ausra Fridriskas (Austria)
Centre back: Camilla Andersen (Denmark)
Line player: Tonje Kjaergaard (Denmark)
Right back: Kjersti Grini (Norway)
Right wing: Janne Kolling (Denmark)
Top scorer: Ausra Fridrikas (Austria)
Find a full tournament summary including all match results here.
The 4th edition of the Women's EHF EURO took place in Romania from 8 to 17 December 2000 with Bucharest and Ramnicu Valcea being the host cities.
For the first time in the event's history, the final was decided after extra time with Hungary eventually holding down Ukraine after a hard-fought 32:30 victory. After 60 minutes the result had stood at 26-all.
The previously dominant two Scandinavian teams, defending champions Norway as well as 1994 and 1996 winners Denmark, disappointed this time with Norway finishing 6th and Denmark 10th. Bronze went to Russia who beat Romania 21:16 in the match for third place.
All-star Team
Goalkeeper: Luminita Hutupan (Romania)
Left wing: Larisa Ferzalieva (North Macedonia)
Left back: Olena Tsyhytsia (Ukraine)
Centre back: Beata Siti (Hungary)
Line player: Liudmila Bodnieva (Russia)
Right back: Melinda Szabo (France)
Right wing: Agnieszka Tobiasz (Germany)
Top scorer: Simona Gogirla (Romania/68 goals)
Most Valuable Player: Beata Siti (Hungary)
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The fifth edition of the Women's EHF EURO took place in Denmark from 6 to 15 December 2002 and was the first tournament of its kind to be played with 16 teams.
Hosting the event for a second time after 1996, Denmark's women's national team celebrated its third EHF EURO title after a 25:22 victory against arch rivals Norway. Denmark had also topped the podium in 1994 and 1996. France won their first Women's EHF EURO silverware with a 27:22 victory against Russia in the bronze medal match.
More than 80,000 spectators overall came to the matches, and the event was broadcast to over 80 countries worldwide.
All-star Team
Goalkeeper: Karin Mortensen (Denmark)
Left wing: Lina Daugaard (Denmark)
Left back: Ausra Fridrikas (Austria)
Centre back: Kristina Andersen (Denmark)
Line player: Liudmila Bodnieva (Russia)
Right back: Caroline Rosenberg (Norway)
Right wing: Stephanie Cano (France)
Top scorer: Agnes Farkas (Hungary/58 goals)
Most Valuable Player: Karin Mortensen (Denmark)
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Even though it was unknown at that date, the Women's EHF European Championship 2004 marked the beginning of a six-year-long winning streak at the European level for the Norwegian women's national team.
In a final that was attended by more than 10,000 spectators, Norway beat the defending champions from Denmark 27:25. Hosts Hungary won bronze after a 29:25 victory against Russia. The Women's EHF EURO 2004 set a new spectator record with 124,800 people coming to the matches.
All-star Team
Goalkeeper: Karin Mortensen (Denmark)
Left wing: Olena Radchenko (Ukraine)
Left back: Tanja Logvin (Austria)
Centre back: Gro Hammerseng (Norway)
Line player: Liudmila Bodnieva (Russia)
Right back: Grit Jurack (Germany)
Right wing: Josephine Touray (Denmark)
Top scorer: Bojana Radulovics (Hungary/72 goals)
Most Valuable Player: Gro Hammerseng (Norway)
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At the Women's EHF EURO 2006 from 7 to 17 December 2006, defending champions Norway took the prestigious title for the third time with a 27:24 victory against Russia in the final.
France won their second EHF EURO bronze medal following a 29:25 victory against Germany in the match for third place.
The event was extensively covered in the media with over 500 media representatives, among them 50 TV and 12 radio stations, in Sweden. The emphasis of this top event for women's handball was indeed female participation. With over 300 female top athletes, the EHF selected top female referees and delegates to officiate the matches.
The Swedish Organising Committee also made this a central policy of their selection process, with women playing a huge role in the organisation of the event.
All-star Team
Goalkeeper: Inna Suslina (Russia)
Left wing: Mette Kari Johansen (Norway)
Left back: Nadine Krause (Germany)
Centre back: Gro Hammerseng (Norway)
Line player: Liudmila Bodnieva (Russia)
Right back: Ibolya Mehlmann (Hungary)
Right wing: Annika Wiel Preden (Sweden)
Top scorer: Nadine Krause (Germany/58 goals)
Most Valuable Player: Gro Hammerseng (Norway)
Best defender: Isabelle Wendling (France)
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The 8th Women's EHF European Championship took place in FYR Macedonia from 2 to 14 December 2008. It was the first time an event of this scale was held in the country. The Boris Trajkovski Hall in Skopje was specially built for the event.
