The number of teams in the European and World Championships has increased in recent years. Regarding the European Championship, it went from 16 teams to 24, a change that has not been well received everywhere, especially not on the women’s side, as there were several huge results during the European Championship last month. The European Handball Federation (EHF) explains to GoHandball, among other things, why they increased the number of teams, whether a risk analysis was conducted beforehand, and whether there must be the same number of teams on the women’s side as on the men’s side. – It was the nations that wanted us to add teams,” says EHF Secretary General Martin Hausleitner to GoHandball.
The European Championship for men increased from 16 to 24 teams in 2020, and in 2024, the same increase was made for the women’s European Championship. But why did the decision come within the EHF to add eight teams to each championship? We asked Martin Hausleitner, Secretary General of the EHF. Initially, the decision was made to increase only the men’s competition to 24 teams.
– It was a simple decision to raise the number of teams for the men. The nations and various federations wanted us to add more teams, they pushed for it. The decision was made in 2014, and the federations wanted us to do this because they wanted to increase their visibility and help develop the sport in their countries, says Hausleitner.
– Qualifying for the European Championship means they can more easily find partners, get significantly more TV time, and become part of the media discussions and public conversation in a completely different way. It’s about storytelling, and Portugal is a good example, as they defeated France during their first European Championship.
Hausleitner explains that the EHF believes the European Championship has been strong from the start after the increase to 24 teams and sees it as a “great success.”
– We’re happy that the matches are so close throughout, and even the qualifiers for the European Championship are exciting. It’s more even than ever, and it’s difficult to even become one of the 24 teams that make it to the tournament.
How did you reason when you increased the women’s competition to 24 teams?
– For the same reason as the men’s European Championship. It’s difficult for national federations to get funding at all levels if they can’t tell a story, if they don’t have the chance to be part of a major championship.
– We are also aware that we can’t compare the competitive situation between the men’s and women’s competitions. Several federations are still very early in their development, which is why we have a development plan to offer more professional contracts to players, which is key. For example, Turkey earned their first point during the European Championship, and they will organize the tournament in 2026 – we have a plan to develop women’s handball in Turkey. In some countries, women’s handball has a better chance than men’s handball.
At the same time, Turkey lost by 28 goals to Sweden in the recent European Championship. Other large results included Norway defeating Slovakia by 23 goals and the Netherlands winning by 20 goals against Ukraine.
– We need to manage that. In the case of the women’s European Championship, we accept it because there were only three really large results. The overall impression of the tournament isn’t harmed when there were only three that uneven matches. And in order to further develop these nations, they need to play in championships.
Did you conduct a risk analysis before deciding to increase the number of teams to 24?
– Of course. We had long discussions with federations, market partners, and TV. Not just because we wanted to increase to 24 teams at the senior level, but also at the youth level. We also came up with the concept that more nations will need to share the hosting in the future.
What potential risks do you see with having more teams in the tournament?
– Uneven matches with large score differences. It’s true that no one is interested in watching matches that are decided early. It’s also frustrating for players and teams. So that’s something we need to work on, and federations need to understand how to develop players.
– There’s also a risk that federations could lose income if they lose by large margins. In the long term, no sponsor wants to collaborate if teams aren’t delivering. But we have a plan for how we want to develop handball in these countries.
Should there be more teams in the men’s championships than in the women’s championships?
Some voices have been raised suggesting that there should be fewer teams in the women’s championships than in the men’s. According to the Secretary General, this is not under consideration.
– There are strong arguments for organizing the championships on equal terms and for equality between men and women, which has always been important for the EHF.
– It’s an important message, that our sport is equal.
But shouldn’t a championship be something exclusive?
– I believe you must earn your opponents. No nation started its journey as a champion. And all the strong nations now have also had their tough times.
What are the long-term positive effects that the EHF hopes to see from having more teams in the European Championship?
– A major goal for us is to create more handball players. And by including more federations, we create visibility. Visibility creates role models and opportunities for clubs and countries to market their sport, which in turn leads to children starting to play handball. It’s a positive circle we want to create.
– The strong effects will take at least ten years to materialize, but we need to start somewhere.
You want to develop handball in more countries and have more players. But at the same time, no one wants to see a team win by 28 goals against another in a European Championship. How do you find the balance in this?
– It’s about having smart solutions. We need to think about how the tournaments are structured and our qualification system, where perhaps the smaller nations face the stronger teams later on – to prove they are ready to face good teams, says Martin Hausleitner and concludes:
– It’s also important that those who turn on their TV to watch the European Championship are entertained for as long as possible and not just for five minutes. It’s not easy, but we need to solve this while making handball stronger in smaller nations.