This Friday and Saturday (3 to 4 November) will see the grand finale of the 2023 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour in Doha, Qatar.

Across the two days of finals action, a selection of some of the world’s best men’s and women’s national teams will do battle at the Al-Gharafa Beach Venue as they vie to win the 2023 title.

Brazil and Tunisia will field teams in both the men’s and women’s events, joined by Qatar and Denmark in the men’s competition and Poland and People’s Republic of China in the women’s competition.

Famous names ready

Provisional squads have been announced for the event ahead of the final squad announcement by 09:00 (Qatar time) on Friday 3 November, and there are some big names to watch out for.

In the men’s competition, three members of the 2022 IHF Men's Beach Handball World Championship All-star Team have been named, with Denmark’s specialist Martin Andersen and defender Jeppe Villumsen making the long list, along with Brazilian pivot Gil Pires. A number of players from the 2018 IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship All-star Team will also be in Doha. 

The World Games 2022 Men's All-star Team is also represented in Doha with Brazil’s left wing Renan Pinheiro Carvalho named for the South Americans and Qatari defender Ali Kenaoui playing in front of his home crowd.

In the women’s competition, Brazil lead the way with the medal and award-laden players. Specialist Juliana Oliveira and right back/wing Patricia Scheppa were both part of the 2018 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship All-star Team and teammates, left wing Nathalie Sena and pivot Renata Santiago, were part of the 2016 world championship best team.

The Brazilian pair of Pires and Scheppa were also part of the group of beach handball legends announced at the 2022 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships in Greece last year.

Masi: "Giant steps"

“The finals stage in Qatar - an important country in a continent that is making giant steps of global strategic importance - is a further stage in the growth of beach handball," said Chair of the IHF Beach Handball Working Group, Giampiero Masi to ihf.info on the eve of the event.

“For many years, the awarding of the organisation of major sporting events has taken into account the European summer season, but everyone must have the right to host an event that can bring with it important opportunities for those who host it and the continent in which the event is celebrated.
  
“Qatar is a relatively young country – speaking in a sporting context – but with a decade of hard work it has achieved a well-established worldwide recognition and even more so in beach handball where the men's national team is now recognised amongst the best in the world.

“During these two days of the competition we will see some of the best players in the world compete on the same sand that hosted the 2019 ANOC Beach World Games and with the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour more and more we are building a future for new generations so they can enjoy this fantastic sport too."

All 16 games will be shown live and free on the IHF YouTube Competitions channel which can be accessed HERE.

For an in-depth look at the schedule and mouthwatering clashes, click HERE.

To hear from some of those coaches and players involved with the games in Qatar, click HERE.

Each competition has its own mini-site with results and news: men’s HERE, women’s HERE.

2023 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour

Stage 4 - Finals
Location: Doha, Qatar
Dates: 3 to 4 November 
Men’s Teams: Brazil, Denmark, Qatar, Tunisia
Women’s Teams: Brazil, China, Poland, Tunisia

Previous stages:

Stage 1
Location: Maricá, Brazil
Dates: 26 to 30 April 
Men’s Ranking: 1. Brazil, 2. Argentina, 3. Portugal, 4. Uruguay, 5. USA, 6. Chile
Women’s Ranking: 1. Brazil, 2. Argentina, 3. USA, 4. Mexico, 5. Chile
Review (men), Review (women)    

Stage 2
Location: Hammamet, Tunisia
Dates: 20 to 22 June 
Men’s Ranking: 1. Tunisia, 2. Morocco, 3. Algeria, 4. Togo
Women’s Ranking: 1. Tunisia, 2. Kenya, 3. Algeria, 4. Mali
Review (men's and women's)

Stage 3
Location: Plock, Poland
Dates: 22 to 23 July
Men’s Ranking: 1. Denmark, 2. Croatia, 3. Qatar. 4. Poland
Women’s Ranking: 1. Germany, 2. Denmark, 3. Poland, 4. Croatia
Review (men), Review (women)    

About the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour

The IHF Beach Handball Global Tour was launched at the 2022 IHF Men's and Women's Beach Handball World Championships in Greece.

The Tour debuted in Gdansk, Poland, in July 2022, with Croatia winning the men's tournament and Spain taking the top spot in the women's tournament.

The 2023 Tour has visited Brazil, Tunisia and Poland and will end in Qatar with the finals event.