The draw event for the 2026 IHF Men's and Women's Beach Handball World Championships will be held on Saturday 2 May 2026 at 13:00 (CEST) in Zagreb, Croatia in the trophy room of the Croatian Handball Federation (HRS).

The draw will be streamed live via the International Handball Federation (IHF) YouTube Channel and will feature 32 national teams who will travel from across the world to compete for global glory on the shores of Jarun Lake in the Croatian capital.

The 2026 IHF Men's and Women's Beach Handball World Championships will take place at Jarun Lake, Zagreb, Croatia from 23 to 28 June 2026.

Draw procedure
The draw procedure for the men’s and women’s competition are the same. Teams have been allocated a pot 1, 2, 3 or 4, based on their performances.

The pots are:

Men's Competition
Pot 1: Croatia, Germany, Spain, Hungary
Pot 2: France, Portugal, Brazil, Denmark
Pot 3: Argentina, Oman, Tunisia, Islamic Republic of Iran 
Pot 4: United States of America, Australia, Puerto Rico, Italy

Women's competition
Pot 1: Germany, Spain, Argentina, Norway
Pot 2: Netherlands, Croatia, Denmark, Greece
Pot 3: Brazil, Vietnam, Philippines, Cook Islands*
Pot 4: United States of America, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Benin

1. Teams in pot 4 are drawn to groups A-D in row 4.
2. Teams in pot 3 are drawn to groups A-D in row 3.
3. Teams in pot 1 are drawn to groups A-D in row 1.
4. Organiser CRO has the prerogative to assign itself to a group of its choice in row 2.
5. Remaining teams in pot 2 are drawn to groups A-D in row 2.

Participating Teams

Men's competition
1. Hosts and Reigning World Champions: Croatia
2. AHF (Asia): Oman, 1st – Asian Championship
3. AHF: Islamic Republic of Iran, 2nd – Asian Championship
4. EHF (Europe): Germany, 1st – European Championship
5. EHF: Spain, 2nd – European Championship
6. EHF: Hungary, 4th – European Championship
7. EHF: France, 5th – European Championship
8. EHF: Portugal, 6th – European Championship
9. EHF: Denmark, 7th – European Championship
10. EHF: Italy, 8th – European Championship
11. CAHB (Africa): Tunisia, 1st – African Championship
12. OCHF (Oceania): Australia, 1st – Oceania Championship
13. SCAHC (South and Central America): Brazil, 1st – South and Central American Championship
14. SCAHC: Argentina, 2nd – South and Central American Championship 
15. NACHC (North America and the Caribbean): United States of America, 1st – North America and the Caribbean Championship
16. NACHC: Puerto Rico, 2nd – North America and the Caribbean Championship

Women's competition
1. Hosts: Croatia
2. Reigning World Champions: Germany
3. AHF (Asia): Vietnam, 1st – Asian Championship
4. AHF: Philippines, 2nd – Asian Championship
5. EHF (Europe): Spain, 1st – European Championship
6. EHF: Norway, 2nd – European Championship
7. EHF: Netherlands, 4th – European Championship
8. EHF: Denmark, 5th – European Championship
9. EHF: Greece, 6th – European Championship
10. CAHB (Africa): Benin, 1st – African Championship
11. OCHF (Oceania): Cook Islands, 2nd – Oceania Championship*
12. SCAHC (South and Central America): Argentina, 1st – South and Central American Championship
13. SCAHC: Brazil, 2nd – South and Central American Championship
14. SCAHC: Uruguay, 1st - South and Central American Handball Confederation Final Qualification Tournament
15. NACHC (North America and the Caribbean): United States of America, 1st – North America and the Caribbean Championship
16. NACHC: Puerto Rico, 2nd – North America and the Caribbean Championship

*After the Australian Handball Federation informed the IHF last week that their women’s team were not able to compete at the 2026 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship, and as per IHF Competition regulations, their place was offered first to the continent from which the team came from, in this case Oceania (OCHF) and runners-up of the continental qualification event, Cook Islands, who accepted the place.

2026 IHF Men's and Women's Beach Handball World Championships

Competition Format
The men’s and women’s competitions feature 16 teams each, initially divided into four preliminary round groups of four teams each.

The top three teams in each group (12 in total) move through to two main round groups of six teams each, with the top four in each then moving through to the quarter-finals and subsequent semi-finals, bronze medal, placement and final matches.

The bottom team in each of the four preliminary groups will move into the consolation round.

Match schedule
Once the draw is complete, the match schedule and throw-off times will be decided and communicated in due course via IHF.info. Please note – the IHF reserves the right to change the throw-off times and other details of the match schedule at any time within the principles of the ‘Regulations for IHF Competitions’.

Playing squads
All teams have to provide a provisional list of a maximum of 20 players by 10 May 2026. All players must be eligible to play and be a minimum of 16 years old (born by, or earlier than, 2010).