Voting for the 2025 IHF World Players of the Year is now open – and your vote can make the difference.

In each of the four categories - IHF Female World Player of the Year, IHF Male World Player of the Year, IHF Young Female World Player of the Year and IHF Young Male World Player of the Year - three nominees have been selected by a panel from the IHF Commission of Coaching and Methods (CCM), based solely on their performances in 2025. This follows the structural redesign introduced in 2023, when the former system with five nominees decided exclusively by fan voting was replaced by a new, more balanced model.

Under the current system, the final result is determined in three equal parts: one‑third from the fan vote, one‑third from the national team coaches who led their teams at the 2025 IHF Men’s and Women’s World Championships, and one‑third from the CCM. Fans therefore still have significant influence - their collective voice is worth exactly as much as that of the World Championship coaches and the expert panel. The player with the highest threshold across these three groups will be crowned 2025 IHF World Player of the Year in each category.

Voting for all four awards is open until 23:59 CET on Tuesday, 10 February, and fans must register on ihf.info in order to cast their vote. Only performances delivered during the 2025 calendar year are taken into account; matches and tournaments played in early 2026 do not form part of the evaluation for the 2025 awards, and should not influence voting decisions. 

Full profiles of all 2025 nominees can be found here: 

• 2025 IHF Female World Player of the Year 
   
• 2025 IHF Male World Player of the Year
   
• 2025 IHF Young Female World Player of the Year 
   
• 2025 IHF Young Male World Player of the Year 

The race for the 2025 IHF World Player of the Year awards is already in full fledge, with three nominees announced in each of the four categories. 

For the 2025 IHF Female World Player of the Year, the nominees are Bruna de Paula Almeida (Brazil), Henny Reistad (Norway) and Katrine Lunde (Norway). For the 2025 IHF Male World Player of the Year, the shortlist features Ivan Martinović (Croatia), Mathias Gidsel (Denmark) and Emil Nielsen (Denmark).

The 2025 IHF Young Female World Player of the Year nominees are Nina Dury (France), Julie Scaglione (Denmark) and Viola Leuchter (Germany), while Óli Mittún (Faroe Islands), Francisco Costa (Portugal) and Nikola Roganović (Sweden) have been selected for the 2025 IHF Young Male World Player of the Year.

You can vote here for the four categories, by simply clicking the voting cards and then cast your vote, after logging into your ihf.info profile.

The voting will be open for the fans from Sunday, 25 January 2026, from 12:00 CET, to Tuesday, 10 February 2026 at 23:59 CET, therefore more than two weeks for the fans to vote for their favourites and help them win the prestigious award. 

Handball supporters around the world are invited not only to vote, but also to share their choices and favourite moments on social media. Your vote and your voice help celebrate the players who defined the season - make sure it is heard.