The development of women’s handball has been an important area of focus for the EHF for many years. Since its foundation, the Federation has treated its competitions equally, putting the same efforts in organising both men’s and women’s events, whether those are EHF EUROs, the EHF Champions League or Younger Age Category events.

The implementation of the Women’s Handball Board in 2012, introduction of the Respect Your Talent programme for the development of young athletes' careers off court in 2019, organisation of the Women’s Handball Conferences in 2022 and 2024, launch of the Female Commentators project in 2023, have strengthened the position of women’s handball year by year and led to the newest initiatives around promotion and visibility.

Now, ‘Her Playground’, a platform that aims at increasing the visibility of women’s handball and women around the game, is the latest addition to a long list of ongoing projects. Those platforms are giving a voice to women in handball by building a community whose aim is to educate, inform, empower and inspire the sports collective, foster professional growth and give a lasting visibility.

Her Playground is available on Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as on eurohandball.com with a dedicated section. Different types of content will cover a range of topics, and welcome any input from the game changers, young players, professional athletes, officials and anyone working in the sports industry. 

EHF Secretary General Martin Hausleitner said: “To further develop the women’s game, we want to work on different areas at the same time. One is the sport as such, for example the increase of the Women’s EHF EURO and the women’s younger age category events to 24 team. A second is the political field which touches topics such as governance and representation; a third is developing a safe environment for our athletes, and the fourth area is creating additional visibility and awareness – this is where we have now reached another milestone with the launch of ‘Her Playground’.” 

The core mission of the platforms is to highlight the activities undertaken by the EHF, its national federations and clubs participating in European competitions, but also other sports with their best practices, educating about professional and working conditions around Europe, inspiring young athletes and women by showcasing examples of top-level athletes and role models, motivating them to stay involved with the sport and facilitating knowledge exchange among female athletes. 

‘Her Playground’ and its main claim, ‘She grows. We win.’ shines a spotlight on individual brilliance and celebrates the power of a team. This claim reflects the EHF’s belief that when women rise, everyone thrives. ‘She grows’ represents the individual journey of strength, confidence, talent, skills and persistence, while ‘We win’ extends the individual's success to the collective. The progress of every young girl and woman is not just personal; it is a victory for the sport.