ehf_25yers_book_webversion

Moreover, there have been recognisable
shifts in the hierarchy of European women’s
handball. Nations like Spain, who took silver
in the EHF EURO 2008, and France have
gradually become stronger in the course of
time. For many years, the Russians used to
travel to EUROs as title hopefuls. The tale
of the fabulous emergence of Montenegro
as a great handball nation and their winning
of the title in 2012 would fill several
books. Last, but not least the Swedes, led
by superstar Isabell Gulldén, have proven
their increasing strength. They – alongside
the French, the Spanish and, more recently,
also the Netherlands players – are ready to
play at the very top at any time.
Of course, the history of the Women‘s
EHF EURO has also known setbacks. The
biggest crisis in tournament history was
certainly the decision taken by the Nederlands
Handball Verbond in June 2012,
to withdraw as organiser of the Women’s
EHF EURO. This forced the EHF to hurriedly
call for a fresh round of bids for the tournament.
Fortunately, the Serbian Handball
Federation, which had just hosted the Men’s
EHF EURO 2012 to everybody’s satisfaction,
volunteered to fill the gap and, with
great passion and attention to detail, organised
a tournament that truly did honour
to a Women’s EHF EURO. The dramatic final
of Montenegro vs. Norway played in the
huge Belgrade Arena was watched by some
10,000 fans – another new record for the
final of a Women‘s EHF EURO.
As the withdrawal of the year 2012
shows, the history of the Women‘s EHF
EURO has not been without some disruption
and turbulence. Basically, however, the
tournament has seen a fantastic development
since it was first staged in 1994. As
far as organisation is concerned, the Women’s
EHF EURO is among the best that women’s
handball has to offer. The number of
tickets sold has risen steadily in the course
of time while viewership and reach have
increased by leaps and bounds in recent
years. And also in terms of athletic
performance, the EHF EURO – just like the
89