The first edition of the IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship will take place in Casablanca, Morocco, between 24 October and 1 November, with 12 teams at the start.

The draw for the preliminary round of the competition took place on Thursday, 2 October, on the outskirts of the 2025 IHF Men’s Club World Championship, providing four well-balanced groups.

The competition will see three groups of four teams each in the preliminary round, with the winners of each group, plus the best second-placed side qualifying for the semi-finals.

Morocco, as the hosts, had the prerogative to choose their group after three teams were already drawn and they chose Group A, where they will face Egypt, Brazil and the United States of America.

In Group B, Spain will meet Tunisia, Republic of Korea and Qatar, with the other four teams – Germany, Argentina, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Puerto Rico – heading to Group C.

Five continents – Africa, Asia, Europe, the North American and Caribbean and the South and Central America – will be represented at the start of the competition, with three teams from Africa and Asia each, plus two teams from Europe, the North American and Caribbean and the South and Central America taking part.

Hosts Morocco, plus Egypt and Tunisia will represent Africa, while the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Korea and Qatar – the top three teams at the 2025 AHF Asian Men’s Under-17 Handball Championship – will represent Asia.

Germany and Spain will be featuring from Europe, while Argentina and Brazil are the South and Central American teams participating. The line-up is completed by Puerto Rico and the United States of America.

IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship – preliminary round

Group A: Egypt, Morocco, Brazil, United States of America
Group B: Spain, Tunisia, Republic of Korea, Qatar
Group C: Germany, Argentina, Islamic Republic of Iran, Puerto Rico