The Kraków Arena, in one of Poland's oldest cities, will be the setting for the pinnacle of the Championships, with matches from the preliminary and main stages being held at the arena, as well as the two semi-final encounters and the final.

All of the host's matches will also be played in the 15,000 capacity venue, making it the likely hub for the majority of local supporters throughout the 17-day event.

The European capital of culture 2016, Wrocław, will play a crucial role in the tournament with preliminary and main stage matches being held in the city's Centennial Hall.

The 6,500-seater Centennial will also play host to placement matches for those in the fifth and third place play-off games.

Wrocław was selected as the European Capital of Culture 2016 and will play host to preliminary, main round and placement matches for the 2016 Men's European Handball Championships ©AFP/Getty Images



The Ergo Arena, sitting in the Polish city of Gdańsk, and the Spodek Arena, located in Katowice, make up the two remaining venues with each 10,000-capacity arena playing host to preliminary round matches of the Championships.

For the first time, the tournament's matches will be played over 17 days from January 15 to 31, 2016.

The change will see the main round played over seven instead of five days, with three of the four match days played with two matches per day instead of three matches.

The aim is to make the competition more attractive to television and fans as well as giving players more rest between matches.

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