Uruguay qualified through to the 2026 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship after winning the South and Central America Handball Confederation (SCAHC) Championship – Second Phase event which took place last April in Lima, Peru.

After missing out on the first opportunity to qualify for Zagreb 2026 at the SCAHC Women’s Beach Handball Championships in Rosario, Argentina in February, Uruguay, Chile and host nation Peru played each other twice in the round-robin, second chance event held over three days.

Led by SCAHC All-star Team goalkeeper Brenda Planavia and coached by Maximiliano Malfatti, who was assistant coach for the Uruguay women at the 2025 IHF Women’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship last year in Tunisia, Uruguay took four wins from four games in Peru, not dropping one sent, to top the group on eight points and seal their ticket to Croatia.

Uruguay’s Ana Iglesias (41 points), who played alongside teammate Julia Rotundo, a member of the Uruguay youth team who finished fifth at the world championship in Tunisia in 2025, ended as the second-top scorer and will be one to watch on the sand at Lake Jarun.

 “I'm truly thrilled. We've put Uruguay on top, which is what we came here to do. We were absolutely certain we could achieve it. It's incredibly exciting to have qualified for the world championship,” said Iglesias to fuhandball.com at the time of qualification.

“It's truly an emotional experience for all of us. There were only two of us who went to the last world championship so it's a feeling of excitement, joy, and, more than anything, resilience, because we came in third in the last tournament (SCAHC championship) and now qualifying is fantastic.”

Qualification for Uruguay represents the eighth time they have appeared at the global event, the nation missing just three editions in the event’s history (2004, 2010, 2024). Their highest ranking was sixth at Oman 2012 and coach Malfatti is raring to go after a four-year break from global action.

"We're returning to the world championship with great enthusiasm,” he said to ihf.info. “We have a young team that will be experiencing its first competition of this kind, but it's the result of sustained work that began with a large preliminary squad. 

Uruguay have been draw against current world champions Germany as well as Asian champions Vietnam, plus Netherlands in their preliminary group.

All three sides will be somewhat familiar for the South American side as they faced them at Greece 2022, losing to the Dutch in their preliminary group 0-2 (16:19, 16:19), Germany in the main round 0-2 (12:22, 14:24) and beating Vietnam in the 9-16 placement round 2-0 (21:20, 20:16).

‘La Celeste’ as the team are known, are also on the lookout for support and sponsors to help with their 12,000km journey from Uruguay’s capital Montevideo to the Croatian capital, with a number of fundraising events taking place, including dances.

Traditionally, the team has been one of the continental powerhouses in Pan-America and South America, winning a number of regional titles in the 2000s.

“We know that, as has happened to us before, we have a group with very strong rivals, and that the same could happen in a potential main round. We know the difficulty of Germany, the Netherlands, and Vietnam, but Uruguay usually performs well by relying on its strengths and its tradition in world beach handball,” added the coach.

“But we are a team with history and youth that will use its versatility to reach the positions we've set as our objectives.”

Captain Ana Inés Iglesias also has big hopes for what her and her team can do on the sand in Europe.

“The expectations for this world championship are high and we are looking forward to playing, competing at a global level and measuring ourselves against some of the best teams in the world,” she said to ihf.info.

“As athletes, the dream is always to be world champions and we are going to work to go as far as possible. We know that it will be very difficult because we will face teams with a lot of experience and a great level, but we also trust in the work we have been doing as a team.

“We believe that being among the five best teams in the world would be a historic result for Uruguay in the senior category and a great achievement for our sport. That is one of the objectives we set for this tournament. We want to represent Uruguay in the best way, leave everything in every game and show that we can compete on an equal footing with the best. Our commitment is to leave Uruguay as high as possible and feel proud of the path we travel in this world championship."

And for the President of the Uruguayan Handball Federation, Gustavo Modernell, he has nothing but positivity for the achievements of all involved with the team.

“The qualification of our women’s national team for the world championship is a tremendous source of pride and joy for the entire Uruguayan handball community,” he said in a statement to ihf.info. “And, if I am honest, it is also a particularly rewarding moment because we know exactly how much work it took to get here. 

“Nothing came easily. Behind this qualification are countless training sessions, long journeys, personal and family sacrifices, and a group of players and coaches who never stopped believing. There are many stories that do not appear in the statistics: time off requested from work, study hours recovered late at night, families offering quiet support, and years of dedication and effort – that is why this achievement means so much.

“It also comes at a very important time for our sport,” he said. “In recent years, Uruguay has qualified for world championships in different disciplines and age categories, something that not long ago would have seemed difficult to imagine. This is no coincidence. It is the result of the commitment and hard work of many people who, from different roles and responsibilities, have contributed to the growth of handball in Uruguay.

“At the same time, for an amateur federation like ours, participating in a world championship represents a significant challenge. There are always obstacles to overcome and resources to secure. For that reason, we deeply appreciate the support provided by the IHF, which helps federations of our size compete and continue developing on the international stage.

“Now we face what every athlete dreams of: competing against the best teams in the world. We are fully aware of the magnitude of the challenge ahead but we will travel to the world championship with humility, respect for every opponent, and the satisfaction of knowing that nothing was given to us. This place was earned on the court.

“And our goals? Of course, we want to compete at the highest level and represent Uruguay with distinction. But we also want to dream. When a team earns its place among the world’s best, it has earned the right to be ambitious. We know the road ahead will be difficult. It should be. This is a World Championship.”

Coach: Maximilano Malfatti
Key Players: Ana Inés Iglesias, Brenda Pianavia
Qualification information: 1st – South and Central America Handball Confederation (SCAHC) Championship – Second Phase
History in Tournament: 2004: DNQ, 2006: 9th, 2008: 7th, 2010: DNQ, 2012: 6th, 2014: 8th, 2016: 11th, 2018: 10th, 2022: 12th, 2024: DNQ

Group at Croatia 2026: Group A: Germany, Netherlands, Vietnam, Uruguay