Four months after winning gold at the Beijing Olympics, Norway won their third successive EHF EURO title, beating Spain 34:21 in the final. Russia took bronze with a 24:21 victory against Germany.
More than 500 media representatives covered the event which was broadcast in over 58 countries. In particular, the official website, www.ehf-euro.com, proved that the EHF EURO is a worldwide event with people from over 145 different countries checking it out.
All-star Team
Goalkeeper: Katrine Lunde Haraldsen (Norway)
Left wing: Valentina Elisei Ardean (Romania)
Left back: Tonje Larsen (Norway)
Centre back: Kristina Lunde (Norway)
Line player: Begona Fernandez (Spain)
Right back: Grit Jurack (Germany)
Right wing: Linn Kristin Riegelhuth (Norway)
Top scorer: Linn Kristin Riegelhuth (Norway/51 goals)
Most Valuable Player: Kristine Lunde (Norway)
Best defender: Nadezda Muravyeva (Russia)
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The 9th Women's EHF European Championship took place from 7 to 19 December in Denmark and Norway.
In front of 12,500 ecstatic fans, Norway's women's national team was crowned EHF EURO champion for a fourth consecutive time after a 25:20 victory against Sweden.
The Norwegian team's performance from the preliminary round through to the final was strong, professional and simply better than the opponents' performance. For Sweden, however, winning silver was the best result for the team in Women's EHF EURO history.
In an exciting bronze medal match, Romania took a 16:15 win over Denmark, denying the host nation a spot on the podium.
There were 220,000 spectators present at the 47 games, watching the 250 players in action. TV audience figures broke records in Denmark and Norway: 2,000,000 people watched the main round encounter between Denmark and Russia, making it the most-watched TV programme of the year in Denmark.
All-star Team
Goalkeeper: Katrine Lunde Haraldsen (Norway)
Left wing: Mie Augustensen (Denmark)
Left back: Cristina Neagu (Romania)
Centre back: Gro Hammerseng (Norway)
Line player: Heidi Loke (Norway)
Right back: Nerea Pena (Spain)
Right wing: Maibritt Kviesgaard (Denmark)
Top scorer: Cristina Neagu (Romania/53 goals)
Most Valuable Player: Linnea Torstenmsson (Sweden)
Best defender: Johanna Wiberg (Sweden)
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The Women's EHF EURO 2012 took place from 4 to 16 December 2012 in Serbia. Following the Men's EHF EURO 2012 it was the second major EHF event taking place in Serbia. The nation was awarded the event after the initial host, the Netherlands, had withdrawn at the beginning of June 2012.
However, the EHF EURO 2012 was much more remarkable for its eventual outcome as Montenegro broke the eight-year-long dominance of Norway in European women's handball, beating the Scandinavians 34:31 after double extra time. It was also a form of revenge for Montenegro as Norway had beaten them only four months earlier in the London 2012 Olympic Games Final.
The match for third place also went into extra time and eventually saw Hungary beating Serbia 41:38 in front of 11,000 spectators.
All-star Team
Goalkeeper: Katrine Lunde (Norway)
Left wing: Polina Kuznetsova (Russia)
Left back: Sanja Damnjanovic (Serbia)
Centre back: Andrea Lekic (Serbia)
Line player: Heidi Loke (Norway)
Right back: Katarina Bulatovic (Montenegro)
Right wing: Jovanka Radicevic (Montenegro)
Top scorer: Katarina Bulatovic (Montenegro /56 goals)
Most Valuable Player: Anja Edin-Hammerseng (Norway)
Best defender: Anja Althaus (Germany)
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The Women's EHF EURO 2014 took place in Hungary and Croatia from 7 to 21 December 2014. Host cities were Gyor and Debrecen in Hungary as well as Varazdin, Osijek and Zagreb in Croatia. The final weekend was played in the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna in the Hungarian capital.
After Norway had been beaten in the EHF EURO 2012 Final, 34:31 after double extra time, they climbed back on the European throne in Budapest. Following a 29:25 win against Sweden in the semi-final, they also beat Spain in the final, 28:25. It was the sixth time that Norway topped the podium in EHF EURO history.
