Spain and Portugal originally submitted a joint bid together and was named as one of the three bids vying for the championships. On 20 October 2021, Switzerland merged their solo bid with Spain and Portugal to become a triple bid.[4][5]
The following 11 venues have been proposed for Spain, Portugal and Switzerland's bid:
The Scandinavians decided to all bid for an EHF Euro together for the first time ever, under the slogan Scandinavia Connect. Their bids' aim is to use innovation and modern-day technologies to help Handball have a bright future.[6][7]
The Swedish Handball Federation president, Frederik Rapp, stated “the commitment to finding sustainable solutions across all industries and areas of life is very clear in all of Scandinavia. To connect the Scandinavian approach and experience in sustainability with European handball is so valuable. Finding more sustainable solutions for future events could be a real game-changer for the future of our sport”.
While the Danish counterpart, Per Bertelsen said “We believe we can build on the positive momentum we see in our sport. Together, we can deliver a world-class event that will be a true celebration for European handball”.
The news of the bid started on 30 October 2020, when both federations signed an organisation deal.[12]
On November 11, 2020, the Spanish and Portuguese Handball federations confirmed that they would team up to try and co-host EHF Euro 2028.[13] with matches in Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga, Ourense and Valencia. The Main Round groups would've been in Lisbon and Madrid, with the latter hosting the final weekend.[14] Although, three of Spain's venues were deemed not suitable for the championship.[11] Their slogan is We play under one anthem.[15][16] Their bid as a duo ended since Switzerland joined their bid.
These were the proposed venues for Spain and Portugal's bid:
Before joining up with Spain and Portugal, Switzerland submitted a solo bid, under the slogan New heights For Handball.[17] The preliminary round would be in Basel, Lausanne and Zürich, while the main round groups would be in Lausanne and Zürich. The final weekend would be held in Geneva.[18] Every venue met the EHF's requirements.[11] The Swiss' solo bid ended since Switzerland joined the Spain and Portugal bid.
The 5 venues that were proposed for Switzerland's bid are the following:
The following countries stated an interest to the EHF, but they never made a formal bid and very few details were shared about their application:[22][23]
As only the Spain/Portugal/Switzerland bid was remaining it was unanimously selected at the 14th EHF Extraordinary Congress on 20 November 2021.[24][25]