The European Men's Handball Championship is the official competition for senior men's national handball teams of Europe and takes place every two years since 1994, in the even-numbered year between the World Championship. In addition to crowning the European champions, the tournament also serves as a qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games and World Championship. The most successful team is Sweden who have won five titles. Spain, however, have won most medals.
Hans Einar Magnus Wislander is a Swedish former handball player, who has been voted Handball Player of the Century. Since his debut in the national team in 1985 he has played over 380 games and scored over 1,000 goals. He played for Redbergslids IK, Gothenburg and THW Kiel.
The Sweden men's national handball team is controlled by the Swedish Handball Association. Its most successful periods were under coaches Curt Wadmark (1948–1967) and Bengt Johansson (1988–2004). The team under Bengt Johansson, nicknamed Bengan Boys in Sweden, is regarded as one of the finest national teams in the history of the sport with players like Tomas Svensson, Staffan Olsson, Magnus Wislander and Stefan Lövgren. From 1990 through 2002 the team reached the medal round in every championship and qualified for a record 8 championship finals in a row 1996–2002.
THW Kiel is a professional handball club from Kiel, Germany. Currently, they compete in the Handball-Bundesliga and are the record champion with 23 titles.
Ivano Balić is a Croatian former professional handballer who is currently part of the coaching staff at RK Split. Renowned for his speed, creativity, movement and charisma as a player, Balić won the 2003 World Championship and the Olympic gold medal in 2004 with the Croatian national team. He also won two World Championship silver medals, two silver and one bronze European Championship medals, and one Olympic bronze medal (2012) with the national team. At club level, Balić won thirteen titles during his career playing in Croatia, Spain and Germany.
Guðmundur Þórður Guðmundsson is an Icelandic handball coach and former player. In 2016, he guided Denmark men's team to gold in the 2016 Olympics. In 2008, he won silver with the Icelandic men's national team at the 2008 Olympic games in China.
Hammarby IF Handboll is the handball section of Swedish sports club Hammarby IF from Stockholm. Hammarby IF currently play in Handbollsligan, Sweden's first tier.
Zvonimir Serdarušić is a Croatian former professional handball coach and player who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics for Yugoslavia. In May 1998, he also acquired German citizenship.
Nikola Karabatić is a French Serbo-Croatian born professional handball player for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team.
Kim Andersson is a Swedish handball player for Ystads IF.
Lars Stefan Lövgren is a Swedish former handball player. He was born in Gothenburg. Making his debut in the national team in 1993, he played a total of 268 games and scored 1138 goals. During his adult career he played for Redbergslids IK, and German sides TV Niederwürzbach and Champions League- and Bundesliga-winning team THW Kiel. He was the captain of the national team during the period 1996–2006 and for THW Kiel 2001–2009. He is a five-time Swedish league champion with Redbergslid, and a seven-time Bundesliga champion with THW. He won the German cup four times, and he helped lead Kiel to the European Champions League title in 2007.
Per Carlén is a Swedish former handball player and current coach. He is the father of Swedish national handball player Oscar Carlén and Swedish national football player Hilda Carlén. His most recent coaching job was with the defending German champion HSV Hamburg, who sacked him on 29 December 2011.
Mats Åke Olsson is a Swedish retired handball goalkeeper, who is currently goalkeeping coach for Norway women's national handball team and Elverum Håndball. He was born in Malmö.
Per Ola Markus Lindgren is a Swedish former handball player and current coach. He is the head coach for IFK Kristianstad since 2012 and was head coach for Sweden from 2008 to 2016. As a player, he won two World Championships, four European Championships and participated in four Olympic Games. He also won four Swedish Championships with Drott.
Marko Vujin is a former Serbian handball player who plays for SC Pick Szeged and the Serbian national team.
Marcus Ahlm is a Swedish handballer. He retired from handball in 2013 after playing for German Handball-Bundesliga team THW Kiel.
Niclas Ekberg is a Swedish professional handballer for THW Kiel.
Nikolaj Bredahl Jacobsen is a Danish retired handball wing player and current coach of the Danish national team. He was named World Coach of the Year in 2021 by IHF. He is the first manager for a national team to win three world championships in a row (2019-2023).
Hampus Wanne is a Swedish professional handballer for FC Barcelona and the Swedish national team.
Gísli Þorgeir Kristjánsson is an Icelandic handball player who plays for SC Magdeburg and the Icelandic national team. He was named the Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year in 2023.
