2010 European Women's Handball Championship

The 2010 European Women's Handball Championship was held in Denmark and Norway from 7 to 19 December. It was the first European Championship hosted by two countries. Norway won their overall 5th gold medal and 4th in a row, when they defeated first time finalist Sweden in the final. Romania claimed the bronze medal.

Venues Three Danish and two Norwegian cities have been selected to host the 2010 Championship. The venues in Aalborg, Aarhus and Larvik were only used during the preliminary round. The fourth venue to be used in this round is located in Lillehammer, and was also one of the two venues in the main round. The other being MCH Indoor Arena in Herning, which was the only venue to be used in the final round.

Lillehammer Håkons HallCapacity: 11,500 Larvik Map Aalborg Arena LarvikCapacity: 4,000 GigantiumCapacity: 7,600 Herning Aarhus Jyske Bank BoxenCapacity: 12,000 NRGi ArenaCapacity: 4,740

Competition format Preliminary round: 16 teams were divided into four groups. They played each other in a single round robin system, so each team played three matches. A win was worth two points, while a draw was worth one point. The top three teams from each group advanced to the main round. Main round: 12 teams were divided in two groups. They played against the teams they didn't play in the preliminary round, so each team played 3 matches. All points from the preliminary round, except the points gained against the 4th place team in the preliminary group, were carried forward into the main round. Same round robin rules applied as in the preliminary round. Top 2 teams from each group advanced to the Semifinals, while the third placed team from each group advanced to the 5th–6th Place Play-off. Final round: 6 teams play in the final weekend of the championships. 3rd place teams from the main round played in the 5th–6th Place Play-off. Other teams played in the Semi-finals. Losers of the Semi-finals advanced to the 3rd–4th Place Play-off, and winners advanced to the Final.

Ranking in preliminary and main round If two or more teams were equal on points in the preliminary or main round, their ranking was determined as follows:

During the preliminary or main round matches: higher goal difference in all matches greater number of plus goals in all matches alphabetic order

After the completion of the preliminary and main round matches: better results in points gained in the direct encounter of the teams higher goal difference in the direct encounter of the teams greater number of plus goals in the direct encounter of the teams goal difference in all matches (achieved by subtraction) greater number of plus goals in all matches

Qualification

Qualification matches were played from September 2009 to May 2010. Following the new system introduced for the 2010 Men's Championship, all teams were included in the qualification round, except host Denmark and defending champion and host Norway. Teams were divided in 7 groups and the two top ranked teams from each group qualified.

Qualified teams Country Qualified asDate qualification was secured Previous appearances in tournament1 00Co-hosts 005 May 2006 80 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008) 01Co-hosts 005 May 2006 80 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008) 02Group 2 winner 014 April 2010 80 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008) 03Group 3 winner 014 April 2010 50 (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008) 04Group 4 winner 014 April 2010 80 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008) 05Group 5 winner 014 April 2010 50 (1998, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008) 06Group 6 winner 014 April 2010 00 (debut) 072nd place in Group 6 014 April 2010 80 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008) 08Group 7 winner 014 April 2010 50 (1994, 1996, 2004, 2006, 2008) 082nd place in Group 1 0226 May 2010 70 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008) 08Group 1 winner 0226 May 2010 80 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008) 082nd place in Group 3 0229 May 2010 00 (debut) 082nd place in Group 4 0230 May 2010 30 (2002, 2004, 2006) 2nd place in Group 7 30 May 2010 30 (1998, 2002, 2006) 2nd place in Group 2 30 May 2010 60 (1994, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008) 2nd place in Group 5 30 May 2010 20 (2006, 2008)

1 Bold indicates champion for that year

Squads

Each nation had to submit an initial squad of 28 players by 3 November 2010,Official 28 player Squad List but 12 of them became reserves when the final squad of 16 players was announced the day before the tournament starts.9th Women's EHF Euro Championship Guide

Referees 13 Referee pairs were selected: Matija Gubica and Boris Milošević Jiří Opava and Pavel Válek Martin Gjeding and Mads Hansen Marlene Kroløkke Lythje and Karina Christiansen Charlotte Bonaventura and Julie Bonaventura Csaba Kékes and Pál Kékes Slomo Cohen and Yoram Peretz Zigmārs Stoļarovs and Renārs Līcis Ivan Pavićević and Miloš Ražnatović Kjersti Arntsen and Ida Cecilie Gullaksen Diana-Carmen Florescu and Anamaria Duţă Valerija Guseva and Stella Vartanyan Peter Brunovský and Vladimír Čanda

Seeding The draw for the final tournament took place 17:00 CET on 5 June 2010 in Odense.Draw results

Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4 (assigned to D1)

(assigned to C1)

(assigned to A2)

(assigned to B3)

Preliminary round Group A (Aalborg)