The 16th edition of the IHF Men’s Super Globe will throw off in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, 7 November, with eight of the 12 participating teams featuring on the court, in the second edition of the competition with a 12-team line-up.

One of the debutants, San Fernando Handball, will be on the court, when they take on Kuwait SC, while the reigning champions, SC Magdeburg, will also feature in the last match, when the face Khaleej Club, the Saudi champions, which will be definitely supported by their passionate fans in the Dammam Sports Hall.

GROUP D
11:30 AST Al-Najma (BRN) vs  Industria Kielce (POL) 

In both their appearances at the IHF Men’s Super Globe, Industria Kielce finished third, in 2016 and in the previous edition, after conceding a painful loss against Barca in the semi-finals. Once again, though, Kielce cannot be overlooked, as they have plenty of talent and firepower on their roster, especially after receiving some good news over the last week.

Two crucial backs for Kielce, Alex Dujshebaev and Szymon Sicko, were back training after some injuries, and will definitely add firepower and experience to the squad. Goalkeeper Andreas Wolff has been getting into shape, by starting training once again, after a long break, but left back Hassan Kaddah, the top scorer of the last edition of the IHF Men’s Super Globe, is still a scratch for Kielce.

“The first match will be difficult. From what we know, practically half of this team plays in the Bahrain national team, and we will be traveling and training with the national team, so they might have an advantage,” said Alex Dujshebaev, for the official Kielce website.
Indeed, plenty of Al-Najma players featured for Bahrain in the recently-ended Asian Qualification Tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where Bahrain finished second, conceding the final against Japan.

Al-Najma are returning to the IHF Men’s Super Globe for the first time since 2018, as this will be their second appearance in the competition. Last time, they finished seventh without winning a match against an European side, therefore Kielce are still aiming to take the win, before they face the San Francisco CalHeat in the second match of the group.

GROUP B
13:45 AST Kuwait SC (KUW) vs San Fernando Handball (ARG)

Kuwait SC have made history earlier in the year after securing the title at the 2023 Arab Handball Championship of Champions, their maiden one in the competition, which enabled them to seal the precious ticket for the 2023 IHF Men’s Super Globe.

It meant that the Kuwaiti side made back-to-back appearances, after finishing in ninth place, but now their back line looks excellent, after the addition of talented Portuguese left back Andre Gomes. He will complete a star-studded line-up, which already had the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship top scorer, Frankis Marzo, and right back Angel Hernandez.

But whether Kuwait SC will be favoured against San Fernando Handball, it is still to be seen, as the debutants will likely use their hunger to exert some pressure. After winning the South and Central American Men's Club Handball Championship for the first time, San Fernando will try to represent their country and the continent with pride, boasting some experience in the squad, especially motivated by their country’s win at the 2023 Pan American Games, which also saw Argentina men’s senior national team earn a ticket for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

GROUP A
16:00 AST Al-Ahly (EGY) vs Al Noor Saudi Club (KSA)

Fresh from finishing in fourth place in the last edition of the IHF Men’s Super Globe, the reigning champions in the 2023 African Handball Super Cup, Al-Ahly, face a titanic challenge to progress to the semi-finals once again, having been drawn in Group A, alongside the most decorated team in the history of the competition, Barca, and hosts Al Noor Saudi Club.

In their previous appearance at the IHF Men’s Super Globe, Al Noor finished seventh in 2021, and their path towards bettering that result looks difficult to say the least, especially due to the superior quality and experience in Al-Ahly or Barca’s rosters.

Nevertheless, Al Noor, who were the runners-up of the Saudi Arabian league, will be aiming to exert some pressure on their opponents, having some experience of their own in the roster, with players like goalkeeper Marouen Maggaiz ready to help some of their less experienced teammates to improve.

Al-Ahly have recently dominated the 2023 CAHB Men's African Club Championship, and have swept their Asian opponents at the IHF Men’s Super Globe, including a 36:30 win in the first match of the previous edition of the competition against Al Noor’s rivals, Mudhar.

GROUP C
19:30 AST SC Magdeburg (GER) vs Khaleej Club (KSA)

Magdeburg have one of the best records in the history of the IHF Men’s Super Globe, winning 11 of the 12 matches played and entering this edition as the reigning champions, as well as riding a nine-game winning streak.

The German side has either finished as champions, in 2021 and 2022, or as the runners-up in 2002, as they boast a winning percentage of 91.6%, an excellent beacon of consistency, in a competition which gathers some of the best teams in the world.

But Magdeburg will be making their debut in this edition against hosts Khaleej, which will have once again thousands of fans flocking to the Dammam Sports Hall to cheer for them. The reigning Saudi Arabian champions have made some interesting transfers, with experienced centre back Petar Nenadic and line player Mamdouh Shebib joining this season.

However, Magdeburg will be favoured, as they have regained some momentum after a shaky start. The German side, which will not rely on Gisli Kristjansson, who is injured, have won four games on the trot in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League and are second in the Bundesliga, with nine wins in 11 matches, and will look to boost their chances for another title with a win here against Khaleej.

The two sides also met in the preliminary round in the last edition, when Magdeburg took a 35:29 win over Khaleej.