Powerhouses seal titles after tough battles in women's domestic leagues
17 Jun. 2025
After a long season, the curtain has fallen on the men's domestic leagues played throughout the world, with some surprising champions, as well as known faces being crowned. There were tough battles in Denmark, Hungary or Germany, while other teams did not concede a loss to be crowned champions.
Odense pay back Esbjerg with superb finish
Considered to be one of the top leagues in the world in women’s handball, the Danish domestic competition provided some twists and turns, with the champion being decided over a three-legged final between Odense Handbold and Team Esbjerg, with the former side clinching their third league title, after a three-year wait.
Coach Ole Gustav Gjekstad led his team to their third domestic title before leaving to take over the Norway women’s national team, dominating the competition, as they finished first in the regular season, with 26 wins in 26 matches, and a seven-point lead over rivals Team Esbjerg.
In the play-offs, Odense still clinched the first place in their group, with five wins and a single loss, against NFH, 33:35, meeting Esbjerg in the final, after taking a 38:32 win and drawing, 27:27, against Ikast Handbold in the semi-finals.
In the final, Odense conceded a 31:38 home loss against Esbjerg in the first match, but tied the score in the second one, with a 33:28 win, pushing the final into the decider, which they played at home. In a hard-fought match, Odense eventually took a 33:31 win to lift the trophy.
Györ go back to their winning ways
After conceding the domestic title last season, Györi Audi ETO KC came back roaring in the Hungarian league, with a perfect season, ending in a treble, as Györ clinched the domestic title, the Hungarian Cup, as well as the EHF Champions League Women. It was the 18th domestic league for Györ and their 11th in the last 15 years.
It was a roller-coaster of emotions for Györ, which lost the first match against rivals FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, 18:23, having no room for mistake in the second part of the season. After FTC drew against DVSC Schaeffler, Györ only had to win the second match against FTC, which they duly did on 10 May.
A clear 32:24 win saw Györ take the command of the competition with two matches left, and as they won against Alba Fehervar, 31:29, and against Budaors, 39:23, Per Johansson’s side finished on the top place in the final standings. Esztergomi KC, led by former Hungary women’s national team coach, Gabor Elek, ended up on the third place in the standings.
Metz deliver perfect season for new title
A two-pronged battle was also recorded in the French league, where perennial contenders Metz Handball and Brest Bretagne Handball battled it out until the end of the competition for the title, with Metz emerging as champions for the 27th time in history and for the fourth time in a row.
Metz finished the season unbeaten, securing their fourth double in a row, as they also won the French Cup, but it was not for the lack of trying from Brest Bretagne Handball, which conceded only two losses, both against Metz.
Both Metz wins came by the slightest of margins, 23:22 at home and 31:30 on Brest’s court, as Metz won four out of the five mutual matches played throughout the season in all competitions. Metz’s goalkeeper, Cleopatre Darleux, was the MVP of this season, while Lylou Borg, the MVP of the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, was the top scorer, with 184 goals.
CSM shine in Neagu's last season
In Cristina Neagu’s last season as a player, her team, CSM București, won the Romanian league for the eighth time in history and for the third time in a row. CSM’s win was never in doubt, finishing with nine points ahead of the second-placed side, surprise package Corona Brașov, as they won 21 of the 24 matches played, dropping only two losses on the way.
The podium was completed by Gloria Bistrița, which had four points over HCM Baia Mare, while contenders Rapid București and Dunărea Brăila finished on the fifth and sixth positions respectively, in a well-balanced league, which saw several stars lightning up the court.
Storhamar secure first title
With Vipers Kristiansand folding due to financial issues, the Norwegian league was blown open during the season and Storhamar Håndball Elite picked up the pieces and secured their maiden title in the Scandinavian country, after finishing as runners-up six times between 2019 and 2024.
Storhamar never put a foot wrong, as they finished the regular season with 21 wins and three draws, and went on to record a six-match winning streak in the play-offs, taking a 61:51 aggregate win against Oppsal in the quarter-finals and a 58:44 aggregate win against Larvik HK in the semi-finals.
Camilla Herrem’s Sola HK looked to be their opponents in the final, but they lost the semi-final against Tertnes Bergen and Storhamar proved too strong in both matches of the last act, with a 33:25 win to open the final and a 33:30 win to secure the title.
New season, no problem for Ludwigsburg
For the sixth time in history and for the fourth time in a row, HB Ludwigsburg, formerly known as SG BBM Bietigheim, clinched the title in the German Bundesliga. With a single loss in 22 matches in the regular season, Ludwigsburg entered the play-offs as favourites, where they clinched two wins, 34:21 and 40:26, over Frisch Auf! Göppingen in the quarter-finals.
The semi-finals against Thüringer HC were Ludwigsburg’s biggest challenge, as they won the first match, 37:23, but conceded a 31:36 loss in the second match, where Johanna Reichert, the top goal scorer in the Bundesliga, scored 11 goals. With a 34:28 win in the third match, Ludwigsburg progressed to the final.
In the final against HSG Blomberg-Lippe, Jakob Vestergaard’s side had no issues against their opponent, taking two clear wins, 36:29 and 26:22, to win the title. Thüringer HC secured the third place, with a 42:36 win against Borussia Dortmund.
Surprise winners in Spain and Sweden
Despite finishing third in the regular season, Super Amara Bera Bera secured their 10th domestic title in Spain, with a strong performance in the play-offs. First, Bera Bera disposed of BM Granollers in the quarter-finals, 34:30 and 33:33, and secured two other wins in the semi-final against Malaga, with a 27:24 and a 24:20 win.
In the final, they faced ATTICGO BM Elche, but Bera Bera took two wins, 28:19 and 26:24, as the top two seeds in the competition, Atletico Guardes and Malaga, were knocked out in the semi-finals.
RK Podravka Koprivnica secured their 28th title in Croatia, delivering a flawless performance throughout the season, with 26 wins in 26 matches, boasting a nine-point lead at the end of the season ahead of Lokomotiva Zagreb, which finished second.
In Poland, Zaglebie Lubin had an eight-point lead ahead of rivals MKS Lublin to secure the title, while Krim Ljubljana marked another winning season in Slovenia, winning all the 18 matches scheduled in this season.
Sweden saw a maiden champion, Skara HF, which took a 3:1 win in the final against IK Savehof, after a dramatic last match, which saw the eventual winners clinch a 31:28 extra-time win against their opponents.
Egypt have also seen their domestic women’s league ending, with Al-Ahly being crowned champions once again.
Photo Credit: CSM București