Kvindeligaen (handball) explained

Kvindeligaen
Logo Upright:	1.5
Founded:	1936
Teams:	14
Country:	Denmark
Confed:	EHF
Champions:	Team Esbjerg (5th title)
Champ Season:	2023-24
Most Champs:	Viborg HK (14 titles)
Prem Season:	2021-22
Tv:	TV 2, TV 2 Sport
Relegation:	1. Division
Website:	https://tophaandbold.dk/
Current:	2023-24

The Kvindeligaen (English: women's league) is the top professional league for Danish women's handball clubs. It is administered by the Danish Handball Federation, and the winners are recognized as Danish champions. The league was previously called Bambusa Kvindeligaen for sponsorship reasons. It has previously been known as HTH GO Ligaen, Primo Tours Ligaen, Boxer Dameligaen, TOMS Ligaen and GuldBageren Ligaen. The current title holder is Team Esbjerg (2023). The European Handball Federation (EHF) ranks the Danish league 4th in the coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the past seasons.

Competition format

The Kvindeligaen shares the season style with the men's league. It consists of 14 teams, each playing 26 regular season games. The eight best teams of the regular season advance to further games, where they are divided into two groups of four teams each. No. 1 and 2 from the regular season start with 2 points. No. 3 and 4 start with 1 point, while no. 5-8 start with no points. After these six games the two top teams in each group will play semifinals. No. 1 from one group is up against no. 2 from the other. The winners will meet in finals, while the losers will play against each other for the bronze medal. Semifinals, finals, and bronze games are all played in best of 3.

The lowest placed team of the regular season is directly relegated to the second-best division, and replaced by the winner of this. The teams finishing as 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 are put in a group where they will play against each other. In the second-best division, the teams that end up 2nd and 3rd will play against each other in best of 3. The winner of those games will get to meet the lowest placed team from the 9-13 group from the top league, yet again in best of 3. The winner will get to play in the top league next season, while the loser plays in the second-best division.

Seasons

Current teams (2023/24)

The fourteen teams of the 2023/24 season are:

Team	Finishing pos. in last season 2022/23	First season of current spell in top division	Top division titles
Aarhus United	8th	2017-18	0
Ajax København	13th	2017-18	0
HH Elite	9th		0
Ikast Håndbold		1991-92	4
København Håndbold	6th	2013-14	1
Nykøbing F. Håndbold	4th	2013-14	1
Odense Håndbold		2009-10	2
SønderjyskE Håndbold	11th	2022-23	0
	10th		0
	12th		0
	7th		0
			4
Bjerringbro FH	1st in (1st division)		0
	5th		14

Champions

The complete list of champions since 1936:

