Master Plan

Eight more federations signed Master Plan agreements with the EHF in 2025 — Albania, Andorra, the Netherlands, Kosovo, Estonia, Ireland, Finland and Armenia.

The European Handball Master Plan was created in 2020 following significant research involving fans, clubs, players, federations and leagues. The strategic plan, designed to take the EHF and the sport through to 2027, is aimed at making handball more attractive to fans; at increasing the number of active players, coaches and officials; and creating additional value for the sport.

Under the Master Plan, EHF member federations can, based on a strategic long-term development plan presented to the EHF, create projects and initiatives for their sustainable development and growth and apply for tailor-made EHF Master Plan 360° support. For commonly agreed projects and initiatives, targets and key performance indicators need to be set and budget allocated.

The new signatories in 2025 bring the total number of federations to have signed Master Plan Agreements to 28. All the federations have targeted grassroots growth, with a focus in many nations of developing handball for children and fostering a love of the sport from a young age.

Alongside this, 19 federations became the first signatories of the new Christensen Grassroots Charter in September 2025. Presented at the Extraordinary EHF Congress in December 2024 in Vienna, the Charter outlines rights, duties and responsibilities of the EHF and signatory member federations when it comes to the development of grassroots handball.

Its purpose is to further develop such activities by supporting, monitoring, measuring and rewarding federations who commit to grassroots handball and show outstanding results.

The first signatories are: the Faroe Islands, Denmark, Malta, Türkiye, Georgia, Serbia, Hungary, Germany, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Kosovo, Portugal, Switzerland, Croatia, Estonia, Belgium, Scotland, and England.