The schedule for all 48 games of the men’s and women’s beach handball competitions of The World Games Chengdu 2025 has been revealed.

24 games in each competition will take place over six days of match action featuring 16 teams representing 10 nations from four continents (Africa, Asia, Europe and South America).

Croatia, Denmark, Germany, People’s Republic of China, Portugal and Spain will field both men’s and women’s teams, with Brazil and Tunisia sending their men’s teams and Argentina and Vietnam appearing in the women’s competition.

The draw for competitions was made earlier this month, with the following preliminary groups set:

Women’s Competition
Group A: Vietnam (VIE), Spain (ESP), Germany (GER), Denmark (DEN)
Group B: Croatia (CRO), Portugal (POR), Argentina (ARG), People’s Republic of China (CHN)

Men’s Competition
Group A: Brazil (BRA), Germany (GER), Croatia (CRO), Portugal (POR)
Group B: Tunisia (TUN), Spain (ESP), Denmark (DEN), People’s Republic of China (CHN)

Teams will appear in two initial preliminary groups of four teams each in their respective competition, with all eight teams moving into the quarter-finals, then semi-finals and medal matches.

To read player and coach reactions to the preliminary group draw, click HERE.

Host nation gets competitions underway in Chengdu

The World Games beach handball competitions get underway with the host nation China taking on Croatia on the central court and Argentina facing debutants Portugal on court 2 in the women’s competition at 10am in the morning on Thursday 7 August.

Women’s title-holders Germany then play 2017 bronze medallists Spain at 1140, followed by Denmark taking on Asian champions Vietnam to conclude the opening day of women’s games.

The men’s competition gets underway with reigning champions Croatia playing Germany on the central court at 1050, with Portugal and three-times The World Games gold medallists Brazil (2009, 2013, 2017) playing on court 2.

Home nation China then get their campaign off to a start against first-timers Tunisia on the central court at 1230, with the all-European clash between Denmark and Spain on court 2 concluding the opening day.

“All of the athletes will love the Olympic-like environment. They will be living in a multi-sports village, mingling with other sporting disciplines and experiencing the international camaraderie,” said Chair of the IHF Beach Handball Working Group, Giampiero Masi ahead of the event.

“The Beach Handball competitions will be held at the Xinglong Lake Wetland Park which has excellent accessibility and has been designed for both elite competition and lasting community use. There will be some intense heat and high humidity weather conditions we might encounter, but we just need to find the best solution in the moment – as sports people, we know how to adapt to various situations.

“The organising committee of The World Games Chengdu 2025 are keen to emphasise beach handball’s speed, athleticism, and spectator appeal and we look forward to welcoming everyone to come and experience our sport.”

For more information on The World Games visit HERE, to buy tickets, click HERE.

The World Games Chengdu 2025 – Beach Handball teams and schedule
(All times local, CST)

Thursday 7 August 

Preliminary Group

Women’s Competition
1000    CHN vs CRO, ARG vs POR
1140    GER vs ESP, DEN vs VIE

Men’s Competition
1050    CRO vs GER, POR vs BRA
1230    CHN vs TUN, DEN vs ESP

Friday 8 August

Women’s Competition
1530    VIE vs GER, ESP vs DEN
1710    POR vs CHN, CRO vs ARG

Men’s Competition
1620    ESP vs CHN, TUN vs DEN
1800    BRA vs CRO, GER vs POR

Saturday 9 August

Women’s Competition
1530    ARG vs CHN, POR vs CRO
1710    GER vs DEN, ESP vs VIE

Men’s Competition
1620    CRO vs POR, GER vs BRA
1800    DEN vs CHN, ESP vs TUN

Sunday 10 August

Women’s Competition
1000, 1140, 1530, 1710    Quarter-Finals

Men’s Competition
1050, 1440, 1620, 1800    Quarter-Finals

Monday 11 August

Women’s Competition
1050    Placement 5-8 Round
1530    Semi-Final 1
1710    Semi-Final 2

Men’s Competition
1000    Placement 5-8 Round
1620    Semi-Final 1
1800    Semi-Final 2

Tuesday 12 August

Women’s Competition
1050    5/6 Placement Match, 7/8 Placement Match
1430    Bronze Medal Match
1630    Gold Medal Match/Final

Men’s Competition
1000    5/6 Placement Match, 7/8 Placement Match
1530    Bronze Medal Match
1730    Gold Medal Match/Final

About The World Games
The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the IWGA, organised with the support of the International Olympic Committee.

Chengdu 2025 will be the 12th edition of The World Games, the most recent being held in Birmingham, USA, last July, with 3,600 athletes from 34 sports and 100 countries taking part.

Beach handball has been part of The World Games since it was introduced as a demonstration/invitational sport in Japan in 2001. It followed in Germany (2005) and Chinese Taipei (2009), before becoming a full sport at the 2013 edition in Colombia and then continuing in Poland (2017), before the USA (2022), where Croatia (men) and Germany (women) won the beach handball titles.

The 12th edition of The World Games will take place from 7 to 17 August 2025 in Chengdu, People’s Republic of China with Beach Handball one of over 30 sporting disciplines on the event programme. 

For further information, visit www.theworldgames.org.