The 14th EHF Extraordinary Congress

• 14th EHF Extraordinary Congress held in Vienna
• EHF celebrates its 30th anniversary
• Men’s EHF EURO 2026 heads to Denmark, Sweden & Norway
• Russia the destination for Women’s EHF EURO 2026
• Portugal, Spain & Switzerland join forces to hold Men's EHF EURO 2028
• Norway, Denmark & Sweden the venues for Women’s EHF EURO 2028
• All times Central European Time

18:15

And that, dear handball friends, is that for the coverage of today's Extraordinary Conference here in Vienna. Our thanks first, of course, is to you for reading and refreshing this page, but also to everyone who made the event possible and to those federations who were able to attend. It was great, as ever, to see so many familiar and friendly faces.

What's our plan now this evening? Firstly, to toast 30 years of the EHF and then catch the last 45 minutes of today's matches in DELO EHF Champions League.

Have a good evening whatever your plans, are and we'll see you soon.

18:00

And that’s almost a wrap from us. But before the President sends the congress to dinner, he has a very special award to give EHF Chief Sports Officer Markus Glaser.

The Swiss sports chief receives a Crisis Manager of the Year award for his efforts in ensuring handball matches across club and national team competitions went ahead during the some of the most challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On receiving his award, Glaser says: “Yes, last season was a special season, but an unfortunate one we all had to go through. We didn’t want it and we didn’t like it but we had to face it. It was challenging for our competitions regardless of country or competition but these are situations we must always be ready to face.

“It was one of the most challenging times we have faced but face them we did. I have to thank my colleagues in the EHF, Marcos Bestilliero in the officials department; Ines Taekker in the club competitions department, my colleagues in the media department and at EHF Marketing for helping solving the issues and who assisted and supported me. Part of this certificate is for them.”

The whole room gets to their feet to salute him.

Nice one, Markus. Really well deserved.

17:55

That's the end of the EHF EURO awardings and our congratulations go to the four bids. Hands up who's looking forward to them. 

For a complete overview of the bids, we've summed up everything in this helpful article.

There's a few final words from EHF President Michael Wiederer on the way...

17:50

Women's EHF EURO 2028 off to Norway, Denmark and Sweden

And last but not least...

Just like the Men's EHF EURO 2026, the Scandinavian powerhouses Norway, Denmark and Sweden will work together to bring us the Women's EHF EURO 2028.

17:35

Spain, Portugal and Switzerland team-up to host Men’s EHF EURO 2028

Time to turn our attention to 2028 now, and we've got another trio of federations joining forces to bring us an EHF EURO, this time with Spain, Portugal and Switzerland stepping up to welcome the men's championship in eight years' time.

Barcelona’s Palau St. Jordi, Madrid’s Wanda Stadium and the home of football club Real Madrid, the Santiago Bernabéu, are touted as potential venues for the final weekend.

Luís Miguel Morgado Laranjeiro, President of the Portuguese federation says: "After our first appearance at the Olympics in Toyko we have more media attention and as a result more fans and more players; and it's those fans who now want to play. This is important for the future of handball in Portugal."

17:15

WOMEN'S EHF EURO 2026 HEADS TO RUSSIA

Following swiftly in the footsteps of the men is the official awarding of the Women's EHF EURO 2026, which will be off to Russia for the very first time in the history of the EHF EUROs. 

Sergey Shishkarev, the President of the Russian handball federation, says: "We have been waiting for this opportunity for a long, long time and worked hard to deserve the honour of holding such a significant event in our country. We look forward to welcoming the European handball into our country."

17:00

Denmark, Sweden & Norway to host Men's EHF EURO 2026

And it's official. The Men's EHF EURO 2026 will be heading to Denmark, Sweden and Norway as the three nations come together for the very first time to host a Men's EHF EURO.

EHF President Michael Wiederer says: "We have three organisers who are very experienced. Congratulations to Scandinavia Connect."

