When and where is the 2024 EHF European Men’s Handball Championship taking place?

The men’s Handball Euro takes place from January 10th-28th in Germany, with the final being played in the impressive Lanxess Arena in Cologne. Boasting arguably the best national handball league in the world, Germany is expected to put on a big show – the two first games of the tournament will be held in front of 53,000 spectators at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, which would be a world record.

Twenty-four countries are taking part in the tournament, including Sweden.

Is the Swedish team any good?

Yes!

Sweden are the reigning European champions and are, for the first time since the country’s handball heyday in the 1990s, second in the betting tables, behind world champions Denmark.

Many of the Swedish players are based in Germany, so it’s almost like a home tournament.

Sweden is in group E together with the Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia. These are all teams which the Swedes should be able to beat, so they are expected to win the group stage.

When is Sweden playing?

The following group stage matches are scheduled.

January 11th, 8.30pm: Sweden-Bosnia and Herzegovina

January 13th, 8.30pm: Georgia-Sweden

January 15th, 8.30pm: Sweden-Netherlands

Assuming Sweden goes through from the group stage, the road to the final will be tougher from there onwards, including a couple of pull-no-punches Scandinavian clashes on the cards.

Norway and Denmark are both excellent teams and expected to go through to Sweden’s main round. Slovenia, Poland, Portugal and the Czech Republic are other rivals they’re likely going to face.

Two teams from each main round will go through to the semi-finals.

Where can I watch it on TV?

The Viaplay group is responsible for coverage. The match will be shown live on TV6, which you might have if you pay for a TV package, and will be available to stream on Viaplay if you have their Medium (399 kronor a month) or Total (699 kronor) package.

Will any bars be showing the tournament?

The O’Leary’s chain of sports bars found across Sweden is usually the fail-safe bet if you want to be sure that the games will be on, but you can also try other sports bars or English or Irish pubs.

Handball is a fairly popular sport in Sweden, so if the bars are able to show Viaplay or TV6, it’s likely that they’ll be showing the Men’s Handball Euro rather than any other competing sport.

What about radio?

If you don’t mind commentary in Swedish, you can tune into Radiosporten.

Why should I care?

Handball is a popular sport in a lot of European countries, such as Germany, France, Poland, Scandinavia and the Balkan countries.

Sweden used to be almost unbeatable in the 1990s, when their affectionately nicknamed “Bengan Boys” team (after then national team coach Bengt or “Bengan” Johansson) took home several European, World and Olympic medals.

In the early 2000s, the team went through a generational shift and largely fell out of the top rankings, but since Norwegian coach Glenn Solberg took over in 2020 they’ve been on a solid streak, with a World Cup silver in 2021 and their first European gold in 20 years in 2022.

I’ve never watched handball before – how does it work?

Handball is played on a 40×20 metre court with goals on opposite sides. There are two referees.

Only the goalkeeper is allowed in the goal area, which is surrounded by a line six metres from the goal.

There are seven players on each team, including the goalkeeper, plus substitutes on the bench. Unlike football, teams are allowed to make an unlimited number of substitutes during the game, so you’ll frequently see players running to and from the bench. On some teams, there are some players who only play defence and some players who only play attack, changing places with each other between attacks.

An attack sequence usually starts by one team defending their goal at or near the six-metre line, while the other team walks or runs up towards them from the centre of the court, dribbling or passing the ball between each other. The sequence then usually picks up pace as the attacking team sets up their attack, passing the ball to each other quicker and quicker as they try to find an opening for scoring a goal.

Sometimes, one of the defenders may snatch the ball from the opponents, creating an opportunity for a fast counter attack.

Handball is a fast-paced contact sport, but there are rules that dictate how violent things are allowed to get. It is, for example, a defender’s role to (often physically) block his attacker, but if he leaves it too late and steps into his way at the last minute when the attacker has already begun to try to score, it may count as a defending foul. Similarly, if an attacker jumps straight into his defender, it’s an offensive foul.

Players can be handed a yellow card, which has less practical impact than in football and is more the referees’ way of setting the standard for how physical a game they will allow and saying “I’ve got my eye on you”. Referees can also award players with a two-minute suspension (after three two-minute suspensions, the player is eliminated), an immediate red card or a penalty throw for the opposing team.