Handball-Bundesliga

Bundesliga

Official logo of the Handball-Bundesliga
Countries  Germany
Confederation EHF
Founded 1965
Number of teams 19
Level on pyramid Level 1
International cup(s) Champions League
EHF Cup
Current champions THW Kiel (2013–14)
Most championships THW Kiel 19 titles
Website Website
2014–15 season

The Handball-Bundesliga (HBL) is the top German professional handball league. The league has been sponsored by Toyota since 2007 and therefore the league was called the Toyota Handball-Bundesliga. Since 2012 it is sponsorsed by the Deutsche Kreditbank AG (DKB)[1] and therefore the name has changed into DKB Handball-Bundesliga. The winners of the Handball-Bundesliga are recognised as the German handball champions.

History

The Bundesliga was installed with the 1966/67 season and initially operated with two regional sections, North and South. Since 1977 the Bundesliga has operated with a single section first division, currently composed of eighteen clubs. In 1981 a 2.Bundesliga was installed as a new second division, supplanting the Regionalliga which became the third tier. The 2.Bundesliga used to consist of two (resp. three in the first two years after the German reunification) sections north and south for thirty years. Starting with the 2011/12 season the 2.Bundesliga is run in a single section consisting of twenty teams.

Season

The season has 36 game days (or weeks) and is played as a Round-robin tournament without playoffs or a final. The season starts in August or September and ends in May.
The first, second and third placed teams play in the EHF Champions League next season. The fourth placed team has a chance to qualify for the Champions League. Fifth placed teams play in the EHF Cup. The seedings are subject of change, in case a German team wins the Champions League, the EHF Cup or the EHF Cup Winner's Cup because each winner of those tournaments is granted an automatic start in next years tournament without taking one of the leagues spots. It also can change if the DHB-Pokal Champion has one of the league spots for the Champions League or the EHF Cup.

Relegation and Promotion

Until 2011 the two last placed teams would relegate to the 2. Bundesliga for the next season, either in its northern or the southern section. The sixteenth placed team used to play in a home and home expulsion against the winner of the expulsion between the two second placed teams of the northern and the southern section of the 2. Bundesliga. The champions of the second division sections received a spot for the Bundesliga automatically.

Starting with the 2011/12 season, the bottom three teams of the Bundesliga will directly be relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, while the top three teams of the 2. Bundesliga will be directly promoted to the Bundesliga.

Teams

The eighteen teams of the 2014–15 season. THW Kiel are the defending champions.

Team Location Arena Capacity
Frisch Auf Göppingen Göppingen EWS Arena 5,600
Füchse Berlin Berlin Max-Schmeling-Halle 9,000
SC Magdeburg Magdeburg Bördelandhalle 7,071
TuS Nettelstedt-Lübbecke Lübbecke Kreissporthalle Lübbecke 3,250
HSV Hamburg Hamburg O2 World Hamburg 13,296
HSG Wetzlar Wetzlar RITTAL Arena 4,412
HBW Balingen-Weilstetten Balingen Sparkassen-Arena 2,350
Rhein-Neckar Löwen Mannheim SAP Arena 13,200
SG Flensburg-Handewitt Flensburg Campushalle 6,300
TBV Lemgo Lemgo Lipperlandhalle 5,000
THW Kiel Kiel Sparkassen-Arena 10,285
TSV Hannover-Burgdorf Hannover AWD Hall 4,460
MT Melsungen Melsungen Rothenbach-Halle 4,300
TSG Friesenheim Ludwigshafen Friedrich-Ebert-Halle 2,250
VfL Gummersbach Gummersbach Eugen-Haas-Halle 4,200
SG BBM Bietigheim Bietigheim-Bissingen EgeTrans Arena 4,583
GWD Minden Minden Kreissporthalle 4,059
Bergischer HC Wuppertal
Solingen		 Uni-Halle
Klingenhalle		 3,200
2,600
HC Erlangen Erlangen Arena Nürnberger Versicherung 8,130

Champions

The complete list of the German handball champions since 1948.

Season Champion
1947–48 Berliner SV 92
(not officially acknowledged by the DHB)
1948–49 RSV Mülheim a.d. Ruhr
(not officially acknowledged by the DHB)
1949–50 SV Polizei Hamburg
1950–51 SV Polizei Hamburg
1951–52 SV Polizei Hamburg
1952–53 SV Polizei Hamburg
1953–54 Frisch Auf Göppingen
1954–55 Frisch Auf Göppingen
1955–56 Berliner SV 92
1956–57 THW Kiel
1957–58 Frisch Auf Göppingen
1958–59 Frisch Auf Göppingen
1959–60 Frisch Auf Göppingen
1960–61 Frisch Auf Göppingen
1961–62 THW Kiel
1962–63 THW Kiel
1963–64 Berliner SV 92
1964–65 Frisch Auf Göppingen
1965–66 VfL Gummersbach
1966–67 VfL Gummersbach
1967–68 SG Leutershausen
1968–69 VfL Gummersbach
1969–70 Frisch Auf Göppingen
1970–71 Grün-Weiß Dankersen
1971–72 Frisch Auf Göppingen
1972–73 VfL Gummersbach
1973–74 VfL Gummersbach
1974–75 VfL Gummersbach
1975–76 VfL Gummersbach
1976–77 Grün-Weiß Dankersen
1977–78 TV Grosswallstadt
1978–79 TV Grosswallstadt
1979–80 TV Grosswallstadt
Season Champion
1980–81 TV Grosswallstadt
1981–82 VfL Gummersbach
1982–83 VfL Gummersbach
1983–84 TV Grosswallstadt
1984–85 VfL Gummersbach
1985–86 TUSEM Essen
1986–87 TUSEM Essen
1987–88 VfL Gummersbach
1988–89 TUSEM Essen
1989–90 TV Grosswallstadt
1990–91 VfL Gummersbach
1991–92 SG Wallau-Massenheim
1992–93 SG Wallau-Massenheim
1993–94 THW Kiel
1994–95 THW Kiel
1995–96 THW Kiel
1996–97 TBV Lemgo
1997–98 THW Kiel
1998–99 THW Kiel
1999–20 THW Kiel
2000–01 SC Magdeburg
2001–02 THW Kiel
2002–03 TBV Lemgo
2003–04 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
2004–05 THW Kiel
2005–06 THW Kiel
2006–07 THW Kiel
2007–08 THW Kiel
2008–09 THW Kiel
2009–10 THW Kiel
2010–11 HSV Hamburg
2011–12 THW Kiel
2012–13 THW Kiel
2013–14 THW Kiel

References

  1. ↑ DKB wird Namenssponsor der Handball-Bundesliga (german)

External links