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. 

This will be the third consecutive year when the voting mechanisms are in place.

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 2025 IHF Men and Women’s World Championships. 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 2025, having impressed throughout the last year on the courts. The nominated players will be presented on a category-by-category basis.

For the 2025 IHF Male World Player of the Year, the nominees are Denmark’s right back Mathias Gidsel, Denmark’s goalkeeper Emil Nielsen and Croatia’s Ivan Martinovic.

The voting will be open for the fans from Sunday, 25 January 2026, from 12:00 CET, to Tuesday, 10 February 2026 at 23:59 CET, therefore more than two weeks for the fans to vote for their favourites and help them win the prestigious award. 

Emil Nielsen (Denmark)

Nielsen has been slowly becoming one of the top goalkeepers in the world and his performances have been nothing short of outstanding in 2025. The 28-year-old shotstopper has certainly become Denmark’s no.1 on his position and finally made it into the All-Star team of a major international competition at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship.

Denmark’s star had an otherworldly performance at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025, saving 125 shots – the joint-largest number of saves by any goalkeeper at a World Championship – for a fantastic 43% saving efficiency, lifting Denmark to another world title thanks to his contribution.

At FC Barcelona, his club, he won the domestic title, finished fourth in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League and was immense in the final of the 2025 IHF Men’s Club World Championship, when he helped his side earn the first title since 2019, with a 29-save outing in the final against Telekom Veszprém.

 

Ivan Martinović (Croatia)

Named captain of Croatia after Domagoj Duvnjak’s international retirement, Ivan Martinović has become one of the best right backs in the world, with a fantastic penchant for goals, as well as an incredible overview of the game.

At the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, Martinović lifted Croatia to an unexpected final, being the team’s top scorer, with 41 goals, as he continued picking up his form from 2024, when he became the clear starter on that position for the silver medallists at the World Championship. He also provided 24 assists and played a key role in Croatia’s defence in the competition.

At club level, the All-Star right back of the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship had an eventful year, moving from German side Rhein-Neckar Löwen to Hungarian powerhouse Veszprém HC in a bombshell transfer. At the 2025 IHF Men’s Club World Championship, Martinović had 14 goals, helping the Hungarian side finish second, after losing the final against FC Barcelona.

 

Mathias Gidsel (Denmark)

Since the introduction of the IHF World Player of the Year award, only two players have won it three times - Nikola Karabatić (2007, 2014 and 2016) and Mikkel Hansen (2011, 2015 and 2018). Only one player - Niklas Landin Jacobsen – has secured back-to-back titles. Now, Mathias Gidsel can make some more history of his own, after clinching the IHF World Player of the Year award in 2023 and 2024.

Gidsel has undoubtedly been the best player in the world over those years, but can he make it three years in a row, an unprecedented feature? Chances are that he can, due to his fantastic performances over the last months, where he earned the MVP award and the top scorer award at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, where he scored 74 goals – a competition-high performance, also delivering the largest number of assists, 45.

At club level, Gidsel featured in the final of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, where he was the top goal scorer of the competition, and also became champion in the German Bundesliga with Füchse Berlin, scoring a competition-high 274 goals. By all metrics, 2025 has been the best year of his career for the 26-year-old right back.