Romania officially in the race to host European Women’s Handball Championship in 2026

Five member federations of the European Handball Federation (EHF) entered the race to host the Women’s EHF EURO 2026, and Romania is on the list, according to the official announcement. Bids could be submitted by October 25.

The EHF said it received joint bids from Romania/Slovakia and Czechia/Poland, as well as a bid from Türkiye.

The European Handball Federation will evaluate the bids, with site inspections scheduled in November and December 2023. Next, the EHF Executive Committee will allocate the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 at its meeting in Cologne on January 27, 2024.

Romania and Slovakia proposed a seven-venue championship with Cluj-Napoca, Pitesti, Craiova, Bistrita and Bucharest in Romania as well as Bratislava and Kosice in Slovakia all named as host cities, the EHF said. The 10,000-capacity BT Arena in Cluj-Napoca has been named as the venue for the final weekend.

Türkiye would have the championship played in Ankara, Antalya and Istanbul, while Czechia and Poland also proposed three host cities - Brno in Czechia and Lubin and Katowice in Poland.

“Romania hosted the Women’s EHF EURO 2000, while Poland hosted the Men’s EHF EURO 2016 and Slovakia were a co-host together with Hungary for the Men’s EHF EURO 2022. For Türkiye and Czechia, a successful bid would mark the first time these countries welcome Europe’s best handball teams for an EHF EURO event,” the EHF said in its announcement.

The Women’s EHF EURO 2026 is scheduled for December 3 to 20 with 24 teams.

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