By Camila Grasso, Senior Director, Business Development

Handball is fast, dynamic, diverse and it is ready for growth.

I played handball for many years and it’s the sport that truly shaped my life and sparked my passion for sports in general. Back in Brazil, I competed at a high level as part of a semi-professional team, and I’m proud to say my very first salary even came from playing handball!

Unfortunately, I had to stop when funding for the women’s team was withdrawn. At that point, I chose to focus on my studies, but handball still played a key role in my journey, earning a scholarship to play for my university team.

When I first moved to the UK, I figured my handball days were done. Then London 2012 happened. A friend of mine was still playing for Brazil, so I ended up at every one of their games, and that completely pulled me back in.

Not long after, I joined a local club and somehow that snowballed into playing twice in the European Handball Federation (EHF) Cup. We were an amateur side going up against semi-pro and pro teams, which made it both chaotic and brilliant. It also opened my eyes to just how big and well-established handball is across Europe.

After experiencing the sport at that level, it’s still strange to me how little visibility handball has in the UK. It’s a completely different picture across Europe. That contrast made me curious, so I started looking into why the gap exists and whether there’s actually potential for the sport to thrive here.

(EHF / eurohandball.com)

Inside Europe’s handball landscape

Across much of Europe, handball isn’t a niche game, it’s a serious commercial machine.

The EHF Champions League FINAL4 in Cologne fills a 20,000-seat arena every year, brings serious economic value to the city and delivers an atmosphere that’s hard to match. Hungary mirrors it on the women’s side, hosting their FINAL4 in another 20,000-seat venue backed by long-term broadcast deals that keep the event consistently in view. And the scale isn’t limited to what happens in the arena – flagship competitions like the EHF EURO and the EHF Champions League attract tens of millions of viewers across major European markets (EHF / eurohandball.com).

I’ve followed the finals online through the EHF’s own streaming platform and the demand is obvious – big enough that DAZN stepped in and secured long-term rights. In 2020 they signed a six-year deal covering Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Spain, giving them the men’s and women’s EHF Champions League through to the 2025/26 season (SportsPro).

However, the EHF Champions League isn’t just about the finals. While those events are spectacular, the competition features numerous thrilling matches throughout the season. I’ve been fortunate to attend several Győri ETO KC Champions League games and experience the incredible atmosphere at the Audi Aréna in Győr, packed with over 5,000 passionate fans cheering for their team.

(Győri ETO KC on Facebook)

The atmosphere is electric and it’s the kind of stage that pulls in heavyweight brands. Audi is a perfect example – as the club sponsor and arena title partner, they go big: cars displayed inside the venue, sales teams on the ground and full-scale product demos woven into the matchday experience.

According to Cognitive Market Research, the European handball market is already valued at $141M and is projected to more than double to $290M by 2033. That kind of growth raises a real question for the UK: are we in a position to tap into it, or are we letting the opportunity pass us by?

The Fan Factor: Passion That Brands Can’t Ignore

Our Decoding 360 dataset, built from more than 30,000 sports fans across global markets, makes the picture even clearer.

In Germany, handball fans massively outperform the national average on key measures of engagement: they’re 41% more likely to attend live events, 36% say their team is part of their identity and 43% would switch streaming platforms just to keep watching the sport.

France tells a similar story. 34% percent of fans want exclusive, behind-the-scenes content, 59% say sponsorships genuinely shape how they see the sport and 62% agree women’s women’s competitions are becoming more popular.

This isn’t a niche corner of sport, it’s a mature cultural force in Germany, France, Spain and Scandinavia. The outlier is the UK.

So the real question is whether there’s an opportunity here for brands, broadcasters and rights holders to build something the UK market hasn’t woken up to yet.

The demand for fast, immersive, close-to-the-action sport absolutely exists – fans want pace, intensity and a social environment around it.

Handball offers all of that.

Yes, the UK scene is still amateur, with limited visibility and barely any broadcast presence, but that’s exactly why the upside is so compelling.

The blueprint for transforming indoor arenas into sports and entertainment powerhouses already exists. Look at the rise of Baller League – a short-form football format that mixes sport, entertainment, creators and atmosphere. That combination is attracting audiences and commercial partners because it taps directly into how younger fans consume sport.

(Baller League UK)

And here’s the irony: the Copper Box, where Baller League is hosted, was originally built as the Handball Arena for London 2012 – even the postcode (E20 3HB) talks to it – HB! The infrastructure was here before the opportunity was even recognised.

Where the real opportunities sit for brands and rights holders

Handball has pretty much everything modern brands look for. Playing in arenas makes the live experience more accessible and affordable, and the tighter space means the atmosphere hits harder – you get a level of closeness that big outdoor stadiums might struggle to replicate.

Our Decoding 360 data backs this up. In the UK, 38% of sports fans say the cost of tickets is the biggest barrier to attending live sport. Handball solves part of that problem straight away.

Add to that the sport’s pace and Olympic profile, and you’ve got something that fits perfectly with younger audiences who want fast, dynamic moments they can share.

And the real advantage? Anyone who moves early gets to shape the space before it’s crowded – building authenticity, equity and relevance from day one.

The gap for sports like netball, basketball and handball has always been visibility. Traditional leagues and broadcast deals don’t cut it anymore. Rights holders need to think entertainment-first – mixing the sport with culture, music, lights, influencers, creator content, gamification… all the things that turn a match into something people feel part of, not just something they watch.

Handball can tap into that same formula: put elite athletes alongside creators and celebrities, design moments built for TikTok and Instagram, weave in fan challenges, digital touchpoints and anything that brings the sport into people’s feeds and conversations.

Agencies can also play big role in shaping the future of handball too. By blending sport and culture, they can help federations create formats that actually resonate with younger fans and give brands something authentic to attach themselves to. It’s not about necessarily moving away from sport; it’s about building an ecosystem of live and digital experiences around it.

Hybrid formats have already shown what works: music, lights, influencers and gamification don’t cheapen sport, they elevate it.

This isn’t about ditching traditions forged across Europe, it’s about amplifying it and turning the sport into a cultural movement that builds loyalty and unlocks new revenue streams along the way.