Season	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1935–1936	K.I.
1936–1937	K.K.G.
1937–1938	K.I.
1938–1939	R.H. 33
1939–1940	K.K.G.
1940–1941	K.K.G.
1941–1942	AGF
1942–1943	K.I.
1943–1944	K.I.
1944–1945	Didn't take place
1945–1946	K.K.G.
1946–1947	K.I.
1947–1948	K.I.
1948–1949	AGF
1949–1950	K.I.
1950–1951	H.G.
1951–1952	V.R.I.
1952–1953	H.G.
1953–1954	K.I.
1954–1955	USG
1955–1956	FIF
1956–1957	H.G.
1957–1958	H.G.
1958–1959	FIF
1959–1960	H.G.
1960–1961	Svendborg HK
1961–1962	FIF
1962–1963	Helsingør IF
1963–1964	H.G.
1964–1965	H.G.
1965–1966	FIF	H.G.	IK Skovbakken
1966–1967	FIF	H.G.	IK Skovbakken
1967–1968	H.G.	FIF	K.I.
1968–1969	H.G.	FIF	K.I.
1969–1970	H.G.	FIF	Glostrup IC
1970–1971	FIF	H.G.	Glostrup IC
1971–1972	FIF	Glostrup IC	Hørsholm-Usserød IK
1972–1973	FIF	Funder GF	Næstved IF
1973–1974	FIF	H.G.	Glostrup IC
1974–1975	H.G.	FIF	Helsingør IF
1975–1976	FIF	AIA-Tranbjerg	H.G.
1976–1977	H.G.	FIF	Svendborg HK
1977–1978	FIF	AIA-Tranbjerg	Svendborg HK
1978–1979	Svendborg HK	FIF	AIA-Tranbjerg
1979–1980	FIF	Helsingør IF	Greve IF
1980–1981	FIF	IF Stjernen	Svendborg HK
1981–1982	AIA-Tranbjerg	Svendborg HK	FIF
1982–1983	Helsingør IF	Holstebro KFUM	FIF
1983–1984	Helsingør IF	AIA-Tranbjerg	Rødovre HK
1984–1985	FIF	Helsingør IF	IF Stjernen
1985–1986	IF Stjernen	Rødovre HK	GOG
1986–1987	Rødovre HK	Lyngså BK	NNfH Lemvig
1987–1988	Lyngså BK	Rødovre HK	GOG
1988–1989	FIF	AIA-Tranbjerg	GOG
1989–1990	GOG	FIF	Lyngså BK
1990–1991	GOG	Viborg HK	FIF
1991–1992	GOG	Viborg HK	FIF
1992–1993	GOG	Viborg HK	FIF
1993–1994	Viborg HK	GOG	Ikast FS
1994–1995	Viborg HK	GOG	Ikast FS
1995–1996	Viborg HK	GOG	Ikast FS
1996–1997	Viborg HK	Frederikshavn fI	GOG
1997–1998	Ikast FS	Viborg HK	FIF
1998–1999	Viborg HK	Ikast FS	Frederikshavn fI
1999–2000	Viborg HK	FIF	Ikast-Bording EH
2000–2001	Viborg HK	GOG	Ikast-Bording EH
2001–2002	Viborg HK	Ikast-Bording EH	Randers HK
2002–2003	Slagelse FH	Ikast-Bording EH	GOG
2003–2004	Viborg HK	Slagelse FH	Ikast-Bording EH
2004–2005	Slagelse DT	Aalborg DH	Viborg HK
2005–2006	Viborg HK	Slagelse DT	Aalborg DH
2006–2007	Slagelse DT	Viborg HK	Aalborg DH
2007–2008	Viborg HK	Ikast-Bording EH	FCK Håndbold
2008–2009	Viborg HK	Aalborg DH	FCK Håndbold
2009–2010	Viborg HK	Randers HK	KIF Vejen
2010–2011	FC Midtjylland Håndbold	Randers HK	Viborg HK
2011–2012	Randers HK	Viborg HK	FC Midtjylland Håndbold
2012-2013	FC Midtjylland Håndbold	Team Tvis Holstebro	Viborg HK
2013-2014	Viborg HK	FC Midtjylland Håndbold	Randers HK
2014–2015	FC Midtjylland Håndbold	Team Esbjerg	Team Tvis Holstebro
2015–2016	Team Esbjerg	FC Midtjylland Håndbold	Team Tvis Holstebro
2016–2017	Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub	København Håndbold	FC Midtjylland Håndbold
2017–2018	København Håndbold	Odense Håndbold	Viborg HK
2018–2019	Team Esbjerg	Herning-Ikast Håndbold	Odense Håndbold
2019–2020	Team Esbjerg	Odense Håndbold	Viborg HK
2020–2021	Odense Håndbold	Viborg HK	Herning-Ikast Håndbold
2021–2022	Odense Håndbold	Team Esbjerg	Herning-Ikast Håndbold
2022–2023	Team Esbjerg	Odense Håndbold	Herning-Ikast Håndbold
2023-2024	Team Esbjerg	Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub	Odense Håndbold

Medal table

The all-time medal table for the women's championship is as follows:^[1]

Team	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Viborg HK	14	6	4
FIF København	12	8	6
HG København	5	4	1
Team Esbjerg	5	2	7
Herning-Ikast Håndbold	4	7	11
GOG	4	4	0
Slagelse DT	3	2	0
Odense Håndbold	2	3	1
Helsingør IF	2	2	1
IF AIA-Tranbjerg	1	4	1
Randers HK	1	2	2
Rødovre HK	1	2	1
Svendborg HK	1	1	3
IF Stjernen	1	1	1
Lyngså BK	1	1	1
København Håndbold	1	1	0
Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub	1	0	0
Aalborg DH	0	2	2
Glostrup IC	0	1	3
Holstebro	0	1	2
IK Skovbakken	0	1	2
Frederikshavn f.I.	0	1	1
Funder GF	0	1	0
Holstebro KFUM	0	1	0
K.I. København	0	0	2
FCK Håndbold	0	0	2
Hørsholm-Usserød IK	0	0	1
Næstved IF	0	0	1
Greve IF	0	0	1
NNfH Lemvig	0	0	1
KIF Vejen	0	0	1

