Programme, teams and TV: this is what you need to know about the 2024 European Handball Championship

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When do the European Championships take place?

The European Championships will take place in Germany from January 10 to 28, 2024. Our northern neighbors are organizing a men’s European Championship for the first time.

Where is the game played?

The total of 65 matches will take place in six German cities. These are: Düsseldorf, Mannheim, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.

There will only be one match in Düsseldorf, the opening match. The remaining matches in Group A and Group D will take place in Berlin. Groups B and E play in Mannheim and groups C and F in Munich.

One main round group plays its matches in Hamburg, the other in Cologne. The entire final round will also take place there.

The stadiums of the 2024 European Championship

• Düsseldorf: Merkur Spiel-Arena, 50,000 spectators
• Mannheim: SAP Arena, 13,200 spectators
• Munich: Olympiahalle, 12,000 spectators
• Berlin: Mercedes-Benz Arena, 14,800 spectators
• Hamburg: Barclays Arena, 13,300 spectators
• Cologne: Lanxess Arena, 19,750 spectators

How many teams participate?

24 teams will participate in the 2024 European Championships. Germany automatically qualified as host country, Sweden, Spain and Denmark had scored their ticket for the 2022 European Championship. The remaining 20 teams had to qualify.

The Swiss national team also successfully mastered this. After 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2020, it is the fifth European Championship participation for the national team. The Faroe Islands, Greece and Georgia are participating for the first time. The teams from France, Croatia and Spain are participating for the 16th time and have never missed the tournament.

How does the mode work?

The 24 teams have been divided into six groups of four for the preliminary round and the game is played according to the ‘everyone against everyone’ principle. The 1st and 2nd place teams in each group qualify for the main round. Important: The points from the match against the team that also qualified will be taken to the main round; there will be no more meeting.

In the main round there are two groups of six, again everyone plays against everyone. The teams in 1st and 2nd place then qualify for the semi-finals. In addition to a competition for third place, there is also a competition for fifth place.

These are the groups

Group A: Germany, Switzerland, France, North Macedonia

Group B: Croatia, Romania, Spain, Austria

Group C: Hungary, Iceland, Montenegro, Serbia

Group D: Slovenia, Poland, Norway, Faroe Islands

Group E: Sweden, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Netherlands, Georgia

Group F: Greece, Denmark, Portugal, Czech Republic

When and where will Switzerland play?

Preliminary round

• January 10, 2024, 8:45 PM: Germany – Switzerland
• January 14, 2024, 6:00 PM: Switzerland – France
• January 16, 2024, 6:00 PM: North Macedonia – Switzerland

Switzerland plays the opening match against Germany in Düsseldorf. She will then play in Berlin against Olympic champions France and North Macedonia. Should the national team qualify for the main round, they will move to Cologne.

The game plan

Preliminary round

group A

• January 10, 6 p.m.: France – North Macedonia
• January 10, 8:45 PM: Germany – Switzerland
• January 14, 6 p.m.: Switzerland – France
• January 14, 8:30 PM: North Macedonia – Germany
• January 16, 6 p.m.: North Macedonia – Switzerland
• January 16, 8:30 PM: France – Germany

Group B

• January 12, 6 p.m.: Austria – Romania
• January 12, 8:30 PM: Spain – Croatia
• January 14, 6 p.m.: Romania – Spain
• January 14, 8:30 PM: Croatia – Austria
• January 16, 6 p.m.: Croatia – Romania
• January 16, 8:30 PM: Spain – Austria

Group C

• January 12, 6 p.m.: Iceland – Serbia
• January 12, 8:30 PM: Hungary – Montenegro
• January 14, 6 p.m.: Montenegro – Iceland
• January 14, 8:30 PM: Serbia – Hungary
• January 16, 6 p.m.: Serbia – Montenegro
• January 16, 8:30 PM: Iceland – Hungary

Group D

• January 11, 6 p.m.: Slovenia – Faroe Islands
• January 11, 8:30 PM: Norway – Poland
• January 13, 6 p.m.: Poland – Slovenia
• January 13, 8:30 PM: Faroe Islands – Norway
• January 15, 6 p.m.: Poland – Faroe Islands
• January 15, 8:30 PM: Norway – Slovenia

Group E

• January 11, 6 p.m.: Netherlands – Georgia
• January 11, 8:30 PM: Sweden – Bosnia-Herzegovina
• January 13, 6 p.m.: Bosnia and Herzegovina – Netherlands
• January 13, 8:30 PM: Georgia – Sweden
• January 15, 6 p.m.: Bosnia and Herzegovina – Georgia
• January 15, 8:30 PM: Sweden – Netherlands

Group F

• January 11, 6 p.m.: Portugal – Greece
• January 11, 8:30 PM: Denmark – Czech Republic
• January 13, 6 p.m.: Czech Republic – Portugal
• January 13, 8:30 PM: Greece – Denmark
• January 15, 6 p.m.: Czech Republic – Greece
• January 15, 8:30 PM: Denmark – Portugal

Main round

Group I

• January 18, 3:30 PM: 1st Group C – 2nd Group B
• January 18, 6 p.m.: 2nd Group A – 2nd Group C
• January 18, 8:30 PM: 1st Group A – 1st Group B
• January 20, 3:30 PM: 1st Group C – 1st Group B
• January 20, 6 p.m.: 1st Group A – 2nd Group C
• January 20, 8:30 PM: 2nd group A – 2nd group B
• January 22, 3:30 PM: 1st group A – 2nd group B
• January 22, 6 p.m.: 2nd Group A – 1st Group C
• January 22, 8:30 PM: 1st Group B – 2nd Group C
• January 24, 3:30 PM: 1st group A – 2nd group B
• January 24, 6 p.m.: 2nd Group A – 1st Group C
• January 24, 8:30 PM: 2nd group B – 2nd group C

Group II

• January 17, 3:30 PM: 1st Group F – 2nd Group E
• January 17, 6 p.m.: 2nd group D – 2nd group F
• January 17, 8:30 PM: 1st group D – 1st group E
• January 19, 3:30 PM: 1st Group F – 1st Group E
• January 19, 6 p.m.: 1st Group D – 2nd Group F
• January 19, 8:30 PM: 2nd group D – 2nd group E
• January 21, 3:30 PM: 1st group D – 2nd group E
• January 21, 6 p.m.: 2nd group D – 1st group F
• January 21, 8:30 PM: 1st Group E – 2nd Group F
• January 23, 3:30 PM: 1st group D – 1st group F
• January 23, 6 p.m.: 2nd group D – 1st group E
• January 23, 8:30 PM: 2nd group E – 2nd group F

Finals

• January 26, 3:00 PM: Match for 5th place
• January 26, 5:45 PM: Semi-final I
• January 26, 8:30 PM: Semi-final II
• January 28, 3 p.m.: 3rd place match
• January 28, 5:45 PM: Final

Where can you watch the European Championships on TV?

SRF shows all Swiss matches live on TV and online as stream. The matches with German participation are broadcast on free television by ARD and ZDF. The two German broadcasters will also broadcast other selected games.

Hosts and European champions at a glance

Source : Blick