Sweden, the hosts of the Women's EHF EURO 2016, won the match for third place with a 25:23 victory against 2012 champions Montenegro.
All-star Team
Goalkeeper: Silje Solberg (Norway)
Left wing: Maria Fisker (Denmark)
Left back: Cristina Neagu (Romania)
Centre back: Kristina Kristansen (Denmark)
Line player: Heidi Loke (Norway)
Right back: Nora Mork (Norway)
Right wing: Carmen Martin (Spain)
Top scorer: Isabelle Gullden (Sweden/58 goals)
Most Valuable Player: Isabelle Gullden (Sweden)
Best defender: Sabina Jacobsen (Sweden)
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As the first European Championship under the newly elected EHF President Michael Wiederer, the EHF EURO returned to Sweden after 10 years. Whatever might have changed in that decade – not the winners, as Norway, just like in 2006, added yet trophy to their collection.
In a repeat of the World Championship 2015 final the year before, Norway came out on top against the Netherlands, although this time with the smallest of margins: 30:29, thanks to a 12-goal outing from top scorer Nora Mørk, who ended the tournament on a leading total of 53.
France, who lost to eventual champions Norway in the semi-final, beat Denmark 25:22 to take home bronze for their first EHF EURO medal in 10 years.
All-star Team
Goalkeeper: Sandra Toft (Denmark)
Left wing: Camilla Herrem (Norway)
Left back: Cristina Neagu (Romania)
Centre back: Cornelia Nycke Groot (Netherlands)
Line player: Yvette Broch (Netherlands)
Right back: Nora Mork (Norway)
Right wing: Carmen Martin (Spain)
Top scorer: Nora Mork (Norway/53 goals)
Most Valuable Player: Cornelia Nycke Groot (Netherlands)
Best defender: Beatrice Edwige (France)
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Women's EHF EURO 2018
The timing could not have been better for France. A year after winning the world title, they hosted the EHF EURO – and fully lived up to their billing as one of the tournament favourites. France turned Paris into one big handball party as they defeated Russia 24:21 in a dramatic final, attended by 14,060 ecstatic fans for the highest attendance at any match in Women’s EHF EURO history.
There was more drama, however, as Norway surprisingly failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time in 18 years. Norway had appeared in all eight finals since 2002 and won six of them.
Bronze went to the Netherlands, who continued their podium streak as this was their fourth consecutive medal from a European or World Championship, seeing off Romania in the third-place match.
All-star Team
Goalkeeper: Amandine Leynaud (France)
Left wing: Majda Mehmedovic (Montenegro)
Left back: Noemi Hafra (Hungary)
Centre back: Stine Oftedal (Norway)
Line player: Crina Pintea (Romania)
Right back: Alicia Stolle (Germany)
Right wing: Carmen Martin (Spain)
Top scorer: Katarina Krpez Slezak (Serbia/50 goals)
Most Valuable Player: Anna Vyakhireva (Russia)
Best defender: Kelly Dulfer (Netherlands)
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Women's EHF EURO 2020
Amid a global pandemic, the EHF EURO 2020 overcame the most challenging circumstances the event ever faced in its 24-year history. The EHF and all parties involved worked closely together to pull off a major international sports event that many deemed impossible at that time.
Ultimately, Denmark hosted the 16-team tournament, unfortunately without fans in the arenas, but with lots of spectacle and drama on the courts. Norway returned to the throne for their record-extending eighth European title, beating defending champions France 22:20 in the final.
One team, in particular, stole the hearts of handball fans across the world, as Croatia defied the odds and made it all the way to the semi-final. Their fresh and attacking approach earned them a lot of respect – and the bronze medal, after beating hosts Denmark 25:19 in the small final.
All-star Team
Goalkeeper: Sandra Toft (Denmark)
Left wing: Camilla Herrem (Norway)
Left back: Vladlena Bobrovnikova (Russia)
Centre back: Stine Oftedal (Norway)
Line player: Ana Debelic (Croatia)
Right back: Nora Mork (Norway)
Right wing: Jovanka Radicevic (Montenegro)
Top scorer: Nora Mork (Norway/52 goals)
Most Valuable Player: Estelle Nze Minko (France)
Best defender: Line Haugsted (Denmark)
Find a full tournament summary including all match results here.
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