September will bring another busy stretch on the international handball calendar, with the 19th IHF Men's Club World Championship, the 4th IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship and the inaugural senior editions of the IHF Nations Trophy all taking centre stage.

The month will begin with the launch of the new IHF Nations Trophy senior pathway, before the world's best wheelchair handball teams meet in Spain and the leading men's club sides from across the globe gather in Egypt for the fight for the Club World Championship crown.

The first major event on the schedule will be the IHF Nations Trophy, which enters its senior era in September following the successful development of the IHF Trophy at youth and junior level. The first competitions will take place in South America, Africa and Oceania, providing national teams with additional international competition and links to their respective continental championships.

In Lima, Peru, the Women's IHF Nations Trophy South American Zone will run from 2 to 6 September, with Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru and Venezuela competing. The top two teams will earn a place at the South and Central American Women's Handball Championship. At the same time, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, will host the Africa Zone III tournament, with Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo involved.

The Nations Trophy will continue in Wellington, New Zealand, from 10 to 14 September, where Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, New Caledonia, New Zealand and Tahiti will compete. The tournament will also serve as the Oceania Continental Championship, with the winner earning the right to participate in the Asian Women's Championship. A second African tournament, in Lusaka, Zambia, will follow from 15 to 19 September, with Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe contesting the Zone VI event. The Nations Trophy programme will then continue in Guatemala from 29 September to 3 October and in Madagascar from 30 September to 4 October.

Running alongside the Nations Trophy will be the most significant events on the handball calendar. The 4th IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship will be staged in Granollers, Spain, from 16 to 20 September, with a record 12 teams at the start. For the first time, all six continents will be represented, while Libya, Australia and Lithuania will make their World Championship debuts.

The four preliminary groups are already set. Hosts Spain will face Libya and France in Group A, the United States of America will meet Japan and Australia in Group B, Brazil, Portugal and India form Group C, while reigning champions Egypt, Chile and Lithuania make up Group D. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals, with every side guaranteed at least five matches during the tournament.

The month will then reach its club handball highlight with the 19th IHF Men's Club World Championship, which returns to the New Administrative Capital in Egypt from 24 September to 1 October for a third consecutive edition. The competition has expanded to 10 teams, introducing a new format which begins with a Preliminary Qualification phase before the group stage.

Reigning champions FC Barcelona headline the field, having won a record six titles. They will be joined in the Group Phase by Füchse Berlin, Al Ahly, Montada, Burgan SC and E.C. Pinheiros, with two more places determined through the opening qualification ties between Los Angeles Handball Club and Zamalek SC and between Sydney Uni and Veszprém HC.

The new Club World Championship format ensures that the opening day already carries major significance. The winners of the two Preliminary Qualification matches advance to the Group Phase, while the losing teams remain involved in the competition through a 9th/10th-place play-off. The eight teams reaching the Group Phase will then contest three rounds of round-robin matches before the tournament concludes on 1 October with the bronze-medal match, final and placement matches.

European club handball will also return to action in September. The EHF Champions League Women will throw off on 5 and 6 September, with 16 teams divided into two groups of eight. Defending champions Metz Handball open their campaign away to Storhamar Håndball Elite, while other opening-day fixtures include Krim Ljubljana against CSM Bucuresti and Borussia Dortmund against Team Esbjerg.

Four days later, the EHF Champions League Men will begin a new era. The competition has expanded from 16 to 24 teams, divided into six groups of four, with the first matches scheduled for 9 and 10 September. One Veszprém HC will host FC Porto, Aalborg Håndbold meet Paris Saint-Germain Handball, HC Zagreb face RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko and Industria Kielce welcome HC Kriens-Luzern on the opening night, while reigning champions Barça begin their title defence against SAH Aarhus.

September will also be a major month for the development of men's handball in Africa, with the 33rd African Men's Junior Championship and the 22nd African Men's Youth Championship both taking place in Côte d'Ivoire. The U20 competition will be held in Abidjan from 5 to 12 September, with 16 national teams divided into four groups. The group phase will lead into the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, with the continental title at stake on 12 September.

Just three days later, the spotlight will shift to the next generation, as the 22nd African Men's Youth Championship gets underway in Côte d'Ivoire from 15 to 22 September. The 12 participating teams will be divided into four groups, with the competition providing another opportunity for Africa's emerging players to gain high-level international experience.

For the 20th Asian Games in Japan, handball will feature nine men's teams and seven women's teams. In the men's tournament, Qatar, Japan, People's Republic of China and Hong Kong China form Group A, while Bahrain, Kuwait, Republic of Korea, Islamic Republic of Iran and Kazakhstan are in Group B. The women's competition will be played in a single round-robin group featuring Japan, Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong China, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

The Asian Games will take place from 19 to 29 September 2026, adding another major continental test to an already busy month for handball.