Czech Republic — Handball

Handball in the Czech Republic has deep roots dating back to the Czechoslovak era, when the sport enjoyed widespread popularity. The Extraliga features 72 clubs competing across 3 competitions.

While the modern Czech Republic has not matched the achievements of the Czechoslovak national team, handball remains an established sport with a solid domestic league structure and active youth development programmes.

The Czechoslovak Handball Association was one of the earliest in Europe, founded in 1919. Czechoslovakia achieved significant success, including an Olympic silver medal in 1972 and strong performances at World Championships.

After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czech Handball Federation was established. The Czech Republic has since worked to maintain competitive standards, though the national team has found it harder to qualify for major tournaments as an independent nation.

The Czech Handball Federation (Cesky Svaz Hazene) governs handball in the Czech Republic. Originally founded in 1919 as part of the Czechoslovak federation, the modern body was established in 1993. It is a member of the EHF and IHF.

The Extraliga is the top division of handball in the Czech Republic. The Czech Handball Cup provides knockout competition, and the league system includes lower divisions supporting club development throughout the country.

The Czech Republic inherits a proud handball legacy from Czechoslovakia, which won an Olympic silver medal in 1972 and achieved 4th-place finishes at World Championships in 1958 and 1964. As an independent nation, the Czech Republic continues to compete in European and World Championship qualification.