2. Bundesliga Women (Germany) 2026/27

The 2. Handball-Bundesliga (Frauen) stands as the second tier of the German women’s handball hierarchy. Operated under the national governing body, the Deutscher Handballbund (DHB), it replaced the regional Handball-Regionalliga when it launched for the 1985/86 season. Today it functions as a single nationwide division, a structural shift completed in 2011 after years of splitting teams into North, South, and Central groups.

Competition mechanics follow a double round-robin format where every side plays each opponent twice. The stakes are clear for those at either end of the table. The team finishing top secures automatic elevation to the premier 1. Handball-Bundesliga. The second-placed club enters a two-legged playoff against the eleventh-placed side from the top flight, battling for the final promotion place. Conversely, the three lowest teams, occupying positions fourteen through sixteen, drop directly to the third division.

Historical success belongs largely to HL Buchholz 08-Rosengarten, which holds the record with five titles across both the divided and unified eras. More recently, Frisch Auf! Göppingen claimed the championship in 2023/24. The league has also witnessed significant spectator interest, including an attendance peak of 8,308 during a 2016 fixture between HC Erlangen and TuSEM Essen.

The structure differs notably from the men’s equivalent, which remains split into regional North and South divisions. While the top-flight women’s game employs a playoff system for its title, this second tier relies entirely on the regular season table to determine movement between levels.