As this is the first competition of note for the national teams of this generation, seeding for the draw is based on the current EHF Women’s YAC Four-Year National Ranking.
The pots are as follows:
- Pot 1: Spain, Germany, Hungary, France
- Pot 2: Croatia, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden
- Pot 3: Czechia, Norway, Romania, Serbia
- Pot 4: Faroe Islands, Iceland, Portugal, Slovakia
- Pot 5: Finland, Georgia, Lithuania, Türkiye
The teams will be drawn into four preliminary round groups of five squads each. From the round-robin preliminary round, the two top-ranked sides in each group will continue the fight for the title and progress to the quarter-finals. Those who do not qualify for the quarter-finals will contest a placement round, also played in round-robin format.
Every position will ultimately be decided through a placement match. The quarter-final winners will proceed to the semi-finals and medal matches, while the teams defeated in the quarter-final stage play a series of cross matches to determine their final rankings. The squads that did not reach the quarter-final stage also play a last placement game after their round-robin placement round.
Switzerland are the most recent champions of the W16 EHF European Open, having taken the title in 2024, while Germany placed second and Hungary third.
Photo © kolektiff images/Anze Malovrh
