Draw in Vienna: Ohrid against a Turkish side, Butel away to Croatia's runners-up

In the second round of the EHF European Cup, GRK Ohrid begin their title defence against Turkey's Spor Toto, who knocked out Bosnian side Vogošća in the first round. RK Butel face Croatian runners-up Gorica, and RK Alkaloid take on Austria's Kelag Ferlach. The first legs are on 17-18 October, the return legs on 24-25 October, and for Butel this is their fifth European campaign. The draw was seeded by country, so the Macedonian clubs couldn't meet each other. The opponents look favourable for all three - but a draw has never won a match yet.

EHF EURO 2034: Macedonia among the interested hosts

The deadline for letters of interest has passed, and ten federations have signed up for the men's EHF EURO 2034, scheduled for 10-29 January: Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden and Turkey. In total, 11 federations want at least one of the two tournaments, with the women's championship sought by Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden. Official bids must be submitted by 1 March 2027, and the host will be chosen by the EHF Congress on 18 September 2027 in Ljubljana. The letter is only a first step - a real bid needs arenas, infrastructure and state backing. Will that backing be there when the deadline comes?

Vardar put 44 past Budvanska Rivijera

The Macedonian champions beat the Montenegrin side 44:27 (21:15 at half-time) at "Jane Sandanski" for their second win in the Regional League. The visitors held out for 15 minutes, until 11:11, and then an inspired Vorkapić led a 6:0 run while Budvanska Rivijera went eight and a half minutes without scoring. In the 40th minute Vardar had a double-digit lead for the first time (28:18), and coach Ivan Čupić gave minutes to the reserves at the end. Group B also includes Ohrid, Vojvodina and Pančevo. A seventeen-goal margin looks nice in the table - the real test comes against Vojvodina.

Partizan pointless, Barcelona struggle

In the second round of the EHF Champions League group stage, Porto beat Partizan for the first time in their history, 32:28, thanks to eight goals from Antonio Martínez. The Belgrade club is still without a point after two rounds. Barcelona barely got past Montpellier 28:27, with goalkeeper Sergey Hernández the key figure, Magdeburg won comfortably in Lucerne 39:29, and Orlen Wisła Płock beat Melsungen 25:24 with a goal from Sergei Kosorotov 20 seconds from the end. Denmark's Aarhus won the first point in their history in the competition, 25:25 against Dinamo Bucharest. Will Partizan pull themselves together before the group gets away from them?

Women's team face Serbia in Ohrid today

The women's national team opens the "Macedonia Trophy 2026" today at 6 p.m. in the "Biljanini Izvori" hall in Ohrid, against Serbia. Montenegro (25 September, 5:30 p.m.) and Croatia (26 September, 7 p.m.) follow. This is the first camp under new head coach Igor Marković and his first chance to see what shape the players are in. Croatia and Montenegro are using the tournament to prepare for the European Championship, while Serbia arrive with a mixed squad. On 26 September, Ohrid also hosts the first Women's Handball Forum. It's hard to imagine a better first test than a home tournament against three neighbours.