16:55

Here we go then... time for the official awarding of the EHF EUROs in 2026 and 2028. 

Here's a look at the four bids...

16:50

Want some more photos? Want to feel as though you are here with us in Vienna? Well even if the answer is no to both questions, we've uploaded a few more inside this opulent Viennese venue anyway. Enjoy.

For those awaiting the awarding of the EHF EUROs... it's coming up shortly.

16:40

Secretary General Martin Hausleitner, explains the latest on the EHF’s search for a new office, or as he puts it a new ‘Home of Handball’.

“We want the new house to be the ‘Home of Handball’ for all our stakeholders,” he says.

It’s a long way from the early days when, in 1992, the first office had two members of staff and two telephones. The current office in Hoffingergasse, had nine staff employed on its opening day but is now home to almost 80 in Vienna’s 12th district.

The new house is expected to open its doors for the 2024/25 season.

16:20

Wiederer introduces the introduces an update for the EHF Master Plan and its “7 players for the Future” concept

“We have to secure the position of handball in the changing world of sports. We have to combine the unique elements of our sport - while keeping the core intact - with the evolution in several areas around us," said the President. “We have to bring benefit to the life of people, then we will be able to develop our sport further.”

The EHF’s JJ Rowland, Director Business Development and Marketing, takes over to explain to the federations exactly how the EHF are going to implement the plan, of which those present helped shape.

It’s a major part of the EHF’s blueprint for the future - of which six million euro will be invested. If you care for handball then you’ll want to know more. So we wrote this piece all for your enjoyment.

16:10

The President’s summary since April in a nutshell:

• Congress back in April saw the election of a new EXEC Committee and committees that contains 77 functions from 32 nations
• The EHF Office in Vienna has staff members from 22 nations
• Praised the work of everyone in handball dealing with the on-going pandemic
• Paid tribute to the work done over the summer of the 12 younger age category events

16:00

EHF Secretary General Martin Hausleitner takes the reigns, and explains that 45 federations are in attendance here in Vienna this afternoon.

There's a little bit of housekeeping to explain, including the fact that no motions have been submitted by any of the federations for the Extraordinary Congress.

For those interested when the awarding of the EHF EUROs will be revealed... stay tuned in about an hour's time. 

Up first, we'll have a update on the EHF's activities between April and November 2021.

15:55

There's no buzzer and no blast of the referee whistle and no sound of the fans in this live blog. Not today. Instead, it's left to EHF President Michael Wiederer to open up the Extraordinary Congress five minutes ahead of schedule.

"It's an important congress," he says. "We all know the EHF EUROs are the major team events of the EHF and therefore the awarding of the 2026 and 2028 Men's and Women's championships are of core importance to us.

"That's not the only topic, as we have a short report of the past and look ahead to the future."

15:50

We're 10 minutes away throw off of the 14th Extraordinary Congress but before we get down to the formal proceedings - and as we're on the topic of celebrating the EHF's 30th birthday - why not take a little trip down memory lane and read up on the last three decades on and off the court in European handball. If you love your handball history, these three pieces are a must read (and will also probably make you feel your age!)

15:40

As we've alluded to already in our opening gambit, this week the EHF celebrated its 30th birthday. On 17 November 1991 the European Handball Federation was formed. To mark the occasion, and to see just how the federation has developed in that time, we sat down and spoke to EHF President Michael Wiederer to get his thoughts on the anniversary and the current state of our sport.

15:30

Hello and welcome to the 14th Extraordinary Conference in the Austrian capital Vienna. This week has seen the celebration of the 30th birthday of the European Handball Federation but biggest piece of business taking place today is the awarding of the Men's and Women's EHF EUROs in 2026 and 2028.

We'll give you a full introduction to each of the four bids, as well as a look-back at all of the special anniversary content that we have published on eurohandball.com this week.

So stay with us this afternoon and hit refresh when you feel the urge to be updated.