While the eyes of the handball world are moving on from the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, athletes, coaches and beach handball fans are preparing for an action-packed year ahead.

We take a look at the big events already confirmed on the sand around the world in 2023, with announcements to come soon about the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour.

10-19 March 
AHF Men’s and Women’s Asian Beach Handball Championships
Bali, Indonesia

The ninth edition of the continental championship will be held in Bali, also home to the forthcoming ANOC World Beach Games in the same city.

The previous edition of the championship was held in two locations only last year, the men’s edition in Iran and the women’s edition in Thailand.

In Iran, the home side caused a sensation, beating much-fancied Qatar in the final match of the round-robin format to take the title, with both teams moving through to the 2022 IHF Men’s Beach Handball Championship in Greece this June. Qatar had won the previous five editions.

Vietnam took the women’s honours in Bangkok, coming top of the round-robin competition, which also featured Thailand and India. Vietnam finished as runners-up at the last edition of the event in PR of China back in 2019.

More info: www.asianhandball.org/event/9th-asian-mens-womens-beach-handball-championship/

20-23 April
OCHF Men’s and Women’s Oceania Beach Handball Championships
Gold Coast, Australia

The continental championship returns to Queensland’s Gold Coast after the New Zealand men and Australian women won the last reduced editions of the competition in April 2022. 

Due to the difficulties with travel across the Oceania region at the time due to COVID-19, the men’s and women’s sides from Australia and New Zealand were the only national teams able to participate in the continental championship, which was held in a best-of-three series.

2023 will see an expanded competition with the women’s team of American Samoa confirmed – a team likely to feature players from the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games – and both men’s and women’s teams from the Cook Islands, which recently held their national championships. 

24-28 May
EHF Men’s and Women’s European Beach Handball Championships
Nazaré, Portugal

The surfing destination of Nazaré on the Atlantic coast in Portugal will provide the epic backdrop for the 13th edition of the European continental senior beach handball championships.

A world-renowned beach handball location, Nazaré will welcome teams from across Europe, following on from the success of 2021, which saw a record 37 teams initially register to take part.

Two years ago, Denmark’s men and Germany’s women won the titles on the sand in Varna, Bulgaria.

More info: www.eurohandball.com

8-11 June
ebt Finals
Antalya, Turkey

The tourist city of Antalya in Turkey will welcome the best club teams from around the European beach handball circuit in June as they face off against each other for continental glory.

Last year, the event was played just before the 2022 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships in Heraklion, Greece, with many national team players doing battle on the Sicilian sand in Italy.

Danish side Team Blue Bee and Portuguese team LX50 Handball won gold in the women’s and men’s competitions on the sandy beaches of Isola delle Femmine. 
 
It was a historic win for LX50, who became the first Portuguese side to clinch the ebt Finals trophy.

More info: www.eurohandball.com

20-22 June
3rd European Games
Krakow Malopolska, Poland

Eight men’s teams and eight women’s teams will do battle on the sand at the Tarnów Beach Arena in the third edition of the ‘Olympics for Europe’.

Poland, as hosts, automatically qualify a team each, with the remaining seven in each competition coming from the EHF Men’s and Women’s European Beach Handball Championships.

You can find the qualification pathway here. 

More info: www.ie2023.pl/en/

24-30 June
ANOCA African Beach Games
Hammamet, Tunisia

The first African Beach Games were held on the island of Sal, Cape Verde in 2019 with Tunisia’s men and women winning both titles.

The event was also historic for beach handball in the continent as it incorporated the debut edition of the CAHB Men’s and Women’s African Beach Handball Championships.

Now as hosts, Tunisia will be keen to put on a good show in front of their fans and defend their titles.

More info: www.africaolympic.com/en/home/

29 June - 2 July
EHF Men’s and Women’s U17 European Beach Handball Championships
Izmir, Turkey

The Aegean coastal city of Izmir in Turkey will host the next generation of beach handball youth talent when the 2023 edition of this event gets underway at the end of June.

Bulgaria was the setting for the previous event, with Sweden’s men and Hungary’s women taking the youth honours in Varna in July 2021.

More info: www.eurohandball.com

14-21 July
South American Beach Games
Santa Marta, Colombia

The Caribbean coastal city of Santa Marta will host the fifth edition of the event, which has seen beach handball appear in all editions since it started back in 2009.

The previous edition of the multi-sport event took place in Rosario, Argentina, in 2019. Brazil won the men’s competition and the hosts took the women’s edition in front of a passionate home crowd at La Florida, beating Brazil for the title – their first win against their neighbours.

More info: www.odesur.org/

5-12 August
ANOC World Beach Games
Bali, Indonesia

Up to 240 athletes in 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams will compete in the second edition of the ANOC World Beach Games.

After a successful first edition in Doha, Qatar, back in 2019 the event returns with Denmark’s women and Brazil’s men looking to defend their titles won four years ago.

You can find the qualification pathway here.

More info: www.anocolympic.org/anoc-world-beach-games/anoc-world-beach-games-bali-2023/

2-9 September
Mediterranean Beach Games
Heraklion, Greece

The island of Heraklion sees beach handball return to its sand as the third edition of the Mediterranean Beach Games gets underway in September.

The Karteros Beach Sports Centre, which will host the Games, was first used in June 2022 by the IHF for the IHF Men’s and Women’s Youth Beach Handball Championships, followed directly after by the senior editions.

Greece hosted the last edition of the Games back in Patras in 2019, with the home nation winning both the men’s and women’s competitions.  

More info: www.heraklion23.gr

19-25 September
EUSA Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball Championships
Malaga, Spain

The best university beach handball athletes in Europe will converge in Malaga, Spain, at the end of the European summer.

The first edition of the event was held near Jarun Lake in Croatia in 2019 with 16 universities from eight countries represented.  

The University of Barcelona won the women’s competition, and the University of Zagreb took the men’s title.

After a pause in proceedings due to the global covid pandemic, the event returned in 2022 to Lodz, Poland, with the University of Zagreb winning both the men’s and women’s competitions. 

More info: www.eusa.eu

Photos: IHF/EHF – Kolektiff images