32 teams, 18 nations, 4 courts, 1 feast of beach handball

0 sets were lost by Spain’s men on their way to gold in 2002, making them the only team – male or female – in Beach Handball EURO history to win gold without dropping a set throughout the tournament.

1 gold medal each has been won by the Belarusian men and the Ukrainian women, who triumphed at the inaugural EURO in 2000 but have not won the tournament again since.

1 more EHF Beach Handball EURO will take place this year – the YAC 17 edition, which is scheduled for 29 June-2 July in Izmir, Türkiye.

1 hashtag will be all over EHF’s dedicated social media channels, including the new EHF Beach Handball Instagram account: #bheuro2023

2 players have been awarded the MVP title at multiple EURO events: Croatia’s Mladen Paradžik in 2009 and 2011; and Hungary’s Kitti Gróz in 2013 and 2015; Gróz is also a two-time top scorer, in 2009 and 2011.

3 different nations only have won gold in the last seven men’s championships since 2009: Croatia (2009-15), Spain (2017), and Denmark (2019-21).

3 players that were top scorer at an EHF Beach Handball EURO later won the indoor EHF Champions League: Hans Lindberg (top scorer with Denmark in 2011, CL winner with HSV in 2013), Andrea Lekic (top scorer with Serbia in 2006, CL winner with Györ in 2013), and Linn Jørum Sulland (top scorer with Norway in 2007, CL winner with Vipers in 2021).

3 of the last four EURO gold medals have been won by Denmark: the men in 2019 and 2021, and the women in 2019; Denmark had not won any gold in the 10 editions of the EURO before 2019.

3 participating teams in the Beach Handball EURO 2023 have won the men’s title in the past: Spain, Croatia, and Denmark.

4 EURO titles make the Croatian men the record European champions, ahead of Spain with three titles; no women’s team has won gold more than two times.

4 courts are included in the tournament setup in Nazaré, with livestreaming from all courts available on EHFTV (geo-restrictions may apply).

4 of the 24 gold medals so far have been won by the EURO host nation, but none in the last 12 years: Spain’s men in Cádiz in 2002; Germany’s women in Cuxhaven in 2006; Croatia’s women and men in Umag in 2011.

5 nations have won the 12 men’s events so far: Croatia won four times, Spain three times, Russia and Denmark both twice, and Belarus once.

5 days is the duration of the Beach Handball EURO 2023, starting with the preliminary round on Wednesday 24 May and ending with the medal matches on Sunday 28 May.

6 times have the European champions successfully defended their title at the next EURO: the Russian women in 2004; the Croatian men in 2011, 2013 and 2015; the Hungarian women in 2015; and the Danish men in 2021.

6 (former) gold medallists are in the starting lineup of the women’s competition: defending champions Germany, Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Norway, and Denmark.

7 women’s teams and seven men’s teams at the EURO earn a ticket for the 3rd European Games in Tarnów in June, where beach handball is part of the programme for the first time; hosts Poland are the eighth participants.

8 nations so far have won the women’s EURO title: Russia, Germany, Croatia, and Hungary all won twice; Ukraine, Italy, Norway, and Denmark each once.

8 teams – the top two from all four groups – will advance from the preliminary round to the main round; the other eight teams continue in the consolation round and play for the places ninth to 16th.

10 European countries have hosted the EURO since its inauguration in 2000: Italy (twice), Spain (twice), Türkiye, Germany, Norway, Croatia (twice), Denmark, Poland, Bulgaria, and Portugal.

13 times – from Italy in 2000 to Portugal in 2023 – has the EHF Beach Handball EURO been staged.

15 years separate the first (2006) and the second EURO title (2021) for the German women, a record since no other team – male or female – has had to wait longer between two European titles; the longest wait on the men’s side is 11 years, between Spain’s second (2006) and third title (2017).

16 matches in the women’s event plus 16 in the men’s are scheduled for the opening day of the Beach Handball EURO 2023 on Wednesday 24 May.

18 different nations in total are present in Nazaré – 14 nations have teams in both competitions, two (North Macedonia and Slovakia) only in the women’s event, two (Sweden and Switzerland) only in the men’s event.

19.5 degrees Celsius is the average high temperature in May in Nazaré.

22 medals across major championships have been won by the national teams of Croatia: six golds, three silvers and three bronzes from European Championships; four golds, two silvers and a bronze from World Championships; and a gold, a silver and a bronze from The World Games.

25 matches is the winning streak of the German women coming into the Beach Handball EURO 2023, a series that started at the EURO in 2021 and continued at the IHF World Championship and The World Games in 2022.

32 teams take part in the Beach Handball EURO 2023 – 16 in the women’s and 16 in the men’s competition, four less than in the 2021 edition with 17 women’s and 19 men’s teams.

98 days before the start of the tournament, the official draw of the preliminary round groups took place in Nazaré on 15 February.

136 matches in total will be played during the Beach Handball EURO 2023 – 68 in each competition: 24 in the preliminary round; 12 in the main round; 12 in the consolation round; 4 quarter-finals; 8 cross/placement matches 9-16; 4 cross/placement matches 5-8; 2 semi-finals; 2 medal matches.

143 points were gathered by Norway’s Marielle Martinsen, the MVP in 2019, at the Women’s Beach Handball EURO 2021 to earn the top scorer award.

151 points made the late Cemal Kütahya the top scorer of the Men’s Beach Handball EURO 2021 in Varna, two years after he had also become the top scorer of the 2019 championship in Stare Jablonki; Kütahya tragically passed away during the earthquake that hit Türkiye and Syria in February 2023.

350 points from 20 sets over their nine matches was the tally of the German women in 2021 on the way to their first European title since 2006.  

445 points scored in 10 matches with 22 sets helped Denmark successfully defend their men’s title in 2021.

photos © Uros Hocevar, Jozo Cabraja, Axel Heimken / kolektiff