A bronze medal at the YAC16 EURO in Bulgaria last year ensured that the German men booked not only their spot at the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship in Tunisia, but a shot at a place for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal next year.

And while dreams of their first Olympic Games are present, immediate thoughts turn to what this age group can do at Tunisia 2025 where they will face debutants Kenya and Tanzania, plus reigning European champions Hungary in the preliminary stage.

Last year in Bulgaria, Konrad Bassa’s side won their first five games (vs France, Switzerland, Portugal, Ukraine and Czechia) before tasting defeat for the first time in their final main round game, against Sweden.

The knock-out stages saw another defeat of Portugal, in the quarter-finals, but a semi-finals loss against eventual silver medallists Spain. However, the Germans bounced back to make the podium, seeing off  Croatia 2-0 and booking their spot in North Africa.

“Our preliminary group promises exciting and new impressions,” said coach Bassa about the immediate challenge in Tunisia, to ihf.info. “With Hungary, we face the reigning European champions and one of the top favourites, but we have not yet played against them with this age group. Kenya and Tanzania are unknown opponents for us as we have very little information about them.

“We are expecting a high-class, international competition, with Brazil, Argentina and Iran among the favourites alongside the European teams. Our aim is to reach the main round, establish a good starting position for the quarter-final and then, subsequently, achieve the best possible result.

“By qualifying for the world championship we are entering a new sporting level,” added the coach, whose 10-man squad includes seven players who play the club beach handball for Nordlichter. “We are not only looking forward to the sporting challenge, but also to the intercultural exchange and getting to know the teams from other continents.”

Bassa’s final preparation camp saw the team compete in the Karacho Cup – an ebt stage held in Munster, Germany at the end of May. Alongside the competition itself, a three-team mini tournament was held with France and Switzerland, with the German representative side finishing fourth in the cup itself.

Seven of the squad of 12 from Bulgaria have been included in Bassa’s 10 for Tunisia, with the additions of Paul Biermann, Tim Perse and Tayo Rodriguez. Youri Witte, Lenn Reinhard, Lennart Otte, Finn Dumpert and Kristian Seidel, who all were part of the squad in Bulgaria are on the reserve list for Tunisia.

“We are incredibly proud to have qualified for the world championship and are really looking forward to this major highlight in our young careers,” said captain Theo Jakobi. “We will do everything we can to make this experience unforgettable and like every participant in a world championship, we dream of a title – plus we hope to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games.”

Whatever happens in Tunisia, the German involvement – which also includes their women’s team – is integral to continue the rise of the sport in a country traditionally linked to the seven-a-side ‘indoor’ version.

“It has been a great goal for the German Handball Federation over the last decade to develop a strong and successful youth education in beach handball,” explained Jens Pfander, Head of Beach Handball at the German Handball Federation, to ihf.info.

“We are very happy to be at the IHF Men’s and Women’s Youth Beach Handball World Championships in Tunisia with both teams for the second time in a row. It is important for the young athletes to compete on a top level with the teams from all over the world to be best prepared for a beach handball career. As a discipline of handball, beach handball needs these highlight events like the world championships to create more interest in our beloved sport all over the world.”

2025 represents the second time the German men have appeared at an IHF Men’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship after their eighth-place finish at Greece 2022.

On the island of Crete, they beat Argentina, Ukraine and Uruguay 2-0 in each of their three preliminary group games, before going to shoot-outs in all three of their main round games, beating Jordan and Greece, but losing to Spain.

These results were enough for a quarter-final spot, but a feisty game against France saw the French take the shoot-out 8:6 to end German medal hopes and they ended with two losses, against Ukraine and Spain, to finish eighth.

Coach: Konrad Bassa
Key players: Yannik Alt (Specialist), Finn Jacobsen (Right Wing), Theo Jakobi (Defensive Specialist)
Qualification information: YAC 16 EURO 2024 – 3rd
History in tournament: 2017: DNQ, 2022: 8th
Group at Tunisia 2025: Group B – Hungary (HUN), Germany (GER), Tanzania (TAN), Kenya (KEN)