Austrian Handball Federation

The Austrian Handball Federation, known in German as Österreichischer Handballbund and commonly abbreviated ÖHB, is the national governing organization for handball in Austria. Its responsibilities cover the administration, regulation, development, and promotion of handball and beach handball across the country. The federation is headquartered in Vienna and serves as the principal institutional structure linking Austrian clubs, domestic competitions, national teams, officials, and international handball bodies. ÖHB was established on 25 January 1925, giving it a long institutional history within Austrian sport. Its role includes organizing and overseeing the country's principal national-level competitions, supporting the development of players and teams, and representing Austria in international handball. The federation's remit extends beyond senior competition: it is associated with men's and women's national teams as well as junior and youth teams, reflecting a pathway from youth development to elite representation. At club level, the federation is connected with the Handball Liga Austria and the women's Handball Liga Austria. These competitions form an important part of the domestic performance structure, providing regular competitive environments for leading Austrian clubs. ÖHB also administers or supports the national framework for beach handball, including men's and women's Austrian national beach handball teams. This gives the organization responsibility for both the traditional indoor form of the sport and its beach variant. Internationally, the Austrian Handball Federation is affiliated with the International Handball Federation, the European Handball Federation, and the Austrian Olympic Committee. Through these relationships, ÖHB participates in the international governance system for handball, enters Austrian representative teams into qualifying and championship competitions, and contributes to the country's Olympic-sport administration. The federation therefore operates both as a domestic sports regulator and as Austria's official representative within the wider handball community. The organization is led by a president and a secretary general. Gerhard Hofbauer is identified as president, a position he has held since 1996, while Martin Hausleitner is identified as secretary general. Publicly available reference material emphasizes the federation's institutional and sporting functions rather than commercial products. Its principal offerings are competitions, national-team programs, youth pathways, beach-handball activities, and governance services for the Austrian handball ecosystem.

The Austrian Handball Federation was founded in Vienna on 25 January 1925 as Austria's national organizational body for handball. Its creation established a central institution for coordinating the sport, setting national structures, and representing Austrian handball beyond individual clubs and regional activities. Over time, the federation developed from a national association into the governing framework for both competitive administration and international representation. ÖHB's domestic role encompasses the organization and supervision of national competitions. The Handball Liga Austria provides a leading competition for men's club handball, while the women's Handball Liga Austria provides a corresponding platform for women's teams. Through these competitions, the federation helps maintain the national club calendar and connects elite-level play with the broader Austrian handball system. A second major element of the federation's history and continuing work is national-team representation. ÖHB supports Austrian men's and women's senior teams and also maintains junior and youth national teams. These structures provide competitive representation for Austria and create development routes for younger athletes. The national-team system is not limited to indoor handball: the federation also supports men's and women's beach handball teams, reflecting the sport's wider forms and the international growth of beach handball. The federation's international standing is based on affiliation with the International Handball Federation and the European Handball Federation. These affiliations place Austrian handball within the global and European regulatory systems and enable Austrian representative teams and officials to participate in international events and qualification structures. ÖHB is also affiliated with the Austrian Olympic Committee, linking handball governance to Austria's broader Olympic-sport administration. In institutional terms, the federation is headquartered in Vienna and operates as a national sports governing association rather than as a consumer-facing commercial brand. Its work includes competition administration, national-team management, athlete and youth development, promotion of handball, and coordination with clubs and international bodies. Reference material identifies Gerhard Hofbauer as president since 1996 and Martin Hausleitner as secretary general. The available source material does not provide a detailed account of leadership changes, major commercial partnerships, financial performance, or specific tournament results, so those areas remain outside this dossier.

• 1996

  Gerhard Hofbauer begins presidency

  [1]Austrian Handball Federationen.wikipedia.org

  Gerhard Hofbauer is identified as having held the federation's presidency since 1996.

• 1925

  Federation founded

  [1]Austrian Handball Federationen.wikipedia.org

  The Austrian Handball Federation was established on 25 January 1925 as the national association for handball in Austria.

Austria's official national federation for the governance, development, representation, and promotion of indoor handball and beach handball.

• Men's domestic handball competition

  Handball Liga Austria

  The Handball Liga Austria is the federation-associated national competition structure for leading men's club handball in Austria. It provides a regular domestic competition framework through which clubs compete under national federation oversight.

• Women's domestic handball competition

  Women Handball Liga Austria

  The Women Handball Liga Austria is the corresponding national competition platform for women's club handball. It supports organized high-level competition for Austrian women's teams within the federation's domestic structure.

• National-team program

  Austrian national handball teams

  ÖHB manages or represents Austria's men's and women's senior national handball teams, together with men's and women's junior and youth teams. The program provides national representation and a progression route from youth and junior levels to senior international competition.

• Beach handball program

  Austrian national beach handball teams

  The federation's beach handball program includes men's and women's Austrian national beach handball teams. It extends ÖHB's remit beyond indoor handball and provides national representation in the beach version of the sport.

1. 1Austrian Handball Federationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Austrian Handball Federation official websiteoehb.sportlive.at