The 2025 IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship will throw off on Tuesday, 11 March, in Varna, Bulgaria, with eight teams at the start. 

There are five European sides taking part – hosts Bulgaria, Cyprus, Great Britain, Azerbaijan and the Republic of Moldova – while the United States of America return after taking part for the first time in 2019, when they finished fifth. Nigeria will also make their third consecutive appearance, with Paraguay ready to make their debut in the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship

Bulgaria chose to play in Group A, where they are facing Cyprus, Great Britain and Paraguay, whereas in Group B, the United States of America will face Azerbaijan, Nigeria and the Republic of Moldova.
 

USA bring experience to the table

The United States of America look to be the most experienced team taking part in this edition of the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, as they return for the first time since 2019 and are taking part in the second edition, after finishing on the fifth place in their previous appearance.

While key players will not take part, the overall experience of the USA team will rub off on the participating ones, after USA secured five wins in 13 matches at the previous two editions of the IHF Men’s World Championship, where they finished 20th at Poland/Sweden 2023 and played in the President’s Cup final at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025, conceding a loss against Poland in the last match at penalties, and eventually finished 26th.

The USA will be favoured in Group B, where they will be facing Azerbaijan, Nigeria and the Republic of Moldova, aiming to secure the first place and qualify for the semi-finals, which would be USA’s best result in the competition.

Dimitrov, first to reach 250 goals?

Bulgaria are the only team to have participated in each of the five editions of the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, having finished two times on the podium – in 2019 and 2023 – each time on the third place, securing the bronze medal. With a younger team prepared to deliver the goods in Varna in this edition, they still have the player with the largest number of goals in history in the competition, right wing Svetlin Dimitrov.

In the previous four editions, Dimitrov has scored 213 goals, with 29 goals scored at Bulgaria 2023, when he was named in the All-Star team. He was also the the top goal scorer at Kosovo 2015 and Bulgaria 2017 and is the most experienced player in Bulgaria’s roster, having spent the last 15 years in France, at C' Chartres MHB. Were Bulgaria to challenge again for a medal, they will definitely need another excellent haul from Dimitrov, who turned 34 last October.

Paraguay celebrate much-awaited debut

In the previous editions of the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, only three teams from the South and Central American Handball Confederation took part. Colombia finished eighth in 2019, Uruguay finished fourth in 2015 and Guatemala ended on the 10th position in 2023. Now, it is time for Paraguay to make their debut in the competition, after a constant improvement over the last years. In fact, Paraguay finished 5th, 5th and 4th respectively in the previous three editions of the South and Central American Men’s Handball Championship, with two wins in the previous two editions each.

"We want to show that we are on the right path with respect to handball played in other continents; creating a path towards the consolidation of the game to be able to position the men's team in a position to compete for qualification for international competitions,” said Paraguay’s coach, Victor Figueredo, before the start of the competition.

Great Britain aim for first medal

The other team alongside Bulgaria to have participated in every of the five editions of the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship is Great Britain. The European side has finished ninth, 11th, fourth and fifth in the previous four editions, missing out on a podium place by a whisker in the previous two editions. But now, they will have an influx of new players, which might affect their performance.

Gone are the days when Sebastian Edgar, the top scorer of the 2019 IHF Men’s Emerging Championship, or the All-Star goalkeeper of the previous edition, Craig McClelland, were in the team, with Great Britain still relying on the top goal scorer of the previous edition, Francisco Pereira, as well as line player Ran Yonish or Theo Vellenoweth, who is featuring in France, at Limoges Handball.

Best result for an African team?

Nigeria are the second African team to play at the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, after Cameroon forged a path in the maiden edition, when they ended on the seventh place in 2015. Then, Nigeria took part in 2019 and 2023, finishing seventh in each edition, but now they have the unique chance to secure the best finish for an African side in the competition.

Drawn in Group B, the African side will play against the United States of America, Azerbaijan and the Republic of Moldova. They beat the former side, 35:17, in the previous edition, but lost against the USA, 24:39, in 2019. Nigeria would only need a win to improve their chances of the best placement and will be primed to make that happen.