The third edition of the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour will get underway in Maricá, Brazil.

From 8 to 12 May, Stage 1 of the 2024 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour will see 12 national teams (six men’s, six women’s) from four continents compete on the South American sand. 

Hosts Brazil, along with Argentina, United States of America and Uruguay will field both men’s and women’s teams with the addition of Germany and Qatar in the men’s event and Mexico and Portugal in the women’s event.

The opening stage in Maricá is part of a new three-year deal which will see the city host the opening stages of the 2024, 2025 and 2026 editions of the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour following the signing of a contract between the IHF and the Brazilian Handball Confederation (CBHB), with the support of the city of Maricà.

Maricá is situated on the South Atlantic coast and is just 25km from Rio de Janeiro. Last year, it hosted the opening stage of the 2023 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour which saw the host nation win both the men’s and women’s competitions.

For the 2024 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour: Stage 1 women’s competition, Brazil, Argentina, United States of America and Mexico all return to action in Maricá, while Uruguay and Portugal make their Tour debuts.

For the men, Brazil, Argentina, United States of America and Uruguay make their second appearance at a Maricá Tour stage, while both Germany and Qatar appear for the first time in the South American country having previously appeared on the 2022 and 2023 Tours respectively.

The IHF officials have also been announced for Maricá, with Diaz Mery Laura/Vanesa Soledad Vignoni (ARG), Lucas Picanço Brasil/Wictor Pereira dos Santos (BRA), Jose Maria Galeano Roa/Jose Maria Rodriguez Baez (PAR) and Pedro Luis Ortega Párraga/Miguel Angel Aular (VEN) whistling the games.

The delegates include Juan Manuel de Arma (ARG), Luiz Filipe Galvão da Silva Caldas (BRA) and Ioannis Meimaridis who is also in attendance in his role as a member of the IHF Beach Handball Working Group (BHWG).

Stage 2 and the further stages of the 2024 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour will be revealed in due course.

2024 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour: Stage 1
Location: Maricá, Brazil
Dates: 8 to 12 May

• Men’s Teams: Brazil, Argentina, United States of America, Uruguay, Germany, Qatar
   
• Women’s Teams: Brazil, Argentina, United States of America, Uruguay, Mexico, Portugal

About the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour
The IHF Beach Handball Global Tour was launched at the 2022 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships in Greece and debuted in Gdansk, Poland with Croatia winning the men’s tournament and Spain taking the top spot in the women’s tournament.

Four teams – Croatia, Germany, Poland and Spain – participated in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
The 2023 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour visited Brazil, Tunisia and Poland before the Finals Stage was held in Doha, Qatar in November, with Qatar’s men and Brazil’s women taking the overall titles.

Overall, a total of 28 teams from 19 nations competed in the 2023 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour including Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Poland, Tunisia and United States of America (both men’s and women’s teams), Morocco, Portugal, Qatar, Togo, and Uruguay (men only) and Germany, Kenya, Mali, Mexico and People’s Republic of China (women only).