Spain have won the last two editions of the European Men's Handball Championship ©Getty Images

The European Handball Federation (EHF) has revealed there are no plans to limit attendance at European Men's Handball Championship matches in Hungary, with an update on the situation for fixtures in co-host Slovakia expected by the end of this week.

The tournament is set to be held from January 13 to 30.

The New Budapest Arena can hold more than 20,000 spectators, and is due to stage Group B matches in the preliminary round, Group I games in the main round as well as the semi-finals and some other ranking matches.

There are no plans for capacity limits at the venue in the Hungarian capital, nor Debrecen's Főnix Arena and Szeged's Pick Aréna.

Spectators at these matches will be required to show proof that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, have recently recovered from the virus or have received a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test in the 72 hours prior.

A mask mandate for all visitors aged older than six is also in place.

Matches at the European Championship are also set to be held at the 10,500-seat Ondrej Nepela Aréna in Slovakia's capital Bratislava and the Steel Arena in Košice.

The EHF said an update from the Slovakian Government is expected by Sunday (January 9), and that only fully vaccinated supporters will be permitted to attend if the COVID-19 situation in the country worsens.

Sweden's preparations for the European Championship have been hampered by COVID-19, with Lucas Pellas reportedly identified as a close contact and unable to join the squad until the end of this week ©Getty Images
Sweden's preparations for the European Championship have been hampered by COVID-19, with Lucas Pellas reportedly identified as a close contact and unable to join the squad until the end of this week ©Getty Images

COVID-19 cases in both host countries have declined significantly from peaks around the end of November and start of December, but the spread of the more transmissible Omicron variant has led to concerns and a tightening of restrictions across parts of the continent.

Sweden's preparations for the tournament have been hampered by COVID-19, with public broadcaster SVT reporting that Karl Wallinius tested positive and will not be able to join the squad until tomorrow.

Lucas Pellas has also been identified as a close contact of an individual with the virus and will not be able to join the squad until at least the end of this week, while Lukas Sandell's arrival has also been delayed after he became a father on December 31.

Sweden are historically the most successful country at the European Championship with four titles to their name, although they have not won it since 2002.

Spain are the back-to-back defending champions having triumphed in 2018 and 2020.

A total of 24 teams are due to compete at the tournament, with the top two from each of the six preliminary-round groups advancing to the main round.

This stage features two groups of six, with the top two from both advancing to the semi-finals and the third-placed sides qualifying for the fifth-place game.