Handball-Bundesliga
The Handball-Bundesliga (HBL) is the top German professional handball league. From 2007 onwards, the league was sponsored by Toyota and has officially been called the Toyota Handball-Bundesliga. This lasted until 2012 when the Deutsche Kreditbank AG (DKB)[1] became the new sponsor. The official name has consequently been changed to LIQUY MOLY Handball-Bundesliga. The winners of the respective season are the official German handball champions. HBL is headquartered in Dortmund.
Current season, competition or edition: 2023–24 Handball-Bundesliga | |
 | |
| Sport | Handball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1966 |
| Inaugural season | 1966–67 |
| Administrator | DHB |
| No. of teams | 18 |
| Country | Germany |
| Confederation | EHF |
| Most recent champion(s) | THW Kiel (23rd title) (2022–23) |
| Most titles | THW Kiel (23 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | Sky Sport HBL TV |
| Sponsor(s) | Liqui Moly |
| Level on pyramid | Level 1 |
| Relegation to | 2. Handball-Bundesliga |
| Domestic cup(s) | DHB-Pokal DHB-Supercup |
| International cup(s) | EHF Champions League EHF European League |
| Official website | liquimoly-hbl.de |
History
The Bundesliga was introduced with the 1966/67 season and initially operated with two regional sections, North and South. Since 1977 the Bundesliga has operated with a single section first division, currently composed of eighteen clubs. In 1981 a 2.Bundesliga was introduced as a new second division, supplanting the Regionalliga which became the third tier. The 2.Bundesliga used to consist of two (resp. three in the first two years after the German reunification) sections north and south for thirty years. Starting with the 2011/12 season the 2.Bundesliga is run in a single section consisting of twenty teams.
Season
The season has 34 game days (or weeks) and is played as a Round-robin tournament without playoffs or a final. The season starts in August or September and ends in May. The first and second placed teams are entitled to play in the EHF Champions League the following season. The third, fourth, fifth and sixth placed teams additionally play in the EHF European League. The seedings are subject to change, in case a German team wins the Champions League, the EHF European League or the EHF Cup Winner's Cup because each winner of those tournaments is granted an automatic start in next years tournament without taking one of the leagues spots. It also can change if the DHB-Pokal Champion has one of the league spots for the Champions League or the EHF European League.
Relegation and Promotion
Until 2011, the two last placed teams would be relegated to the 2. Handball-Bundesliga for the next season, either in its northern or the southern section. The sixteenth placed team used to play in a home and away decider against the winner of the decider between the two-second placed teams of the northern and the southern section of the 2. Bundesliga. The champions of the second divisions received a spot for the Bundesliga automatically.
Since the 2017–18 season, the bottom two teams of the Bundesliga will directly be relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, while the top two teams of the 2. Bundesliga will be directly promoted to the Bundesliga.
Clubs
Members of the 2022–23 Handball-Bundesliga.
| Team | Location | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASV Hamm-Westfalen | Hamm | Westpress Arena | 2,650 |
| Bergischer HC | Wuppertal Solingen Düsseldorf |
Uni-Halle Klingenhalle ISS Dome |
3,200 2,800 12,500 |
| Füchse Berlin | Berlin | Max-Schmeling-Halle | 9,000 |
| TVB 1898 Stuttgart | Stuttgart | Scharrena Stuttgart Porsche-Arena |
2,251 6,181 |
| HC Erlangen | Nuremberg | Arena Nürnberger Versicherung | 8,308 |
| SG Flensburg-Handewitt | Flensburg | Flens-Arena | 6,300 |
| Frisch Auf Göppingen | Göppingen | EWS Arena | 5,600 |
| HSV Hamburg | Hamburg | Sporthalle Hamburg Barclaycard Arena |
5,126 13,000 |
| TSV Hannover-Burgdorf | Hanover | TUI Arena Swiss Life Hall |
9,850 4,460 |
| THW Kiel | Kiel | Sparkassen-Arena | 10,285 |
| SC DHfK Leipzig | Leipzig | Arena Leipzig | 6,327 |
| TBV Lemgo | Lemgo | Lipperlandhalle | 4,790 |
| SC Magdeburg | Magdeburg | GETEC Arena | 6,600 |
| MT Melsungen | Melsungen | Rothenbach-Halle | 4,300 |
| GWD Minden | Minden | Kampa-Halle | 4,059 |
| Rhein-Neckar Löwen | Mannheim | SAP Arena | 13,200 |
| VfL Gummersbach | Gummersbach | Schwalbe-Arena | 4,132 |
| HSG Wetzlar | Wetzlar | Buderus Arena Wetzlar | 4,421 |
Champions
The complete list of the German handball champions since 1950.
Total titles won
| Club | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| THW Kiel | 23 | 1957, 1962, 1963, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2021, 2023 |
| VfL Gummersbach | 12 | 1966, 1967, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1991 |
| Frisch Auf Göppingen | 9 | 1954, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1965, 1970, 1972 |
| TV Großwallstadt | 6 | 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1990 |
| SV Polizei Hamburg | 4 | 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 |
| SG Flensburg-Handewitt | 3 | 2004, 2018, 2019 |
| TUSEM Essen | 3 | 1986, 1987, 1989 |
| Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 2 | 2016, 2017 |
| TBV Lemgo | 2 | 1997, 2003 |
| SG Wallau-Massenheim | 2 | 1992, 1993 |
| GWD Minden | 2 | 1971, 1977 |
| Berliner SV 1892* | 2 | 1956, 1964 |
| SC Magdeburg | 2 | 2001, 2022 |
| HSV Hamburg | 1 | 2011 |
| SG Leutershausen | 1 | 1968 |
Statistics
EHF coefficients
The following data indicates German coefficient rankings between European handball leagues.
EHF League Ranking for 2022/23 season:[2]
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EHF Club Ranking as of 18 June 2023:[3]
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References
- DKB wird Namenssponsor der Handball-Bundesliga
- "2022/23 season ranking" (PDF). European Handball Federation. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
- "Club coefficients". eurotopteam.com. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
External links
- Official website (in English)
- Official website (in German)
- Statistics of the HBL