The draw for the preliminary rounds of the 24th IHF Women’s Junior World Championship and for the 10th IHF Women’s Youth World Championship will take place on Saturday, 13 April, in Neu-Ulm, on the outskirts of the Paris 2024 Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament #3.

The draw for the preliminary round of the 10th IHF Women’s Youth World Championship will take place at 13:00 CEST, followed up by the draw for the 24th IHF Women’s Junior World Championship , due to take place at 13:30 CEST.

The reigning champions at the junior level, Norway, are in Pot 2, while the runners-up from two years ago, Hungary, headline a star-studded Pot 1, with the top four teams at the W19 EHF EURO – Hungary, Denmark, Romania and Portugal – are all in Pot 1, alongside Sweden, Angola, France and Switzerland.

15 European teams will be present in the competition, with six Asian sides, five African teams, three teams from the South and Central American Confederation and two teams from the North American and Caribbean Handball Confederation will be at the start. One more spot is still open, as the place reserved for the Oceania Continent Handball Federation is unoccupied.

2024 IHF Women's Junior World Championship - pots

Pot 1: Hungary, Denmark, Romania, Portugal, Sweden, Angola, France, Switzerland
Pot 2: Republic of Korea, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, North Macedonia, Germany, Czechia, Egypt
Pot 3: Guinea, Iceland, Spain, People’s Republic of China, Argentina, Tunisia, Brazil, Japan 
Pot 4: Chile, Chinese Taipei, Islamic Republic of Iran, Mexico, United States of America, Algeria, TBC*, Uzbekistan

*The place reserved for the Oceania Continent Handball Federation is unoccupied and the IHF is currently in the process of finding a replacement nation

The draw procedure, in accordance with the IHF Rules and Regulations, stipulates that the teams in pot 4 are drawn first, followed by the teams in pot 3 and the teams in pot 1. North Macedonia, the hosts, have the prerogative to choose their group, with the other teams in pot 2 being drawn.

32 teams will compete in the 10th IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, the first ever edition of the competition to be held in Asia and the first one to be held outside Europe since 2010, when Sweden were crowned champions in the Dominican Republic.

Reigning champions, the Republic of Korea, are in Pot 3, while Denmark, the runners-up and the team with the largest number of medals, six in nine editions, will be in Pot 1, alongside Japan, France, Germany, Croatia, Hungary, Egypt and Serbia.

17 European teams will be at the start, including debutants Kosovo, one of the four teams which will make their debuts, alongside the Chinese Taipei, Greenland and Nigeria. Six teams from Asia, four African sides, three South American teams and two teams from the North American and Caribbean Handball Confederation will also be at the start.

2024 IHF Women's Youth World Championship - pots

Pot 1: Japan, France, Denmark, Germany, Croatia, Hungary, Egypt, Serbia
Pot 2: Montenegro, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, People’s Republic of China, Romania, Czechia, Brazil
Pot 3: Republic of Korea, Spain, Austria, Chinese Taipei, Argentina, India, Guinea, Nigeria
Pot 4: Kazakhstan, Chile, Angola, Switzerland, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Kosovo

The draw procedure, in accordance with the IHF Rules and Regulations, stipulates that the teams in pot 4 are drawn first, followed by the teams in pot 3 and the teams in pot 1. People’s Republic of China, the hosts, have the prerogative to choose their group, with the other teams in pot 2 being drawn.

Both draws will be streamed on the official YouTube channel of the IHF.