The U21 European Korfball Championships concluded on Saturday in Oeiras (near Lisbon, Portugal) with the Netherlands retaining the title following a 17 - 11 win over arch rivals Belgium (whose last win was in Marbella in 1986).

This was the 14th time the U21 championships have been held following their inception in 1973. The first six championships were held outdoors (in what has now been virtually discontinued as a three-zone, 12 a side variant of the sport) with the modern indoor championships starting in 1981. It is interesting to note that only three teams, the Netherlands, Belgium and Great Britain have participated in every championship. Germany is the next highest participating country having missed just two events - 1979 and 2002 (this last one because they had already qualified as hosts for the 2004 World Youth Championship).

The final ranking of this year’s championship is shown below with the previous tournament’s ranking in brackets: -

1. The Netherlands (1)
2. Belgium (2)
3. Germany (-)
4. Great Britain (6)
5. Russia (4)
6. Czech Republic (3)
7. Catalonia (-)
8. Portugal (5)
9. Hungary (-)