IHF bodies convene to discuss past and future developments
10 Oct. 2022
Friday, 7 October, was a full day at the IHF headquarters, with several high-profile bodies convening via video conference. The IHF Council and the IHF Executive Committee both met for the third time in the 2021-2025 electoral period, before a joint meeting of the IHF Council with the IHF Member Federations was held.
Overview of the IHF Council Meeting
The IHF Council convened by video conference for their third meeting in the 2021-2025 electoral period, with several topics on the agenda.
After the IHF President informed about his activities over the course of the past months, reports were presented for the 2022 IHF Youth and Senior Beach Handball World Championships in Greece, the IHF Women's Junior (U20) and Youth (U18) World Championships and for The World Games 2022 in the USA.
An overview of the bidders for organising the next Beach Handball World Championship editions was also made before the topic moved to the resin-free ball, first introduced in a major competition this summer, at the 2022 IHF Women's Youth (U18) World Championship in North Macedonia.
IHF Executive Committee meeting in brief
The IHF Executive Committee convened by video conference for their third meeting in the 2021-2025 electoral period, with several issues and topics discussed.
The main items on the agenda were a comprehensive evaluation of the 2022 Women's Junior (U20) World Championship in Slovenia and the 2022 IHF Youth (U18) World Championship in North Macedonia from different perspectives, including the referee assessment.
The competition and classification reports for the first-ever IHF Four-a-Side Wheelchair Handball World Championship in Egypt was also ratified before the meeting moved on to future competitions.
The 2022 World and European Wheelchair Handball Championship (Six-a-Side) in Portugal, due to take place in November, was also discussed, while the delegate and final referee nominations for the 28th IHF Men's World Championship, scheduled to take place in Poland and Sweden next January, were approved.
The last point of the competitions part of the IHF Executive Committee Meeting was the nomination of the delegates for the 2023 Men's Junior (U21) World Championship in Germany and Greece.
Next, the IHF Executive Committee focused on the implementation and development of the IHF New Markets' Project in Great Britain.
Joint meeting between the IHF Council and the IHF Member Federations
Friday also saw a joint meeting of the IHF Council with the IHF Member Federations, where various topics were discussed.
After the welcome from the IHF President Dr Hassan Moustafa, IHF Commission of Coaching and Methods Chairman Dietrich Späte presented a report on the first use of a resin-free ball – the Molten d60 PRO – at a major international competition this summer, with the ball being considered a revolution in handball, as much positive input was received after the first appearance in the 2022 IHF Women's Youth (U18) World Championship. After the use at North Macedonia 2022 and with the feedback from the participating teams considered, conclusions have been drawn for the further development of the ball.
Afterwards, the discussion moved on to the 2023 Ordinary IHF Congress, due to take in Katowice, Poland, from 3 to 5 November.
With an eye on the recent past, the first IHF Four-a-Side Wheelchair Handball World Championship, held in Egypt last month, was reviewed before the meeting moved on to the future.
After a presentation of the key facts of the 2023 IHF Men's World Championship, the meeting concluded with a brief report on the status of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where handball will feature once again.