After 28 games in Rosario, Argentina, Brazil’s men and Argentina’s women have been crowned South and Central America Handball Confederation (SCAHC) beach handball champions.

Brazil’s men successfully defended their 2024 title, while Argentina’s women take the title back from Brazil after winning it for the first time in 2022.

Along with men’s runners-up Argentina and women’s runners-up Brazil, the continental winners have now booked their spots at the 2026 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships in June in Zagreb. A third women’s world championship qualification spot for the SCAHC will be awarded at the ‘SCAHC Championship - Second Phase’ event to be confirmed.

The fourth edition of the SCAHC Beach Handball Championships featured men’s and women’s teams of Argentina (ARG), Brazil (BRA), Chile (CHI), Paraguay (PAR) and Uruguay (URU) in an initial round-robin tournament format, with teams in each gender playing each other once. The top four teams then played in the semi-finals and respective gold and bronze medal matches.

 

Argentina women add another gold to their collection

Less than 200 days after their The World Games gold medal-winning performance in China, Leticia Brunati’s Argentina added another title to their name with a 2-0 defeat of rivals Brazil in the continental final to wrestle back the SCAHC title they lost in 2024, after winning it for the first time in 2022.

The preliminary group stage featured 10 games, with Brazil ending it top thanks to four wins from four (8 points). They were followed by Argentina in second (6), Uruguay (4), Paraguay (2) and Chile (0).

One of those Brazilian wins was against Argentina (2-0, 22:14, 18:14) which saw Beatriz Correia top-score on 17 points. Chile suffered bad luck in the initial stage, losing all four games, including two via shoot-out. The first saw them go down to Uruguay 1-2 (18:16, 16:17, SO 6:10) after missing two shots, while it got worse against Paraguay, as they missed all five (1-2, 18:13, 9:15, SO 0:5).

Argentina had a scare against Uruguay, eventually taking a shoot-out win, 2-1 (12:14, 14:12, SO 5:4), after their opponents missed their first three shots, Maria Florencia Gallo scoring the single point winner for the home side.

With the top four of the five teams going through to the semi-finals, the opening final four game was one-sided with Brazil dispatching Paraguay 2-0 (21:12, 22:17), but a dramatic second semi-final went to shoot-out, with Argentina again defeating Uruguay, 2-1 (18:23, 16:12, SO 7:4). Brunati’s side missed their first shot, but the Uruguayans went on to miss their third and fourth attempts as Lucila Balsas and Gallo ensured the Argentina passage through to the gold medal match.

Tunisia 2025 IHF Women’s Youth Beach Handball Championship star with fifth-placed Uruguay, Fiorella Olmos Jarque, impressed with her step up to the senior Uruguay side as her 18 points helped guide the Uruguayans to a 2-0 (16:12, 22:14) win over Paraguay in their bronze medal clash.

 

In the final, Argentina opened up an early lead (6:2, 4th minute) against Brazil in the first set, leading 16:10 with 90 seconds left and 17:14 with under 10 seconds remaining to take a 1-0 (17:16) set lead. The second set was more equal, Brazil even going ahead by four (10:6) after five minutes, but led by Gisella Bonomi, who top-scored on 19 points, the hosts powered back to take a 19:16 lead going into the last minute for the second win and title in front of over 3,500 spectators.

“I feel great, we played a great game in the final at home in front of our people, which was the best thing ever,” said Argentina coach Leticia Brunati to ihf.info in what was her first continental title as head coach of the senior team.

“We played differently against Brazil in the final than in the group stage with different systems in both attack and defence, but the tournament was really tough with all the teams here stronger than last time in 2024. For example, Uruguay took us to shoot-out in both our games. They have a really good team; young girls with a lot of future who played fantastic against us. Overall, our continent has an incredible beach handball level.”

And now, Brunati can look forward to Croatia 2026 and another world championship where she and her team will look forward to improving on their silver from 2024.

“To be at the world championship again is very important for the development of the sport in Argentina as we need more and better matches: we need to play against the best teams in the world,” she said. “For me, each world championship is gaining experience and growing. Now it is time to rest and plan for the next step.”

 

Brazil’s men continue continental dominance

Led by legendary coach Antonio Guerra Peixe, Brazil’s men’s team made it four out of four SCACH championships after taking gold on home sand in 2019 and 2022 and in Paraguay last time out, in 2024. These four titles are added to their five previous Pan American titles gained, before the continental federation re-organisation.

Brazil started their campaign with three, straight 2-0 wins against Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay before home team Argentina defeated them 2-0 (24:22, 19:18). Argentina defending their 24:22 lead late in the first set from a Bruno Carlos de Oliveira shot and then went ahead 19:16 with one minute left of the second set to take the victory.

Other impressive results in the opening stage saw Paraguay get a 2-1 (14:22, 20:18, SO 8:6) win over the Santy Rodriguez-coached Uruguay, after the Uruguayans had missed their first and last shots, while Argentina’s Santino Esposito hauled in an impressive 20 points in his sides’ 2-0 (26:6, 24:12) victory over Paraguay.

