2008 European Women's Handball Championship

The 2008 EHF European Women's Handball Championship will be held in the Republic of Macedonia from December 2 to December 14.

Venues

The European Championship will be held in the following cities:

*Skopje, Skopje Sports Arena
*Ohrid, Biljanini Izvori Arena

Competition Format

*Preliminary Round: 16 teams are divided into four groups. They play each other in a single round robin system, so each team plays three matches. A win is worth two points, while a draw is worth one point. The top three teams from each group advance to the Main Round.
*Main Round: 12 teams are divided in two groups. They play against the teams they didn't play in the Preliminary Round, so each team plays 3 matches. All points from the Preliminary Round, except the points gained against the 4th place team in the preliminary group, are carried forward into the Main Round. Same round robin rules apply as in the Preliminary Round. Top 2 teams from each group advance to the Semifinals, while the third placed team from each group advances to the 5th-6th Place Play-off, and the fourth placed team to the 7th-8th Place Play-off.
*Final Round: 8 teams play in the final weekend of the championships. 3rd place teams from the Main Round play in the 5th-6th Place Play-off, and 4th place team to the 7th-8th Place Play-off. Other teams play in the Semi finals. Losers of the Semi finals advance to the 3rd-4th Place Play-off, and winners advance to the Final.

Qualification

In total, 16 national teams will participate in the final tournament.

Host Nation:
*
Qualified from European Championship 2006 (Ranks 1-5):
* (Defending Champions)
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Qualified from play-offs(Held on 31 May/1 June and 7/8 June):
[http://home.eurohandball.com/report.asp?bid=259&rnr=2&pha=1020 Match results] of play-offs.
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Preliminary Round

Seeding

The draw for the preliminary round groups took place on 20 July 2008, in Ohrid

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

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date= December 3, 2008
time= 17:15
team1= hbw-rt|POR
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team2= hbw|UKR
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stadium= Biljanini Izvori Arena
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date= December 3, 2008
time= 19:15
team1= hbw-rt|NOR
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team2= hbw|ESP
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stadium= Biljanini Izvori Arena
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date= December 5, 2008
time= 17:15
team1= hbw-rt|ESP
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team2= hbw|POR
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stadium= Biljanini Izvori Arena
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date= December 5, 2008
time= 19:15
team1= hbw-rt|UKR
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team2= hbw|NOR
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stadium= Biljanini Izvori Arena
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date= December 7, 2008
time= 17:15
team1= hbw-rt|ESP
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team2= hbw|UKR
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stadium= Biljanini Izvori Arena
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date= December 7, 2008
time= 19:15
team1= hbw-rt|NOR
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team2= hbw|POR
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stadium= Biljanini Izvori Arena
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Group C (Ohrid)

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

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date= December 9, 2008
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team1= 1A
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team2= 2B
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date= December 9, 2008
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date= December 9, 2008
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team1= 3A
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team2= 3B
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date= December 10, 2008
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team2= 3B
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date= December 10, 2008
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date= December 10, 2008
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date= December 11, 2008
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team1= 2A
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team2= 3B
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date= December 11, 2008
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date= December 11, 2008
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Group II (Skopje)

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

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date= December 8, 2008
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team1= 1C
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team2= 2D
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date= December 8, 2008
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date= December 8, 2008
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team1= 3C
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team2= 3D
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date= December 10, 2008
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date= December 10, 2008
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date= December 10, 2008
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team1= 2C
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stadium= Skopje Sports Arena
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date= December 11, 2008
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team1= 2C
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team2= 3D
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date= December 11, 2008
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team1= 3C
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date= December 11, 2008
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team1= 1C
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Finals

Round4-with third
RD1 = Semifinal
RD2 = Final
Consol = Bronze Match
December 13, 2008 - 14:00 | 1.I | | 2.II
December 13, 2008 - 16:30 | 2.I | | 1.II |
December 14, 2008 - 16:30 | | | |
December 14, 2008 - 14:00 | | | |

5th/6th Placement Match

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date= December 13, 2008
time= 11:30
team1= 3.I
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team2= 3.II
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Semifinals

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date= December 13, 2008
time= 14:00
team1= 1.I
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team2= 2.II
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stadium= Skopje Sports Arena
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date= December 13, 2008
time= 16:30
team1= 2.I
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team2= 1.II
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stadium= Skopje Sports Arena
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Bronze Match

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date= December 14, 2008
time= 14:00
team1= Loser of SF1
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team2= Loser of SF2
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stadium= Skopje Sports Arena
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Final

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date= December 14, 2008
time= 16:30
team1= Winner of SF1
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team2= Winner of SF2
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stadium= Skopje Sports Arena
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References

* [http://www.eurohandball.com European Handball Federation]
* [http://www.eurohandballmkd2008.com 8th Women's Handball European Championship 2008 in Macedonia]
* [http://www.ehf-euro.com/mkd2008/womens-euro-2008.html EHF Women's EURO 2008]

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