The world handball flagship club competition, the IHF Men’s Super Globe, will undergo a makeover starting from 2024 onwards, with a rebrand helping cement its status as the most exciting men’s handball club competition in the world.

The 17th edition of the club world handball flagship competition will be known as the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, and will take place in Egypt, between 27 September and 3 October, with nine teams at the start. All the matches are scheduled to be played in the New Administrative Capital Hall, already used at the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship.

But what can we expect from this edition, with star-studded teams at the start?

Magdeburg, on the path to history

Three teams have won the IHF Men’s Club World Championship twice in a row – Ciudad Real, Barcelona (twice) and Füchse Berlin, with other two – Barcelona and SC Magdeburg – winning the title three times. Whlle Barca dominated the competition between 2017 and 2019, Magdeburg clinched the last three editions on the trot, twice downing Barcelona in the final, in 2021 and 2022.

Therefore, the German champions have now the chance to become the first team in history to secure the title at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship four times in a row. However, Magdeburg are not coming in a red-hot form, having conceded three losses in six matches this season – first in the German Supercup, 30:32 against Füchse Berlin, then in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, 29:31 against OTP Bank-Pick Szeged, and another in the German Bundesliga last Sunday against THW Kiel, 24:29.

Sure, Magdeburg have been hampered by injuries in the build-up of the season, but they will aim to become only the second team after Barcelona to secure four titles in the competition, as well as extending their winning run in the competition to a fantastic 13 matches.

A new American side on the block

So far, only two American teams have featured at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship – New York City THC and San Francisco CalHeat. If New York finished ninth in 2019, the CalHeat ended up on the 10th place both in 2021 and 2023, with a third American team now featuring in the competition – the California Eagles.

The Eagles were the winners of the 2024 North American and Caribbean Senior Club Championship, despite losing a match in the preliminary round against Los Angeles THC. Eventually, they bounced back and secured a 24:21 win against New York City THC, to clinch their place at the 2024 IHF Men’s Club World Championship.

Changes have been made in the team and in the staff, with former Argentina men’s senior national team captain, Gonzalo Carou, taking over the side for this competition, but the lack of experience for the American side might prove to be their undoing, as they face reigning champions Magdeburg and Saudi side Khaleej Club in the preliminary round.

Al-Ahly and Zamalek enter with big ambitions

With the competition now hosted by Egypt, 17 years after Cairo was the host for the 2007 edition, two Egyptian side – the two big powerhouses of the country, Al-Ahly and Zamalek SC – will take the court in the New Administrative Capital Hall, as Al-Ahly are the hosts, while Zamalek secured their place via their runners-up position in the 2024 African Handball Super Cup.

The expectations are high for both teams, as Al-Ahly chose to play in Group B of the competition, against Barcelona and Australian side Sydney Uni, while Zamalek were drawn in Group A, where they feature against Veszprem HC and Handebol Taubate. Both sides will be looking to progress to the semi-finals, where each group winner, plus the best second-placed side in the three groups will progress. 

Which team is better positioned to succeed? It is hard to tell from the get-go, but Al-Ahly certainly look to have more experience, especially as they will be led by Stefan Madsen, the former Aalborg Handbold coach, the Danish side which played the final in the EHF FINAL4 last season. Both sets of fans are expected to flock for Al-Ahly’s and Zamalek’s matches, just like they did when Al-Ahly featured in the IHF Men’s Club World Championship in the previous two editions in Saudi Arabia, creating a fantastic atmosphere in the stands. 

Can Barça return to the winning ways?

Barcelona have featured nine times at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, finishing every time on the podium and winning the title five times, for an average winning rate of 55%. The Spanish powerhouse is the most decorated team in the history of the competition, but are still looking for their maiden win since 2019, having finished as runners-up twice, in 2021 and 2022, and third in 2023, conceding a loss every time against Magdeburg.

The Spanish powerhouse has started the season with a four-match winning streak in all competitions, including a 35:30 win over Kolstad and a 31:30 win over OTP Bank-Pick Szeged in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League. However, conceding at least 30 goals in each match so far has to be setting off some alarms for coach Antonio Carlos Ortega.

Nevertheless, Barça have a fantastic line-up at their disposal, with a strong core which played a lot together over the last years, as well as the status of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League winners last season, which will surely see them be one of the favourites in this edition of the IHF Men’s Club World Championship.

Will Veszprem make a bang?

While California Eagles are the only debutants and Zamalek SC are returning for the first time since 2021, Sydney Uni are the team with the largest number of appearances in the history of the competition, featuring for the 11th time, after Oceania were represented by another Australian side, the University of Queensland, in the last edition, a team which finished on the 12th place.

Another returning team is Veszprem HC, as the Hungarian team received a wild card, returning after nine years in the world club handball flagship competition, when they finished second, conceding a 27:28 extra-time loss against Füchse Berlin. 

Now coached by Xavi Pascual, who won the IHF Men’s Club World Championship five times with Barcelona in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019, the Hungarian side has plenty of firepower at their disposal and are firing from all cylinders, delivering a 41:28 win over PSG Handball last week, as they certainly look like one of the teams to beat when the competitions throws off in the New Administrative Capital.