The conclusion of the preliminary stage saw Argentina top the group with four wins from four games (8 points). Behind them were Brazil (6), Uruguay (2, -11 points difference), Chile (2, -18) and Paraguay (2, -54).

Both semi-finals were one-sided affairs, Renan Pinheiro scoring 20 points in Brazil’s 2-0 (28:16, 22:16) victory over Uruguay, while Argentina defeated Chile 2-0 (22:12, 22:10).

The bronze medal match was dramatic with both Uruguay and Chile winning a set each and it going down to a shoot-out. With the score equal after the first round (10:10), Chile’s Juan Rubio then saw his shot saved by Mauricio Gallo in the Uruguay, leaving teammate Sebastian Sagasti to sink home a single point for the podium spot.

In the gold medal match, Pinheiro again did the business for Brazil, his 15 points helping his side to overcome the hosts 2-0 (17:14, 17:12).

“Winning this championship again shows the consistency and strength of our team over the years; it feels very special,” said Bruno Carlos de Oliveira to ihf.info after the final. “At this stage of my career, every title has a deeper meaning. It’s not just about winning - it’s about representing our country, inspiring younger athletes, and proving that experience and teamwork still make a difference.

“Argentina is a very strong team, and matches between us are always intense,” he added about losing the group game against the hosts but turning it around in the final. “In the group stage, we made some mistakes and couldn’t maintain our rhythm. In the final, we were more focused, more patient, and tactically better prepared. Finals are decided by details, and this time we controlled the key moments of the game.”

And for the long-term player of Brazil, playing at the upcoming 2026 IHF Men’s World Championship has a deeper meaning than in previous years.

“Qualifying for the IHF World Championship is always one of our main goals,” he said. “For me, being able to compete at the highest level at 40-years-old is something I’m very proud of. Playing in Croatia will be a great joy, because it’s the national team we have faced most often in World Championship finals, and the one with the closest number of world titles to Brazil. Now we’ll focus on preparation so we can arrive in Croatia in our best possible form.”

All games were streamed live and can be watched again on the SCAHC YouTube Channel. For more information about the SCAHC, visit here. 

2026 SCAHC Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball Championships

All-star Teams

Women’s competition
Right Wing: Patricia Scheppa (BRA)
Left Wing: Debora Saud (BRA)
Defender: Zoe Turnes (ARG)
Attacker: Lucila Balsas (ARG)
Goalkeeper: Brenda Planavia (URU)
Pivot: Beatriz Correa (BRA)

Top-scorer: Gisella Bonomi (ARG) – 75 points

Men’s competition
Right Wing: Santino Sposito (ARG)
Left Wing: Renan Pinheiro (BRA)
Defender: Sebastian Aravena (CHI)
Attacker: Piero Franchelo (URU)
Goalkeeper: Javier Fernandez (PAR)
Pivot: Juan Bautista Dirr (ARG)

Top-scorer: Renan Pinheiro (BRA) – 93 points

Final Ranking

Women’s competition
1 Argentina
2 Brazil
3 Uruguay
4 Paraguay
5 Chile

Men’s competition
1 Brazil
2 Argentina
3 Uruguay
4 Chile
5 Paraguay

Results

Preliminary Round

Women’s competition
PAR vs BRA 0-2 (14:17, 12:20)
CHI vs URU 1-2 (18:16, 16:17, SO 6:10)
BRA vs CHI 2-0 (16:12, 26:13)
ARG vs PAR 2-0 (22:11, 26:8)
CHI vs PAR 1-2 (18:13, 9:15, SO 0:5)
ARG vs URU 2-1 (12:14, 14:12, SO 5:4)
URU vs BRA 0-2 (5:8, 8:17)
ARG vs CHI 2-0 (18:5, 15:4)
URU vs PAR 2-0 (24:14, 22:14)
BRA vs ARG 2-0 (22:14, 18:14)

Semi-Final: BRA vs PAR 2-0 (21:12, 22:17) 
Semi-Final: ARG vs URU 2-1 (18:23, 16:12, SO 7:4) 
Bronze Medal Match: URU vs PAR 2-0 (16:12, 22:14)
Gold Medal Match: ARG vs BRA 2-0 (17:16, 19:16)

Men’s Competition
CHI vs BRA 0-2 (3:14, 16:18)
PAR vs URU 2-1 (14:22, 20:18, SO 8:6)
BRA vs PAR 2-0 (22:16, 22:10)
ARG vs CHI 2-0 (19:16, 28:16)
PAR vs CHI 0-2 (16:25, 10:14)
ARG vs URU 2-0 (20:16, 24:14)
URU vs BRA 0-2 (16:19, 12:13)
ARG vs PAR 2-0 (26:6, 24:12)
URU vs CHI 2-0 (16:14, 22:21)
BRA vs ARG 0-2 (22:24, 18:19)

Semi-Final: BRA vs URU 2-0 (28:16, 22:16)
Semi-Final: ARG vs CHI 2-0 (22:12, 22:10)
Bronze Medal Match: URU vs CHI 2-1 (24:18, 20:23, 11:10)
Gold Medal Match: BRA vs ARG 2-0 (17:14, 17:12)

Credit photo: Handball SCA / German Paez