Top scorers

The following list shows the top scorers from recent seasons:^[2]

• 2000/01: Mette Vestergaard, FIF (133)
• 2001/02: Camilla Andersen, Slagelse FH (181)
• 2002/03: Camilla Andersen, Slagelse FH (215)
• 2003/04: Bojana Petrović, Slagelse FH (175)
• 2004/05: Bojana Popović, Slagelse FH (174)
• 2005/06: Tanja Milanović, Ikast-Bording EH (172)
• 2006/07: Mette Sjøberg, FCK Håndbold (167)
• 2007/08: Nadine Krause, FCK Håndbold (153)
• 2008/09: Grit Jurack, Viborg HK (125)
• 2011/12: Mette Gravholt, Team Tvis Holstebro (141)
• 2012/13: Estavana Polman, SønderjyskE Damer (138)
• 2013/14: Estavana Polman, Team Esbjerg (152)
• 2014/15: Jette Hansen, Silkeborg-Voel KFUM (157)
• 2015/16: Nathalie Hagman, Team Tvis Holstebro (191)
• 2016/17: Trine Troelsen, Silkeborg-Voel KFUM (199)
• 2017/18: Ida Bjørndalen Karlsson, Team Esbjerg (168)
• 2018/19: Laura Damgaard Lund, EH Aalborg (158)
• 2019/20: Mia Rej, København Håndbold (170)
• 2020/21: Kristina Jørgensen, Viborg HK (180)
• 2021/22: Mathilde Neesgaard, Aarhus United (179)
• 2022/23: Henny Reistad, Team Esbjerg (204)

Statistics

EHF coefficients

See also: EHF coefficient rank. The following data indicates Danish coefficient rankings between European handball leagues.

Country ranking:EHF League Ranking for 2022/23 season:^[3]

• 1.  (1) Nemzeti Bajnokság I (157.67)
• 2.  (5) Ligue Butagaz Énergie (118.50)
• 3.  (2) Russian Superleague (114.50)
• 4.  (3) Bambusa Kvindeligaen (109.00)
• 5.  (6) REMA 1000-ligaen (102.17)
• 6.  (4) Liga Națională (94.50)

Broadcasting rights

• TV2 Danmark
• TV2 Sport

In European competitions

							<											Cup Winners' Cup
		width=30	!	winning year(s)			width=25	!	width=25	!	winning year(s)			width=20	!	width=25		!	winning year(s)		width=20	!	width=25	!	winning year(s)		width=20
		3	2006, 2009, 2010	2	1		3	1994, 1999, 2004	0	0	0			0	0	1		2014	1	0
		3	2004, 2005, 2007	0	0		1	2003	0	0	0			0	0	0			0	0
		1	1965	1	2		0		0	0	0			0	0	0			0	0
FC Midtjylland (Ikast)		0		0	2		2	2002, 2011	1	2	1		1998	1	1	2		2004, 2015	0	1
		0		0	0		2	2013, 2015	1	0	0			0	0	1		2016	0	0
		0		0	0		1	2010	0	1	0			1	0	0			0	0
		0		0	0		0		0	0	0			0	0	1		2009	0	1
		0		1	0		0		0	0	0			0	0	0			0	1
		0		1	0		0		0	0	0			0	0	0			0	0
		0		0	0		0		0	1	0			0	0	0			1	0
		0		0	1		0		0	0	0			0	0	0			0	0
		0		0	0		0		1	0	0			0	0	0			0	0
		0		0	0		0		0	0	0			0	0	0			0	1
		0		0	0		0		0	0	0			0	0	0			0	1
		0		0	0		0		0	0	0			0	0	0			0	1
		0		0	0		0		0	0	0			0	0	0			0	1
TOTAL		7 title		5	6	9 title		3	4	1 title		2	1	5 title		2	7

See also

• Women's sports
• Herreligaen

Notes and References

1. Web site: Medaljefordeling gennem tiden (Damer). Danish Handball Federation. da. 2010-08-16. 2019-12-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20191225152421/https://www.dhf.dk/Renderers/ShowMedia.ashx?id=768135f1-799f-4160-9e8e-2ce9fe8ae8d0. dead.
2. Web site: Topscorere siden 1965 - Damer . 9 July 2008 . Danish Handball Federation . da . 15 March 2009. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090219005613/http://www.dhf.dk/composite-1711.htm . February 19, 2009 .
3. Web site: 2021/22 season ranking. European Handball Federation. PDF. 1 August 2022.