The coveted IHF World Player of the Year award return in full fledge, with four categories ready to find out their winners, after a transparent process of voting by the fans, coaches and the IHF Commission of Coaching and Methods members.

2023 marked the introduction of the IHF Young Male Player of the Year and the IHF Young Female Player of the Year, which underline the penchant for identifying and nurturing new talents. 

The fans have a say in the final standings of the IHF World Player of the Year awards, but the current formula sees an equal percentage of the final decision between three categories, for a better representation and a level-playing field for all the nominees. 

The fans will still have the power, as the votes casted will represent a third of the final standings. Another third will be reserved to the coaches who led their national teams at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The IHF Commission of Coaching and Methods (CCM) will have the final third of the decision, with the awards being sealed by the player that has the best percentage throughout the three categories.

For all categories, three players have been shortlisted by the IHF Commission of Coaching and Methods (CCM), based on their performances in 2024, having impressed throughout the last year on the courts. The nominated players will be presented on a category-by-category basis.

For the 2024 IHF Young Male World Player of the Year, the nominees are Germany’s right back Renars Uscins, Portugal’s right back Francisco Costa and Croatia’s goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanovic.

Voting will start on Friday, 7 March, at 12:00 CET, and only the players' performances from 2024 should be taken into account.

Renars Uscins (Germany)

In 2023, Uscins was a big part of Germany’s win in the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, on their home court. But then, Uscins morphed into a clear sollution for the senior team, having made his debut for Germany in the same year.

2024, though, has cemented the 22-year-old’s place in the squad, being the first option for Alfred Gislason in Germany’s set-up. And the last year saw Uscins secure his maiden medal with the senior team, clinching the silver at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where he shined on the court.

Uscins was the fourth best scorer in the competition, with 52 goals, got a place in the All-Star team, as the best right back of the Olympics, and also was the top scorer for his club, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf, in the German Bundesliga.

Francisco Costa (Portugal)

Costa turned 20 years old in February 2025, but has long been one of the brightest talents in world handball, since his emergence as a 16-year-old for Sporting CP. 2024 has just consolidated his appeal and importance to the teams he plays in – Sporting and Portugal – with some excellent displays throughout the year.

The right back looks certain to deputise in this position for the decade to come for Portugal, which can be an impressive force over the next years and saw Costa not only impress in the EHF European League Men, but also display his skills for the first time in the EHF Champions League Men, where Sporting had a fantastic autumn in 2024.

Dominik Kuzmanović (Croatia)

They say goalkeepers get better with time, but Kuzmanović, who turned 22 in August, has already been a crucial player for Croatia men’s national team, only one year after he represented the junior side at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship. 2024 has been an excellent year for Kuzmanovic, who made the move to the German Bundesliga, where he currently plays for VfL Gummersbach.

Kuzmanović helped Croatia qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with excellent performances in the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Germany, where his team secured the first place. At Paris 2024, Croatia did not make it to the quarter-finals, but Kuzmanović was the fourth best goalkeeper with an average of 33% saving efficiency.