Spain wins the European Open Championship 2025

This year’s champion of the European Open Championship is Spain, who defeated Iceland in the final on Friday evening. It is the latest winner of a tournament that plays a crucial role in the development of handball.
– Many players take major steps here, says Stefan Lövgren of the European Handball Federation.

The European Open Championship is held annually during Partille World Cup, in collaboration with the Swedish Handball Federation and the European Handball Federation. The tournament gives some of the best youth national teams the chance to compete at an international level – right in the middle of the world’s largest youth handball tournament.

This year’s final saw Spain face off against Iceland, with the Spanish team quickly gaining control of the match. At halftime, the score was 17–13, and although the game became more balanced in the second half, Spain held on to secure a 31–30 victory.
Aldo Pagliota De Andres, a player from the Spanish team, described the win over Iceland as a great reward after a tough match.
– It was an intense and difficult match against Iceland, but we’ve trained hard and played well, so this is truly a fantastic payoff for all the effort we’ve put in, he said.

The tournament alternates every year between girls' and boys' competitions. This year, it was the boys born in 2006 (U19) who competed for the title. Stefan Lövgren, among other missions member of the European Handball Federation’s Executive Committee, emphasizes the tournament’s key role in the sport’s development.
– The European Open Championship is part of the international handball scene. Many players take their first big career step here and it's an important platform for this age group, he says.

In this year’s edition of the EOC eleven nations participated; Croatia, Egypt, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden.