No tickets for Icelanders ahead of the EHF EURO 2026 semi-final: “A scandal”
Icelandic supporters are struggling to secure tickets for the final weekend of EHF EURO 2026, despite their national team reaching the semi-finals. According to Sonja Steinarsdóttir, one of the members of the Icelandic fan group “Special Forces”, official tickets were practically unavailable, while the remaining options were coming from the black market.
“We tried to contact the Swedish fans and the Croatian fans, but on that side there were only black market tickets available. We weren’t really going to dare. But the Swedish fans seem to be planning to show up and support Iceland,” Sonja says.
She believes the whole system is unfair and poorly designed for teams that advance late and cannot plan purchases in advance.
“This is of course just a scandal for the EHF not to reserve four corners for the teams that advance. For nations that cannot know if they will reach the final weekend, I understand there may be no financial capacity at HSÍ to pay for 2,000 tickets ‘just in case’,” she explains.
At the same time, Sonja points out that there are often empty sections in the arena — something that makes the situation even more frustrating.
“It’s crazy that the tournament is set up like this. Often the corners are left empty in the stands. Then we could have gone with three planes — we could have easily filled three planes. So it’s a crazy arrangement and we find it very disappointing,” she adds.
Sonja says she fully understands that players’ families have priority when tickets are distributed, but stresses that Iceland’s core traveling supporters feel they are being left behind at the biggest moment.
“Of course, the players’ families come first and I completely understand that. But it would be really sad if we don’t make it. We’ve followed both of our national teams to major tournaments since 2019, and it would be sad not to experience being in the stadium at the European Championship final weekend,” she says.
The “Special Forces” are now waiting for information on whether the Icelandic Handball Federation (HSÍ) can secure additional tickets.
“I know that HSÍ is working hard on it. They want to have us involved,” Sonja Steinarsdóttir concluded in an interview withHANDBOLTI.IS
