Today, 20 June 2023, marks the second edition of ‘International Beach Handball Day’, a special day which celebrates the anniversary of the first organised, rules-based beach handball match played.

That match took place on Ponza island, Italy on 20 June 1992, and International Beach Handball Day is an opportunity to celebrate everything about the sport while remembering its roots.

International Beach Handball Day was officially launched last year at the 2022 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championship in Greece, on the 30th anniversary of that match in Ponza.

Today showcases just how far the sport has come since 1992, with the second stage of the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour getting underway in Tunisia and featuring an all-African line-up, while beach handball will also make its debut at the 2023 European Games in Poland.

Both events will mark the special day, with the IHF calling on fans of the sport worldwide to explain what the sport means to them on social media by using the hashtag #beachhandball.

About International Beach Handball Day
The idea of acknowledging the special moment in the sport was originally conceived by IHF Beach Handball Working Group member Sasa Kuburovic, with the purpose of shining a light on the sport and celebrating all of those involved in its foundation, currently involved and in its future.

Beach handball was added to the Youth Olympic Games in 2018 and the IHF is working towards its inclusion at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, beach handball will be showcased in the French capital.

International Beach Handball Day will complement the annual International Handball Week which was launched in 2020 and runs from 12 to 18 July every year in homage to the founding of the IHF on 12 July 1946.