Wikipedia - Handball-Bundesliga

The Handball-Bundesliga (HBL) is the top German professional handball league. From 2007 onwards, the league was sponsored by Toyota and has officially been called the Toyota Handball-Bundesliga. This lasted until 2012 when the Deutsche Kreditbank AG (DKB) became the new sponsor. The official name has consequently been changed to LIQUY MOLY Handball-Bundesliga. The winners of the respective season are the official German handball champions. HBL is headquartered in Dortmund.

History

The Bundesliga was introduced with the 1966/67 season and initially operated with two regional sections, North and South. Since 1977 the Bundesliga has operated with a single section first division, currently composed of eighteen clubs. In 1981 a 2.Bundesliga was introduced as a new second division, supplanting the Regionalliga which became the third tier. The 2.Bundesliga used to consist of two (resp. three in the first two years after the German reunification) sections north and south for thirty years. Starting with the 2011/12 season the 2.Bundesliga is run in a single section consisting of twenty teams.

Το γερμανικό πρωτάθλημα χάντμπολ (Bundesliga) είναι η κορυφαία κατηγορία χάντμπολ ανδρών στη Γερμανία. Η Bundesliga διοργανώνεται από την German Handball Federation (DHB) και αποτελείται από 18 ομάδες. Η σεζόν ξεκινά τον Σεπτέμβριο και τελειώνει τον Μάιο, με τις ομάδες να παίζουν 34 αγώνες η μία. Οι δύο κορυφαίες ομάδες προκρίνονται για το Champions League EHF, ενώ οι ομάδες που τερματίζουν στην 3η και 4η θέση προκρίνονται για το EHF European League. Η Bundesliga ιδρύθηκε το 1966 και η THW Kiel είναι η πιο επιτυχημένη ομάδα, έχοντας κερδίσει 23 τίτλους πρωταθλήματος.