Spain is arguably the most advanced and developed beach handball nation in the world with multiple, large-scale national tours, in-depth coach and referee education, research, plus club, regional and national teams throughout many different age groups, with medals to boot.

And the youth women’s beach handball team are no exception, having won world championship gold twice (2022, 2025), bronze (2017) and European Championship gold (2025), silver (2021, 2022, 2026) and bronze (2018, 2024).

Most importantly, for Dakar 2026, they are current world champions, having taken that global title in Hammamet, Tunisia last year and, therefore, go into the event as one of the favourites to top the podium.

Three of that Tunisia 2025 squad – specialist Iraia Berroeta SANCHEZ, goalkeeper Maria Arnay MANCEBO and defensive specialist Victoria Gomez GARCIA – will all be present at Dakar 2026 under former player, now coach, Immaculada NAVARETTE.

MANCEBO and GARCIA have been the foundation of the younger age Spanish squad, not only winners of gold last year, but present in the 2024 U16 European Championship squad (6th), 2025 U17 European Championship (1st – gold) and 2026 U17 European Championship (2nd – silver) – the U17 championship running for two, consecutive years to European Handball Federation calendar changes.

Responsible for much of the sandy Spanish success has been the inspirational head of beach handball at the Royal Spanish Handball Federation (RFEBM), Fernando POSADA. A former IHF Beach Handball Working Group member and national team coach, POSADA will not be present at Dakar 2026 due to health reasons but his spirit and legacy will be evident in West Africa despite the legendary man watching on from home.

"Beach handball in Spain can be divided into grassroots and top team levels. We have a very good grassroots level which is guaranteed thanks to the regional federations and the work they do. The clubs that also do a great job, plus the RFEBM gives them the opportunity to compete at a very, very important level,” explained POSADA about the strength of the sport in the European country.

“Every summer we host several stops in Spain for what we call the ‘Arena Handball Tour. This circuit consists of three Arena 1000 stops, featuring the U14, U18, U20/U21 and senior level. In addition, the Spanish beach handball championship is held for the U14, U18 and Senior categories, as well as the Spanish club championship across all categories.

“It means a lot for the RFEBM to be at the Youth Olympic Games,” he adds. “This means it is organised by the International Olympic Committee and our Olympic Committee collaborates with us and sees first-hand what beach handball is like and how seriously we take it in the federation.”

37-year-old coach NAVARETTE will be looking to add another medal to her already-impressive CV after taking charge of the younger age national team in 2022. Her handball coaching career started at Club Balonmano Playa Ciudad de Malaga in 2014 and she has gone on to oversee Colegio Los Olivos and CBM Maravillas-Benalmadena.

As a national team player for Spain, she registered 60 games, winning the 2016 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship along the way. On a club level, she still plays – for Malaga, wining the EHF Beach Handball Champions cup with them twice (2016, 2025). 

Her Spain side will face Croatia, Mexico and People’s Republic of China in their Dakar 2026 preliminary group.

“It is a demanding group for us. Croatia are a familiar opponent from the past two years – we faced them both at the last youth world championships – Tunisia 2025 – and at this year's European Championship, where we met in the semi-finals, which we managed to win after a sudden-death shoot-out, so they will undoubtedly be a tough, difficult, intense and closely-contested match. We will have to plan it well to win it and get a better crossover in the main round,” she said.

“We have less information about China and Mexico as we have not played against them recently. However, they are both teams that have been developing well and qualified for Tunisia 2025 so we will need to perform at a very high level to overcome both matches.

“Every coach, every player dreams of playing in an Olympic Games final, and in this case, the Youth Olympic Games. Our objective is to compete in every match while staying true to our style of play; playing with fluidity, minimising turnovers, and, above all, making sure no team can beat us 2-0. Of course, our ultimate goal is to fight for a medal.

“I am happy with the 10 girls who are going, they are versatile and adapt well to various ways of playing. That gives us an extra edge when planning the matches; that they are competitive and level-headed in difficult moments, something that at this age is essential. We have a fast, fluid play and the versatility of the girls give us different ways to play both in attack and defensively.

“We are a team with ambition and character. We never stop believing until the sets end; in beach handball, five seconds can go a long way".

Likely in charge of many of those five-second moments will be key goalkeeper MANCEBO. Having only made her debut at Tunisia 2025, the player who can play out on the court too cannot wait to get started.

“Going to the Olympic Games is a dream come true. Every athlete aspires to go to the Olympics and I still find it hard to believe that I have the opportunity to live this experience I've dreamed of for so long,” said MANCEBO who dreams to qualify as a neurologist in the future.

“Croatia strikes me as a very well-rounded team, both offensively and defensively. We played them twice this summer at the European Championship, and both matches were hard-fought, with one of them even going to a shoot-out.

“We've never played against Mexico and China, so I don't know them very well, but I'm sure they'll be top-tier opponents and that a very demanding and competitive group awaits us where we'll have to play our best”.

Playing their best would mean trouble for any of their opponents, especially Croatia, who have lost to them four times in the last three younger age events – in the preliminary group stage at the world championship, Tunisia 2025 (2-0), 2025 European championship quarter-final (2-1) and 2026 European Championship, in the main round (2-0) and semi-final (2-1).

“We are a perfect mix of hard work, grit, talent, and a whole lot of drive,” adds MANCEBO when asked to describe her team. “Above all, I’d highlight that we are a very close-knit team. Whenever someone is having an off moment, the rest are always there to support and encourage her, with everyone pulling their weight and helping each other bring out our very best. That's what makes us the great team we are.

“I play beach handball because there is nothing that makes me enjoy myself as much as the beach game does, and it has given me the best experiences of my life,” she adds. “What I like most is that anyone can win, everything can change in a split second and the great atmosphere”.

To make Spain feel a little bit more at home in Senegal, their legendary beach handball player, Maria Asuncion Batista PORTERO (known in the handball world as Asun BATISTA), is also at Dakar 2026, in her role as an ‘Athlete Role Model’, helping to inspire and guide this young generation of athletes. http://ihf.info/media-center/news/world-champion-batista-named-athlete-role-model-youth-olympic-games BATISTA was a teammate of NAVARETTE for many years, including being on the sand at Hungary 2016 when they won the world championship together.

Coach: Immaculada NAVARRETE
Key players: Iraia Berroeta SANCHEZ (Specialist), Maria Arnay MANCEBO (Goalkeeper), Victoria Gomez GARCIA (Defence), Marta Bouzo ALONSO (Left Wing) 
Qualification information: Tunisia 2025 – 1st (gold), European representative place
History in tournament: 2018: DNQ
Group at Dakar 2026: Group A – People’s Republic of China (CHN), Croatia (CRO), Mexico (MEX), Spain (ESP)