Handball data coverage for commentators

Definitions used on this page

• Covered is a competition where you get the squad before the match and basic live data during it, confirmed by our weekly measurement. Full definition.
• Supported is how we describe the EHF competitions today: they are listed and work in the product, but they have no dated measurement yet.
• Match sheet is the list of up to 16 players a team registers for a handball match.
• Suspension is a two-minute exclusion of a player. The team plays short-handed until the time has run on the match clock.
• Team timeout is a one-minute break a team can request. Under the IHF rules used in EHF competitions, each team has at most three in regular time, at most two per half, and only one in the last five minutes.

The competitions

• EHF EURO, men and women: listed and supported, not yet in the weekly measurement.
• EHF Champions League, men and women: listed and supported, not yet in the weekly measurement.
• EHF European League, men and women: listed and supported, not yet in the weekly measurement.
• National leagues, including Eliteserien in Norway: not covered.

Why we do not call them "covered" yet. For football and golf, coverage is measured automatically every week against recently played matches, and each result carries a date. Handball competitions are on our coverage list but are not yet in that automated run. The measurement method for handball exists (it checks squads on the two most recently played matches), and we will publish dated results on /coverage/handball once it runs on schedule. Until then there is no measurement date to show, and we would rather say that than invent one.

The best evidence today is the handball demo broadcast: a recording of the EHF Champions League Women final in June 2026, Györ v Metz, replayed with the data exactly as it arrived.

What you get for a supported handball match

Before the match

• The players on each team's match sheet, with number, position and photo where available, sortable by number, name or position.
• Your private notes on each player. They follow the player to the next broadcast, not just this match.

During the match

• A match strip showing who is on court, who is suspended and when they are back on the match clock, and red cards (out for the match).
• Timeouts left for each team, counted by the rule above. A team that used none in the first half has two left in the second half, not three. That number has to be right on air, so it is calculated from the rule, not from "three minus used".
• The current scoring run, the top scorer and technical faults.
• Player numbers for shots, goals and goalkeeper saves.

After a match: standings, form and head-to-head are calculated from the competition's own results.

What is not covered

• National leagues, including Eliteserien in Norway. The source we have for national leagues gives the clock and the score, but no player data. By our own definition, a competition without the squad is not covered, so we do not offer it.
• Club friendlies and qualification tournaments outside the six competitions above.
• Deep tracking statistics (shot speed, distance run). They are not part of the coverage bar.

If you commentate a league that is not listed, tell us. A request is the fastest way to get a competition into the measurement.

A note on the season calendar

Data only becomes visible when matches are played. In the 2026/27 season, the EHF club competitions started in September. A competition with fixtures but no played matches cannot be measured, and once handball joins the weekly run, such a competition will appear as "not measured" rather than "no".

How LiveCast does it

The handball demo is frozen at a moment late in the second half, so you can see the suspension clock and the timeout count working on real data. Goals are treated as the rhythm of the match rather than as alerts, and the strip keeps the numbers situation in view: who is off, when they return, and how many timeouts each team has left. For the full workflow, see the handball commentary prep checklist and handball in LiveCast.

FAQ