The 16 teams for the men’s and women’s beach handball competitions of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games have been confirmed.

Running from 31 October to 13 November in Senegal, Dakar 2026 marks the second time that beach handball will be part of the Olympic Games, following its debut at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Games are set to take place across five matchdays, from Monday 9 to Friday 13 November at the 'Saly Beach West' venue, a popular seaside and tourist resort based in the Thiès Region on the ‘Petite Côte’ of Senegal, south of the capital, Dakar.

The women’s competition will feature:

• Croatia (CRO)
• France (FRA)
• Kenya (KEN)
• Mexico (MEX)
• People’s Republic of China (CHN)
• Senegal (SEN)
• Spain (ESP)
• Uruguay (URU)

The men’s competition will feature:

• Brazil (BRA)
• Cook Islands (COK)
• Germany (GER)
• Hungary (HUN)
• Puerto Rico (PUR)
• Senegal (SEN)
• Thailand (THA)
• Tunisia (TUN)

In total, 15 nations from six continents will be represented, with host nation Senegal the only nation to feature in both the men’s and women’s events.

To read more about Senegal’s preparations, visit here.

The continental breakdown is as follows:

• Asian Handball Federation (AHF): 2 teams – People’s Republic of China, Thailand
• Confederation of African Handball (CAHB): 4 teams – Kenya, Senegal x 2, Tunisia
• European Handball Federation (EHF): 5 teams – Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Spain
• North America and the Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC): 2 teams – Mexico, Puerto Rico
• Oceania Continent Handball Federation (OCHF): 1 team – Cook Islands
• South and Central America Handball Confederation (SCAHC): 2 teams – Brazil, Uruguay

Qualification for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games was based on a set of principles agreed by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), plus a precondition for teams to participate at the 2025 IHF Men's and Women's Youth (U17) Beach Handball World Championships, which took place in Hammamet, Tunisia in 2025.

National Olympic Committees (NOC’s) have to select their athletes (‘Sport Entries’) by September 2026.

Beach Handball at the Youth Olympic Games

The 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will be held in Dakar, Senegal from 31 October to 13 November 2026. It will feature 25 sports in the official competition programme, with 10 additional disciplines across 151 events, all with full gender balance: 72 events for women, 72 for men, and 7
mixed events.

Dakar will be the fourth edition of the YOG, following its debut in Singapore (2010), the second edition in Nanjing, China (2014) and 2018 edition, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Indoor/7-a-side handball featured at the 2010 and 2014 editions, before being replaced by Beach Handball at the 2018 edition, the debut event won by Argentina (women) and Spain (men).

The YOG is a major event which embodies the Olympic spirit, sporting excellence and the promotion of youth. The event has become a pillar of the Olympic Movement and is more than just sporting competitions. The YOG are part of an educational and cultural programme aimed at instilling the Olympic values of respect, friendship and excellence in young people around the world.

The election of Dakar as the host city of the YOG 2026 marks a historic moment for Africa. The decision was taken at the 133rd IOC Session in October 2018, making Dakar the first African city to host the YOG.

Initially planned for 2022, Dakar was postponed to 2026 due to the Covid-19 pandemic which has allowed for better planning of the event and ensured its success.

For more information, visit here.