The Greek Men's Handball Championship, or Handball Premier, is the most important competition of Greek handball. The competition which is organised by Hellenic Handball Federation (Greek: ΟΧΕ) started in the 1979–80 season. The most successful team is Ionikos Nea Filadelfeia who has won ten titles. The last title was won by Olympiacos.
Current season, competition or edition: 2023–24 Greek Handball Premier | |
 | |
| Sport | Handball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1979 |
| No. of teams | 14 |
| Country | Greece |
| Confederation | EHF |
| Most recent champion(s) | Olympiacos (4th) (2023–24) |
| Most titles | Ionikos Nea Filadelfeia (10 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | ERT |
| Relegation to | A2 Ethniki Handball |
| International cup(s) | EHF European League EHF European Cup |
| Official website | handball.org.gr |
Evangelos Kalfarentzos, fitness director of the Panhellenic Gymnastics Association of Athens (Panellinios), physical education teacher, and author, recognized as rapporteur of the sport in Greece.
Competition format
editThe season begins with a tournament between the twelve teams. The first six teams qualify for a play-off round, while the last three play play-out. The top two teams of the play-off round qualify directly to the semifinals, while the other four play the top two teams of the play-out round in the quarterfinals.
2023/24 Season participants
edit
The following 12 clubs compete in the Handball Premier during the 2023–24 season.
| Team | City | Arena |
|---|---|---|
| AEK | Athens | G. Kassimatis Indoor Hall |
| Aeropos Edessa | Edessa | Edessa Indoor Hall |
| AESH Pylaia | Thessaloniki | Mikra Indoor Arena III |
| ASE Douka | Athens | Dais Indoor Hall |
| Diomidis Argous | Argos | Nea Kios Indoor Hall |
| Drama 86 | Drama | Dimitris Krachtidis Indoor Hall |
| GAS Kilkis | Kilkis | Kilkis Indoor Arena |
| Ionikos Nea Filadelfeia | Athens | Zacharias Alexandrou Indoor Hall |
| Olympiacos | Piraeus | Ilioupoli Indoor Hall |
| Panellinios | Athens | Panellinios Indoor Hall |
| PAOK | Thessaloniki | Mikra Indoor Arena III |
| Zafeirakis Naousa | Naousa | Naousa Indoor Hall |
Previous champions
edit|
Panhellenic Championship (1979–80 to 1981–82)
Alpha Ethniki (1982–83 to 1988–89)
A1 Ethniki (1989–90 to 2014–15)
|
|
Handball Premier (2015–16 to present)
|
Performances
editBy club
edit| Club | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
.png){kind=small} Ionikos Nea Filadelfeia
|
10 | 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1999 |
.png){kind=small} Filippos Veria
|
9 | 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 2003, 2016 |
 Panellinios
|
5 | 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007 |
 AEK
|
5 | 2011, 2013, 2020, 2021, 2023 |
 Olympiacos
|
4 | 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024 |
.png){kind=small} ASE Douka
|
3 | 1998, 2001, 2008 |
 PAOK
|
2009, 2010, 2015 | |
.png){kind=small} Diomidis Argous
|
2 | 2012, 2014 |
_Vrilissia.png){kind=small} ESN Vrilissia
|
1 | 1996 |
.png){kind=small} GE Veria
|
1997 | |
4.png){kind=small} Athinaikos
|
2005 | |
 DIKEAS Nea Ionia
|
2017 |
By city
editTwelve clubs from five cities have won the championship.
| City | Number of Titles | Clubs |
|---|---|---|
| Athens (7) | 26 | Ionikos Nea Filadelfeia (10) Panellinios (5) AEK (5) ASE Douka (3) ESN Vrilissia (1) Athinaikos (1) DIKEAS Nea Ionia (1)
|
| Veria (2) | 10 | Filippos Veria (9) GE Veria (1)
|
| Piraeus (1) | 4 | Olympiacos (4)
|
| Thessaloniki (1) | 3 | PAOK (3)
|
| Argos (1) | 2 | Diomidis Argous (2)
|
National leagues for season 2022–23 [1]
————————————————————————————————————
|
EHF Club Ranking, as of 20 May 2023:[2]
|
Greek handball clubs in European competitions
edit| Team | Winner | Runner-up | Semifinals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filippos Veria
|
1993 |
| Team | Winner | Runner-up | Semifinals |
|---|---|---|---|
| AEK
|
2021 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Diomidis Argous
|
2012 | ||
| Filippos Veria
|
2003 | ||
| Olympiacos
|
2024 |
Sources
editReferences
edit- ^ "EHF ANNOUNCES PLACE DISTRIBUTION FOR 2022/23 EUROPEAN CLUB COMPETITIONS". eurohandball.com. Online. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
- ^ "Europeam handball team ranking". eurotopteam.com. Online. Retrieved 1 June 2023.