This is a big ball game. It is played in Germany. Many teams play to win. The best team is the champion. It is fun to watch. Do you like sports?
This is a top ball game in Germany. It is called the Handball-Bundesliga. Eighteen teams play in this league. They play many games every year. The season starts in late summer. It ends in May. The best team becomes the champion. Some teams move up to this league. Other teams move down to a lower league. It is a very big and exciting sport.
The Handball-Bundesliga is the top pro league for handball in Germany.
Handball is a fast ball game. This league is very big. It has eighteen clubs. The main office is in Dortmund.
The season starts in late summer. It ends in May. Teams play 34 game weeks. They play a round-robin style. This means every team plays each other. There is no final game. The team in first place is the champion.
High scores help teams reach big goals. The top two teams go to the EHF Champions League. This is a big contest for teams in Europe. Other top teams play in the EHF European League.
Teams can move between leagues. The bottom two teams go down to the 2. Bundesliga. This is the second division. The top two teams from that league move up.
THW Kiel is a very famous club. They have won 23 titles. SC Magdeburg is also a strong team. They are ranked first in Europe right now.
The Handball-Bundesliga is the highest level of professional handball in Germany. People call it the HBL, but its official name changes with sponsors. Right now, it is known as the Daikin Handball-Bundesliga. This league is very important for the sport. The winner of each season is named the official German handball champion. The main office for the whole league is located in Dortmund.
Playing in the league follows a specific schedule every year. The season begins in August or September and ends in May. It consists of 34 game weeks in a round-robin format. This means every team plays against every other team. There is no single final game or playoff to decide the winner. Instead, the team at the top of the standings wins the title.
Success in the league can lead to even bigger games. The teams that finish in first and second place go to the EHF Champions League. The teams in third, fourth, fifth, and sixth place play in the EHF European League. These are major tournaments for teams across Europe. Sometimes, a German team wins one of these big cups. If that happens, they get an automatic spot in the next tournament.
The league has a long and changing history. It first started with the 1966–67 season. Back then, it had two sections called North and South. In 1977, it became a single division for the top teams. A second division called the 2. Bundesliga was added in 1981. Since the 2017–18 season, the bottom two teams move down to the second division. Meanwhile, the top two teams from that division move up to the HBL.
Many different clubs compete for glory in the HBL. THW Kiel is one of the most successful clubs ever. They have won 23 titles since 1957. Other famous teams include VfL Gummersbach and SC Magdeburg. Some arenas are very large, like the SAP Arena in Mannheim. It can hold 13,200 people to watch the games. Currently, SC Magdeburg is ranked as the top club in Europe.
The Handball-Bundesliga, often called the HBL, is the premier professional handball league in Germany. Because of sponsorship agreements, its official name changes periodically. It is currently known as the Daikin Handball-Bundesliga. Between 2007 and 2012, the league was sponsored by Toyota. In 2012, the Deutsche Kreditbank AG, or DKB, took over as the sponsor. The league is managed by the HBL GmbH, which is headquartered in Dortmund.
The league operates through a structured seasonal format. A single season includes 34 game days, which are also called game weeks. The competition uses a round-robin tournament system. This means every team plays against every other team in the league. There are no playoffs or a single final match to determine the winner. Instead, the team with the most points at the end of the schedule is crowned the official German handball champion. The season typically begins in August or September and concludes in May.
High rankings in the HBL provide paths to prestigious international competitions. The teams that finish in first and second place qualify for the EHF Champions League. Additionally, the teams finishing in third, fourth, fifth, and sixth place earn spots in the EHF European League. These seeding numbers can change based on other factors. For instance, if a German team wins a major trophy like the EHF Cup Winner's Cup, they receive an automatic entry. This can change how many spots are available from the league. The DHB-Pokal Champion can also affect these placements by taking a spot in a European tournament.
The history of the HBL shows how the German handball system has evolved. The Bundesliga was first introduced during the 1966–67 season. At that time, the league was divided into two regional sections: North and South. In 1977, the league transitioned into a single-section first division. The second tier, known as the 2. Bundesliga, was introduced in 1981. This new division replaced the Regionalliga, which became the third tier of competition. For thirty years, the 2. Bundesliga used North and South sections. However, starting with the 2011–12 season, it became a single section with twenty teams.
Movement between the divisions is a key part of the league's structure. This process is known as promotion and relegation. Until 2011, the rules for moving between tiers were more complex. The bottom two teams were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. The sixteenth-placed team had to play a home and away decider against a winner from the second division. Since the 2017–18 season, the system has been more direct. The bottom two teams in the HBL are automatically relegated. Meanwhile, the top two teams from the 2. Bundesliga are automatically promoted to the top flight.
The HBL currently consists of eighteen clubs playing in various arenas across Germany. These venues vary greatly in size. For example, the SAP Arena in Mannheim can hold 13,200 spectators. The Wunderino Arena in Kiel has a capacity of 10,285. Smaller venues include the Uni-Halle in Wuppertal, which holds 3,200 people. THW Kiel stands out as the most successful club in the league's history. They have won 23 championships since 1957. Other historically strong clubs include VfL Gummersbach with 12 titles and Frisch Auf Göppingen with 9 titles.
The league maintains a high level of prestige both domestically and internationally. According to EHF coefficients, the Handball-Bundesliga is ranked as the number one league in Germany for the 2025/26 season, with a score of 328.00. This puts it ahead of the Spanish Liga ASOBAL, which has a score of 273.33. Individual clubs also achieve high rankings. As of December 2025, SC Magdeburg held the top EHF Club Ranking with 708 points. Other top-ranked clubs include Füchse Berlin with 627 points and SG Flensburg-Handewitt with 552 points.
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