2008 European Women's Handball Championship

Updated on Dec 26, 2023

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Host country Republic of Macedonia Venue(s) 2 (in 2 host cities) Runner-up Spain		Dates 2 December–14 December Champions Norway (4th title)

Teams 16 (from 1 confederation)

The 2008 EHF European Women's Handball Championship was held in the Republic of Macedonia from 2–14 December, it was won by Norway after beating Spain 34–21 in the final match.

Venues

Two Macedonian cities have been selected as hosts for the 2008 Championship:

Competition Format

Preliminary Round: 16 teams are divided into four groups. They play each other in a single round robin system, so each team plays three matches. A win is worth two points, while a draw is worth one point. The top three teams from each group advance to the Main Round.

Main Round: 12 teams are divided in two groups. They play against the teams they didn't play in the Preliminary Round, so each team plays 3 matches. All points from the Preliminary Round, except the points gained against the 4th place team in the preliminary group, are carried forward into the Main Round. Same round robin rules apply as in the Preliminary Round. Top 2 teams from each group advance to the Semifinals, while the third placed team from each group advances 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 play in the 5th-6th Place Play-off. Other teams play in the Semi finals. Losers of the Semi finals advance to the 3rd-4th Place Play-off, and winners advance to the Final.

Qualification

In total, 16 national teams qualified for the final tournament:

Host Nation

Republic of Macedonia

Qualified from the 2006 European Championship

Norway (Defending Champions)
Russia
France
Germany
Hungary

Qualified from play-offs

Squads

Each nation had to submit an initial squad of 28 players, 12 of them became reserves when the final squad of 16 players was announced on 1 December 2008.