One year to go for the first IHF Women’s World Championship edition hosted by three countries

29 Nov. 2022

One year to go for the first IHF Women’s World Championship edition hosted by three countries

The final countdown for the 26th IHF Women's World Championship has started, with 29 November 2022 marking exactly one year before the competition, the second in history with 32 teams at the start.

This will also be the first World Championship, either men's or women's, hosted by three countries, with a Scandinavian trio of Denmark, Norway and Sweden joining forces to offer the best conditions for the tournament.

It will be the third time the championship will be played in Denmark and Norway after they co-hosted the 1999 edition – won by Norway – while both countries had previously organised the tournament alone, Norway in 1993 and Denmark in 2015.

For Sweden, who have experience hosting the IHF Men's World Championship and will also be co-hosts for the 2023 edition, it will be the first time they host the IHF Women's World Championship.

Six venues are already in place for the successful competition organisation, with two for every country – Herning and Kolding in Denmark, Oslo and Trondheim in Norway, Malmö and Gothenburg in Sweden – with the latter two also being hosts at the IHF Men's World Championship in January.

Three arenas with a capacity of over 10.000 seats will host matches – with the 13.000-seater Malmö Arena and the 12.000-seater Scandinavium in Gothenburg getting ready to host the fans that will flock to see the games.

The Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, which has already hosted the final at Denmark 2015, won by Norway against the Netherlands, is also slated to be a host of the competition.

In Norway, the 5.000-seater Nye Jordal Amfi in Oslo and the 8.800-seater Spektrum in Trondheim will host matches.

The 26th IHF Women's World Championship will throw off on 29 November 2023, with the final and the bronze medal match scheduled on 17 December 2023.

The logo and the slogan were revealed in August, with the former symbolising a handball rushing through the air into the back of the goal, basically the pillar of the sport. The colours of the ball also represent the flags of the three host nations – Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

The slogan of the competition, "Aim to Excite", underlines the rush of excitement known by all the shareholders of the game – from players to coaches, to the fans cheering in the stands for their favourite team.

16 teams have already qualified for the competition, with the three hosts, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, automatically sealing a place. Three teams, France, Montenegro and the Netherlands, have earned safe passage through the EHF EURO 2022.

Brazil and Argentina secured their places at the 2022 South and Central American Women's Handball Championship, while the four semi-finalists of the 2022 CAHB African Women's Handball Championship, Angola, Cameroon, Congo and Senegal, also made it to the 2023 IHF Women's World Championship.

Last but not least, four of the five teams representing Asia are known, with the Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan and People's Republic of China securing their places by making the semi-finals in the continental competition. The last Asian place will be decided in the Placement 5/6 Match of the 2022 AHF Asian Women's Handball Championship when Kazakhstan face India.