Nemzeti Bajnokság I (men's handball)

The Nemzeti Bajnokság I (, commonly abbreviated NB I) is the premier men's professional handball league in Hungary, administered by the Hungarian Handball Federation. Since 2016 the official name of the championship is K&H Férfi Kézilabda Liga due to sponsorship reasons.

Overview Running since 1951, the Hungarian championship is among the strongests in Europe. Veszprém KC have won the EHF Cup Winners' Cup in 2008 and have reached the semi-final of the EHF Champions League three times in the last nine seasons, capturing a silver medal in 2002. Main domestic rivals SC Pick Szeged are also regular members of the Champions League.

Famous handball players who have played in the league include Carlos Pérez, Zlatko Saračević, Mirza Džomba, Árpád Sterbik, Kiril Lazarov, László Nagy, Dániel Buday, Balázs Laluska, József Éles, Julio Fis, Rolando Uríos, Nenad Peruničić, Vlado Šola, Dejan Perić, Vladimir Hernández, Gergő Iváncsik and many others.

Currently, it consists of 14 teams. The top four teams after the regular season qualify for the playoffs, where a best-of-three system is used. Teams ranked fifth to ninth and tenth to twelfth decide their final places in a classification round, using a double round robin system, playing six additional rounds. Depending on their final position in the regular season, they are awarded bonus points which are added to the points they earn in the postseason.

According to the EHF league ranking, NB I champions and runners-up receive an automatic spot in the Group phase of the forthcoming Champions League season, while following two clubs enter the EHF Cup. Teams ranked thirteenth and fourteenth get relegated and will be replaced by the winners of the Eastern and Western group of the second division.

Current season

Teams for season 2023–24

Team Location Arena Capacity Finished pos.in last season Seasons in topdivision Top divisiontitles Balatonfüredi KSE Balatonfüred Balaton Szabadidő és Konferencia Központ 712 5th 17 0 Budakalász FKC Budakalász Budakalászi Sportcsarnok 400 10th 8 0 Csurgói KK Csurgó Sótonyi László Sportcsarnok 1200 6th 16 0 Dabas KK Dabas OBO Aréna 1920 9th 7 0 QHB-Eger Eger Kemény Ferenc Sportcsarnok 885 1st (in Nemzeti Bajnokság I/B) 8 0 Ferencvárosi TC Budapest, IX. ker Elek Gyula Aréna 1300 4th 11 0 HE-DO B. Braun Gyöngyös Gyöngyös Dr. Fejes András Sport- és Rendezvénycsarnok 1500 7th 17 0 PLER-Budapest Budapest, XVIII. ker Budapest Airport Aréna 1000 2nd (in Nemzeti Bajnokság I/B) 18 0 MOL Tatabánya KC Tatabánya Tatabányai Multifunkcionális Sportcsarnok 6200 51 4 Carbonex-Komló Komló Komló Városi Sportközpont 800 11th 26 0 NEKA Balatonboglár NEKA Sportcsarnok 678 8th 3 0 OTP Bank - Pick Szeged Szeged Pick Aréna 8143 48 5 Fejér B.Á.L. Veszprém Veszprém Március 15. úti Sportcsarnok 2200 12th 4 0 Telekom Veszprém KC Veszprém Veszprém Aréna 5096 43 26

Sponsorship The league went through various name changes depending on the sponsor for the given season(s):

–2002: No sponsor 2002–2012: Budapest Bank (Budapest Bank Kézilabda Liga) 2012–2016: No sponsor (Nemzeti Bajnokság I - NB I) 2016– : K&H Bank (K&H liga)

Format As we can see from the chart the number of teams in the Hungarian First Division changed a lot and continuously. The league started in 1951 with four teams and with the formation of teams the league expanded continuously. Currently, there are 14 teams in the first division.

Season Number of teams from 1951 to 1952 4 teams in 1953 6 teams in 1954 12 team from 1955 to 1956 4 teams in 1957 12 teams from 1958 to 1959 14 teams from 1960 to 1964 12 teams from 1965 to 1975 14 teams from 1976 to 1982 12 teams from 1983 to 1990-91 14 teams from 1991-92 to 1994-95 16 teams from 1995-96 to 1998-99 14 teams from 1999-00 to 2006-07 12 teams in 2007-08 16 teams in 2008-09 12 teams from 2009-10 to 2010-11 13 teams from 2011-12 to 2014-15 12 teams from 2015-16 to present 14 teams

