Romanian league hosts most EHF EURO players

Which is the strongest league in European women’s handball? The answer depends on the criteria applied.

The Norwegian league has provided the EHF Champions League winner in the past two seasons, Vipers Kristiansand, while Germany (SG BBM Bietgheim) and Spain (Rocasa Gran Canaria) have clubs lifting the EHF European League and European Cup trophies in 2021/22.

In the EHF nations’ ranking, Denmark and Hungary are the leaders.

But looking at the country where most of the 304 players at the EHF EURO play for a club team gives another picture, as the biggest number of players is with a club in… Romania.

A total 49 players from 12 different countries competing at the recent European Championship play for 11 different Romanian clubs. Both Bucharest-based clubs in the EHF Champions League – Rapid and CSM – boast 11 EHF EURO players. Only Krim Mercator Ljubljana had more players at the EHF EURO: 13.

Romania lead this ranking clearly ahead of Denmark (39 players), France (38), and Germany (34). The domestic league of Norway, the European champions, includes just 13 EHF EURO players.

One national league of a country participating in the EHF EURO provided no players at all: the Dutch league, meaning the squad of Netherlands, who finished sixth, was completely filled with players from foreign club teams. On the other hand, two leagues were represented even though the respective national team did not play at the EHF EURO: Türkiye and Russia.

Therefore, the 304 players of the 16 EHF EURO nations play for club teams in 17 different domestic leagues across Europe.

Most Women's EHF EURO 2022 players per national league:

49: Romania (11 different clubs with players from 12 different countries: Romania, North Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia, Spain, Slovenia, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Montenegro, France and Norway)
39: Denmark (11 clubs, six countries: Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands and Norway)
38: France (12 clubs, 10 countries: France, Denmark, North Macedonia, Serbia, Poland, Spain, Slovenia, Sweden, Netherlands and Montenegro)
34: Germany (14 clubs, 10 countries: Germany, North Macedonia, Serbia, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Slovenia, Hungary, Netherlands and Denmark)
31: Hungary (eight clubs, 10 countries: Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, France, Denmark and Norway)
16: Slovenia (three clubs, four countries: Slovenia, Serbia, Poland and Montenegro)
14: Spain (seven clubs, two countries: Spain, Netherlands)
13: Norway (six clubs, seven countries: Norway, Croatia, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands and France)
13: Croatia (two clubs, one country: Croatia)
11: Switzerland (four clubs, one country: Switzerland)
11: North Macedonia (four clubs, one country: North Macedonia)
11: Poland (five clubs, one country: Poland)
9: Montenegro (one club, one country: Montenegro)
6: Sweden (five clubs, two countries: Sweden and Serbia)
5: Serbia (three clubs, one country: Serbia)
3: Türkiye (two clubs, three countries: Montenegro, Croatia and North Macedonia)
1: Russia (one club, one country: North Macedonia)

Most Women's EHF EURO 2022 players per club team:

13: Krim Mercator Ljubljana (SLO)
11: Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA)
11: CS Rapid Bucuresti (ROU)
11: CSM Bucuresti (ROU)
9: WHC Buducnost BEMAX (MNE)
8: Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN)
8: SG BBM Bietigheim (GER)
8: Team Esbjerg (DEN)
7: CS Gloria Bistrita-Nasaud (ROU)
7: FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN)
7: Odense Håndbold (DEN)
7: HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO)