Turkey will host the 2026 EHF Women’s European Handball Championship (EURO 2026). The 2026 EHF Women’s European Handball Championship, which will be held between 3-20 December 2026, will be hosted by Turkey, as well as Czechia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
The Executive Committee of the European Handball Federation decided to hold the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 in Czechia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey in order to bring women’s handball to as many European markets as possible, while the qualifying round of the 2026 European Handball Championship will be played with 24 teams in Oradea. It will be held with one group each in Cluj-Napoca, Antalya, Brno, Katowice and Bratislava.
In addition to Turkey’s offer, EHF also received a joint offer from Czechia/Poland and Romania/Slovakia. The meetings included evaluation of different offers, analysis of the TV situation and possible audiences, consultations with federations interested in hosting the championship, as well as initial site visits. In line with the applications, a joint move was made, highlighting the advantages of each proposal and the possibility of further developing women’s handball in the five countries, and the federations decided to organize the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 together.
“WE HAVE GOT THE RESULT OF OUR EFFORTS FOR A YEAR”
Uğur Kılıç, President of the Turkish Handball Federation, said in his statement: “We have received the results of our intense work and high-level contacts for hosting the 2026 Women’s European Championship, that is, for about a year, since the date it became clear that Russia would not be able to organize it. For the first time in our history, in the senior category We will host a European Championship. I would like to express my gratitude to our Ministry of Youth and Sports, Antalya Youth and Sports Provincial Directorate and our handball family, who have always been with us throughout this process. I would also like to thank EHF President Michael Wiederer and the board of directors for their support to Turkey for the last two years. “I hope this good news we received on March 8, International Women’s Day will be beneficial to our country and our handball community,” he said.