Danish Women's Handball League
The Danish Women's Handball League is the top professional league for Danish women's handball clubs. It is administered by the Danish Handball Federation, and the winners are recognized as Danish champions. The league is officially called HTH Ligaen for sponsorship reasons. It has previously been known as HTH GO Ligaen, Primo Tours Ligaen, Boxer Dameligaen, TOMS Ligaen and GuldBageren Ligaen. The current title holder is Team Esbjerg. The European Handball Federation ranks the Danish league 4th in the coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the past seasons.
Competition format
The Danish Women's Handball League shares the season style with the men's league. It consists of 12 teams, each playing 22 regular season games. The six teams with most points at the end of the regular season advance to the play-offs. They are divided into two groups of three, based on their placement. Group A is formed by 1, 3 and 6 while Group B has 2, 4 and 5. Four matches are played in each group, in home and away form. Teams ending first and second at the regular season start with one bonus point. The two group winners advance to the championship finals, while the runners-up will play for the bronze medal. Both the finals and the bronze matches are played as a "best of three" series.The lowest placed team of the regular season is directly relegated to the second-best division, and replaced by the winner of this. The teams finishing 7 to 11 will together with number 2 to 4 from 1st division be divided into two groups of four teams. Group A is formed by: Number 7 from the league, number 10 from the league and number 2 and 4 from the 1st division. On the other hand, Group B has: Number 8 from the league, number 9 from the league, number 11 from the league and number 3 from the 1st division.
The group winners and the runners-up will qualify for the league in the next season. The teams placed third in each group will meet each other in up to three games to play for the last spot in the league. The loser of this matches and number four in each group will play the 1st division the following season.
Previous format
Before the 2008/09 season, the four best teams of the regular season would advance to the playoffs, semi-finals and finals. Both the semi-finals and the finals were played as a "best of 3" series of matches.Seasons
Current teams (2019-20)
The fourteen teams of the 2019/20 season are:| Team | Finishing pos. in last season | First season of current spell in top division | Top division titles |
| EH Aalborg | 12th | 2018-19 | 0 |
| Aarhus United | 6th | 2017-18 | 0 |
| Ajax København | 12th | 2017-18 | 0 |
| Herning-Ikast Håndbold | 1991-92 | 5 | |
| København Håndbold | 4th | 2013-14 | 1 |
| Nykøbing F. Håndbold | 5th | 2013-14 | 1 |
| Odense Håndbold | 2009-10 | 0 | |
| Randers HK | 10th | 2000-01 | 1 |
| Skanderborg Håndbold | 13th | 2018-19 | 0 |
| Silkeborg-Voel KFUM | 9th | 2013-14 | 0 |
| Team Esbjerg | 2007-08 | 2 | |
| TTH Holstebro | 8th | 2008-09 | 0 |
| Viborg HK | 7th | 1988-89 | 10 |
| Horsens HK | 1st in | 2019-20 | 0 |
Champions
The complete list of champions since 1936:Medal table
After 45 seasons, the all-time medal table for the women's championship is as follows:| Team | Gold | Silver | Bronze | - | - | - | - |
| Viborg HK | 14 | 6 | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| FIF København | 12 | 8 | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| HG København | 5 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Herning-Ikast Håndbold | 4 | 6 | 7 | - | - | - | - |
| GOG | 4 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Slagelse DT | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| Helsingør IF | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Team Esbjerg | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| IF AIA-Tranbjerg | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Randers HK | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Rødovre HK | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Svendborg HK | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| IF Stjernen | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Lyngså BK | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| København Håndbold | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| Aalborg DH | 0 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Glostrup IC | 0 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Team Tvis Holstebro | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| IK Skovbakken | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Frederikshavn f.I. | 0 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Odense Håndbold | 0 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Funder GF | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| Holstebro KFUM | 0 | 1 | 0 | K.I. København | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| FCK Håndbold | 0 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Hørsholm-Usserød IK | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Næstved IF | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Greve IF | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| NNfH Lemvig | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| KIF Vejen | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
Top scorers
The following list shows the top scorers from recent seasons:- 2000/01: Mette Vestergaard, FIF
- 2001/02: Camilla Andersen, Slagelse FH
- 2002/03: Camilla Andersen, Slagelse FH
- 2003/04: Bojana Petrović, Slagelse FH
- 2004/05: Bojana Popović, Slagelse FH
- 2005/06: Tanja Milanović, Ikast-Bording EH
- 2006/07: Mette Sjøberg, FCK Håndbold
- 2007/08: Nadine Krause, FCK Håndbold
- 2008/09: Grit Jurack, Viborg HK
- 2011/12: Mette Gravholt, Team Tvis Holstebro
- 2012/13: Estavana Polman, SønderjyskE Damer
- 2013/14: Estavana Polman, Team Esbjerg
- 2014/15: Jette Hansen, Silkeborg-Voel KFUM
- 2015/16: Nathalie Hagman, Team Tvis Holstebro
- 2016/17: Trine Troelsen, Silkeborg-Voel KFUM
- 2017/18: Ida Bjørndalen Karlsson, Team Esbjerg
- 2018/19: Laura Damgaard Lund, EH Aalborg
Statistics
EHF coefficients
The following data indicates Danish coefficient rankings between European handball leagues.;Country ranking:
EHF League Ranking for 2019/20 season:
- 1. Nemzeti Bajnokság I
- 2. Liga Națională
- 3. Russian Superliga
- 4. HTH Ligaen
- 5. Championnat de France
- 6. Eliteserien
Broadcasting rights
- TV2 Danmark
- TV2 Sport
In European competitions