Nemzeti Bajnokság I (men's handball)


The Nemzeti Bajnokság 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.
WWW mksz.hu/minden-kezilabda

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

TeamLocationArenaCapacityFinished pos.
in last season		Seasons in top
division		Top division
titles
Balatonfüredi KSEBalatonfüredBalaton Szabadidő és Konferencia Központ7125th170
Budakalász FKCBudakalászBudakalászi Sportcsarnok40010th80
Csurgói KKCsurgóSótonyi László Sportcsarnok12006th160
Dabas KKDabasOBO Aréna19209th70
QHB-EgerEgerKemény Ferenc Sportcsarnok8851st 80
Ferencvárosi TCBudapest, IX. kerElek Gyula Aréna13004th110
HE-DO B. Braun GyöngyösGyöngyösDr. Fejes András Sport- és Rendezvénycsarnok15007th170
PLER-BudapestBudapest, XVIII. kerBudapest Airport Aréna10002st 180
MOL Tatabánya KCTatabányaTatabányai Multifunkcionális Sportcsarnok6200514
Carbonex-KomlóKomlóKomló Városi Sportközpont80011th260
NEKABalatonboglárNEKA Sportcsarnok6788th30
OTP Bank - Pick SzegedSzegedPick Aréna8143485
Fejér B.Á.L. VeszprémVeszprémMárcius 15. úti Sportcsarnok220012th40
Telekom Veszprém KCVeszprémVeszprém Aréna50964326

Sponsorship

The league went through various name changes depending on the sponsor for the given season:

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.
SeasonNumber of teams
from 1951 to 19524 teams
in 19536 teams
in 195412 team
from 1955 to 19564 teams
in 195712 teams
from 1958 to 195914 teams
from 1960 to 196412 teams
from 1965 to 197514 teams
from 1976 to 198212 teams
from 1983 to 1990-9114 teams
from 1991-92 to 1994-9516 teams
from 1995-96 to 1998-9914 teams
from 1999-00 to 2006-0712 teams
in 2007-0816 teams
in 2008-0912 teams
from 2009-10 to 2010-1113 teams
from 2011-12 to 2014-1512 teams
from 2015-16 to present14 teams

Title holders

Performances

By counties

The following table lists the Hungarian handball champions by counties of Hungary.
County TitlesWinning clubs
Budapest29 Honvéd
Bp. Spartacus
Elektromos SE
Vörös Meteor
Újpest
Veszprém29 Telekom Veszprém
Csongrád-Csanád5 Pick Szeged
Komárom-Esztergom4 Tatabánya KC
Győr-Moson-Sopron3 Győri ETO
Hajdú-Bihar1 Debreceni Dózsa
Fejér1 Dunaferr

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:
;Club ranking:
EHF Club Ranking as of 25 September 2025: