Handball by numbers: A look at women in the game

Previous and current initiatives have examined and elucidated the role of women in handball and women’s handball in a much broader context, highlighting how there is no doubt that this is a crucial area well beyond the bounds of the sidelines. Those initiatives include the newly launched Her Playground and the two Women’s Handball Conferences organised in conjunction with the EHF EURO 2024 and 2022. Past stories from eurohandball.com, which give evidence to the importance of improving female-to-male ratios in handball, have delved into particular topics such as social responsibility in handball, player dropout and the theme of “empowering HERstory.” 

To be able to continue forward, understanding the current situation across Europe is vital — to note the positives as well as measure how far there is to go and identify the next steps. In that vein, this article shares the key insights gathered from March to September 2025.

Player numbers in stark contrast to referee and coach figures

Cumulatively across the 29 countries that provided their data up to 29 September, the percentage of registered female players is at 42 per cent. The total figure for the 29 national federations is 1,945,716 registered handball players, of which 826,287 are female.

However, the situation varies significantly by country:

• six of the 29 countries report higher numbers of female handball players than male: Denmark, Hungary, Montenegro, Norway, Romania and Slovakia
• Faroe Islands and Sweden have an even split of female to male players
• Austria, Croatia, Finland, Kosovo, Iceland and Türkiye all report more than 40 per cent female players
• Germany, France and Spain come in just under 40 per cent
• no country reports a female player registration ratio lower than 30 per cent

The current European champions Norway have the highest ratio of female-to-male players, at 92,929 of their 142,474 registered players — a figure of 65.23 per cent (status as of March 2025). 

In other roles directly related to the matches themselves, the figures across the board are less equal:

• cumulatively, the average ratio of female coaches is 24.68 per cent and the overall figure is 31 per cent, while the ratio of female referees is overall 28 per cent but an average of 15.67 per cent
• Denmark, Lithuania, Hungary and Norway are the only nations reporting a female coach ratio above 40 per cent
• Norway is the sole country with more than 50 per cent female referees, reporting a female-to-male referee ratio of 63 per cent
• there is a clear gap between Norway and other countries regarding female referees — the second-ranked nation, Montenegro, reports 40 per cent  
• only three other countries count more than 30 per cent female referees: Finland, Hungary and Lithuania

Stepping away from the court and looking at employees in national federations, the 29 countries that reported had an average of 34.34 per cent female employees, but the overall figure is 43 per cent. Italy, Norway and Slovakia are the only nations to report more females than males in this category, while Czechia has a split of exactly 50 per cent. Croatia, Denmark, France, Hungary, Romania and Switzerland are all close to half, with a ratio of at least 45 per cent. 

The total figures of the 29 national federations stand at:

• 19,535 female coaches of a total 62,612
• 16,343 female referees among a total of 58,321
• 858 employees, of which 372 are female

Limited female representation on boards

Board rooms have a cumulative 29 per cent female members, and many nations count just one or zero female board members. Three countries have a 50:50 split in male and female board members: France, Luxembourg and Sweden. 

Prior to their 2025 election, Norway was the only nation with more female board members than male, at a ratio of 63 per cent. The 2025 election saw their ratio decrease, with now five female of 11 board members, down from seven, and a female president, Randi Gustad, at the helm. Aside from board members, Norway reports higher female-to-male ratios across every statistic, and that is no coincidence — their targeted efforts towards gender equality in both the organisation and the sport in general have been previously explored. 

The Netherlands’ focus on diversity has also been examined, while a general look at female player dropout highlighted the importance of proactive attention to gender equality in various areas and the role such efforts play in the overall success of a federation when it comes to both growing the sport and achievements of the women’s national teams. 

Initiatives from around Europe

The involvement of women in diverse roles is clearly a vital factor for a federation to continue moving forward, and for handball to continue to grow across Europe and indeed the world. While there may be some way to go, many national federations report initiatives targeting the participation of female players and/or ensuring women are involved in other roles, as in the previously mentioned cases of Norway and the Netherlands. 

Czechia has implemented a broad and holistic strategy to strengthen women’s handball, and saw a 33 per cent increase in female player numbers from 2020 to 2024. Their efforts include funding programmes in collaboration with the National Sports Agency; reinforcing communication efforts in order to more effectively promote the sport to young women and girls; maximising women’s handball events, particularly those surrounding the national team; children’s handball growth under the umbrella of the EHF Master Plan; a partnership to support selected female players aged 18 to 21 with pursuing a professional handball career while completing their education; and projects designed to provide access to professional coaches and physiotherapists. Czechia will also co-host the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 and 2031 IHF World Championship. 

Also looking ahead to the hosting of a Women’s World Championship is Germany, where the “Hands up for more” campaign was launched ahead of the 2025 edition of the global event, which is co-organised with the Netherlands. The German Handball Association aims to capitalise on the hosting of the event to sustainably strengthen women’s handball and the position of women in Germany. 

“’Hands up for more” is more than just a slogan — it is a call for a movement that offers women a visible stage in both sport and everyday life,” states the website. The campaign encompasses five core pillars and focus areas, each of which includes several points of action that will lead up to the World Championship: attention, respect, security, substance and engagement.

Belgium has also implemented a comprehensive strategy, “Hand2Women.” The strategy involves a specific form of handball designed to involve girls aged four to seven, adjustments to the schedule of open-age women’s competitions, a review of the federations communication to ensure gender-conscious communication, round table discussions with clubs, involving teenage girls more in the feedback process in their clubs and encouraging more active participation in other roles, a goal for the A and junior national teams to return to regular competition, and the establishment of a women’s committee that monitors and takes initiatives. 

The form of handball targeting young girls, Hand2Girls, follows a two-against-two concept, which removes the potential problem of not having enough players and thereby ensures a greater possibility for participation in handball. The project involves promotional days, tournaments and the provision of lesson plans for clubs. The project was outlined in a presentation from the Secretary General of the Belgian Handball Federation, Dries Boulet, at the second Women’s Handball Conference, and was also featured in a look at how handball federations and organisations can reach the younger generations. 

A further step of the Hand2Girls project is the Hand4Girls concept, where smaller groups of four can play, allowing more clubs to form girls’ teams and overcoming the issue of limited player numbers. A similar concept is the regulation for boys to be able to play in girls’ competitions — in U12 and U14 age groups, up to two boys can play on the field in the girls’ competitions, which means that clubs that may struggle with enough players for a girls’ team can still participate. 

On the senior level, Belgium aims to make the women’s competition more accessible to those with busy schedules by offering a half season. 

In Portugal, regional associations receive funding per registered athlete, with double support provided per female athlete. In addition, there is differentiated support for entries in women’s senior competitions. 

In Latvia, the focus is on youth handball competitions and educational seminars for coaches and referees. In addition, earlier in 2025, Latvia collaborated with their Baltic neighbours, Lithuania and Estonia, as well as Finland, to organise a training camp for youth female players — a current example of ongoing initiatives. 

At the start of March, Serbia announced the appointment of 2013 World Championship silver medallist Sanja Vujevic, nee Damnjanovic, as advisor for the development of women’s national teams. 

These are just some of the initiatives underway as European handball forges a path forward and aims to grow the women's game and women in the game. 

Photos © Eva Manhart, Axel Heimken, Uros Hocevar, Jure Erzen / kolektiff; Match Lens