Greece meet Cyprus, Romania to face Italy and Kosovo

While the majority of European men's national teams will start vying for qualification to the Men's EHF EURO 2016 in late October this year, for nine teams this date already marks the start for the road to the Men's EHF EURO 2018.

At the draw for the Men's EHF EURO 2018 Qualification Phase 1 on Tuesday in Vienna the teams from Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Italy, Luxembourg and Romania got to know their opponents.

The playing periods for the first qualification phase are October/November 2014, April/May 2015 and June 2015.

The participation of Kosovo is subject to the EHF Congress decision of granting full membership to the Handball Association of Kosovo. The EHF Congress gathers on 19/20 September 2014 in Dublin, Ireland.

Only the winners of these groups have the chance to advance to the second qualification phase for the Men's EHF EURO 2018.

Following the conclusion of the Men's EHF EURO 2016 Qualification Phase 2 (in June 2015), the three lowest ranked teams from all seven groups will meet the three group winners from the first qualification phase for the EHF EURO 2018 for two play-off matches.

The three winners of these play-offs will advance to the second qualification phase for the EHF EURO 2018.

EHF EURO hosts in 2018 and 2020

The EHF Congress in Dublin will also vote on the allocation for the Men's and Women's EHF EURO events in 2018 and 2020.

Following inspections by the EHF and co-ordination with the bidding nations, the following submissions were made by the EHF Executive Committee at its meeting in June.

Men’s EHF EURO 2018 - Croatia
Women’s EHF EURO 2018 – France
Men’s EHF EURO 2020 – Austria/Norway/Sweden (joint bid)
Women’s EHF EURO 2020 – Norway/Denmark (joint bid)