The EWHL was created in 2004 on the same principle as the men's ice hockey
Interliga. For its
first season, the EWHL featured teams from Austria, Hungary, Italy and Slovenia. Teams from additional countries joined the league during the following seasons, including
HC Slovan Bratislava from Slovakia in
2005,
KHL Grič Zagreb from Croatia in
2006, and
HC Slavia Praha from the Czech Republic in
2007. In the
2008–09 season, the Italian and Hungarian teams gave way to two clubs from Germany,
OSC Berlin and
ESC Planegg. During the
2010–11 and
2011–12 seasons, the
Netherlands national team participated in the EWHL. Before the 2019–20 season, the Elite Women's Hockey League was renamed, becoming the European Women's Hockey League to reflect its unique position within European women's ice hockey. Also, the
Polish women's national team joined the league in 2019, playing as the Silesia Brackens and later under the name Silesian Metropolis Katowice. The Hungarian team
KMH Budapest rejoined the league, and
MAC Budapest was added. The EWHL is mostly played in a championship format with home and away matches, with the exception of the 2005–06 season where the teams were distributed in two regional divisions followed by qualifying rounds. For the 2010–11 season, the regular season was followed by a play-off between the four teams at the top of the league table. Though they joined the league in the 2015–16 season, Kazakh team
Aisulu Almaty has played only two EWHL games from their home arena,
Baluan Sholak Sports Palace in
Almaty, due to the significant travel distance. The 2019–20 season provided the first opportunity for Aisulu to play EWHL matches in front of a home crowd, when they hosted the
EHV Sabres for a two game series during 19–20 October 2019. Since the 2019–20 season, the
Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation has overseen the league. The league president is Martin Kogler. In March 2023, a group of eighteen players founded the European Women's Hockey League Players' Association (EWHLPA). The organization's driving purpose is to address players' concerns and advocate for changes on players' behalf, while also playing an active role in the development of the league. == Teams ==