Title holders

1951 : Vörös Meteor 1952 : Honvéd 1953 : Újpest 1954 : Vörös Meteor 1955 : Vörös Meteor 1956 : Vörös Meteor, Bp. Kinizsi 1957 : Vörös Meteor 1958 : Újpest 1959 : Bp. Spartacus 1960 : Bp. Spartacus 1961 : Bp. Spartacus 1962 : Bp. Spartacus 1963 : Bp. Honvéd 1964 : Bp. Honvéd 1965 : Bp. Honvéd 1966 : Bp. Honvéd 1967 : Bp. Honvéd 1968 : Bp. Honvéd 1969 : Elektromos SE 1970 : Elektromos SE 1971 : Elektromos SE 1972 : Bp. Honvéd 1973 : Bp. Spartacus 1974 : Tatabánya 1975 : Debreceni Dózsa 1976 : Bp. Honvéd 1977 : Bp. Honvéd 1978 : Tatabányai Bányász 1979 : Tatabányai Bányász 1980 : Bp. Honvéd 1981 : Bp. Honvéd 1982 : Bp. Honvéd 1983 : Bp. Honvéd 1984 : Tatabányai Bányász 1985 : Veszprém 1986 : Veszprém 1987 : Győri ETO 1988/89 : Győri ETO 1989/90 : Győri ETO 1990/91 : Elektromos SE 1991/92 : Veszprém 1992/93 : Veszprém 1993/94 : Veszprém 1994/95 : Veszprém 1995/96 : Szeged 1996/97 : Veszprém 1997/98 : Veszprém 1998/99 : Veszprém 1999/00 : Dunaferr 2000/01 : Veszprém 2001/02 : Veszprém 2002/03 : Veszprém 2003/04 : Veszprém 2004/05 : Veszprém 2005/06 : Veszprém 2006/07 : Szeged 2007/08 : Veszprém 2008/09 : Veszprém 2009/10 : Veszprém 2010/11 : Veszprém 2011/12 : Veszprém 2012/13 : Veszprém 2013/14 : Veszprém 2014/15 : Veszprém 2015/16 : Veszprém 2016/17 : Veszprém 2017/18 : Szeged 2018/19 : Veszprém 2019/20 : Not awarded due to COVID-19 pandemic 2020/21 : Szeged 2021/22 : Szeged 2022/23 : Veszprém 2023/24 : Veszprém 2024/25 : Veszprém 2025/26 : Veszprém 2026/27 : TBD

Performances

By club Club Winners Runners-up Third place Winning years Veszprém 1985, 1986, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 Bp. Honvéd 1952, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 Szeged 1996, 2007, 2018, 2021, 2022 Bp. Spartacus 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1973 Vörös Meteor 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957 Elektromos SE 1969, 1970, 1971, 1991 Tatabánya 1974, 1978, 1979, 1984 Győri ETO 1987, 1989, 1990 Újpest 1953, 1958 Dunaferr 2000 Ferencváros 1956 Debreceni Dózsa 1975 Győri Textiles - Csepel - Vörös Lobogó - Testnevelési Főiskola - Balatonfüred - Bp. Építők - Martfűi MSE - Vasas - Honvéd Szondi SE - Csurgó -

By counties The following table lists the Hungarian handball champions by counties of Hungary. County (megye) Titles Winning clubs Veszprém Telekom Veszprém (30) Budapest Honvéd (14) Bp. Spartacus (5) Elektromos SE (4) Vörös Meteor (4) Újpest (2) Csongrád-Csanád Pick Szeged (5) Komárom-Esztergom Tatabánya KC (4) Győr-Moson-Sopron Győri ETO (3) Hajdú-Bihar Debreceni Dózsa (1) Fejér Dunaferr (1) The bolded teams are currently playing in the 2022–23 season of the Hungarian League.

Clubs

Since 1951, clubs have participated in the Hungarian League. The club with the most appearances in the top league is PLER with 58. This record also includes participations of Elektromos SE and Malév SC Pestszenlőrinc, which merged to form PLER. The current NBI team with the most participations is Tatabánya with 54, as of the 2023–24 season. Ferencváros is the team that has participated the most seasons, 43, without ever winning the title.

Statistics

EHF coefficients

The following data indicates Hungarian coefficient rankings between European handball leagues.

Country ranking EHF League Ranking for 2018/19 season:

1. (1) Handball-Bundesliga (128.50) 2. (2) Liga ASOBAL (115) 3. (3) Nemzeti Bajnokság I (106.83) 4. (4) LNH Division 1 (105.83) 5. (5) Polish Superliga (75.71)

Club ranking EHF Club Ranking as of 25 September 2025:

4. Veszprém (519) 13. Szeged (417) 41. Ferencvárosi (110) 45. Tatabánya (103) 99. Balatonfüred (43)

In European competitions Champions League EHF Cup Challenge Cup Cup Winners' Cup (defunct) Honvéd 1 1982 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Veszprém 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1992, 2008 2 3 Szeged 0 0 0 1 2014 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 Győri ETO 0 0 0 1 1986 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dunaferr 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 Tatabánya 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1TOTAL 1 title 4 6 3 title 0 1 0 0 1 2 title 3 8

Nemzeti Bajnokság I (men's handball)

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