The three men’s and three women’s All-star Teams for the ‘IHF Beach Handball Showcase’ in Paris in July have been announced.

The event, which was announced back in March, will highlight the spectacular sport and its culture, as the eyes of the world look towards the French capital, hosts of the 2024 Olympic Games this July and August.

The three men’s and three women’s All-star Teams, plus the French men’s and women’s national teams, will play Beach Handball games across three days – Saturday 27, Sunday 28 and Monday 29 July 2024 – at the headquarters of the FFHB, the ‘Maison du Handball’, based in Créteil, just 20km from the Olympic Stadium.

And the IHF can today reveal the six All-star Teams, who will be guided by six world-renowned, medal-laden coaches including 2018 Youth Olympic Games gold medal winner Leticia BRUNATI (Argentina) along with Mladen PARADZIK (Croatia), Khaled HASSAN (Qatar), Maria KARANTONI (Greece), Tamas NEUKUM (Hungary) and Alexander NOVAKOVIC (Germany).

See the full team line-ups at the bottom of this article

With far too many highlights to mention in the teams, IHF.info will shine a light on a few of the exciting partnerships Beach Handball fans can look forward to – and unlikely competitors too.

In the women’s competition, continental rivals Patricia SCHEPPA from Brazil and 2018 Youth Olympic Games gold medallist Gisella BONOMI from Argentina join forces in Women’s All-star Team 1 alongside 2018 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship winner with Greece, Magdalini KEPESIDOU. 

Portuguese and Spanish could be a useful language skill in Women’s All-star Team 2 as Spain’s Patricia ENCINAS, Argentina’s Fiorella CORIMBERTO (and Youth Olympic Games gold medallist) join forces with the Brazilian pair of Carolina PIRES MILITAO and Renata DA SILVA SANTIAGO, along with Portuguese star Cristiana MORGADO.

MORGADO will go up against Portugal teammate Ana Maria URSU in Women’s All-star Team 3, but who doesn’t want to see The World Games, IHF World Championship and EHF European Championship title-holder Lucie Marie KRETZSCHMAR from Germany join forces with European Championship MVP Asuncion BATISTA from Spain, Greece 2022 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship top-scorer Christine MANSOUR (USA) and the legendary Brazilian, Nathalie SOUZA GUEDES DE SENA play together?

“I am very happy and excited. It is a big event,” said MORGADO to IHF.info after the event was announced. “It is an amazing opportunity to play against, and together with, the best players in the entire world.”

And Dutch player Isabel BARNARD was equally excited. “I feel very honoured,” she said. “I can’t wait to be surrounded by all these amazing players and show the rest of the world all the great things about Beach Handball.”

The excitement of seeing players go up against their national teammates will be great, with the men’s competition featuring Brazilian, Hungarian and Croatian players in each of the three All-star Teams.

Imagine seeing the magician Bruno CARLOS DE OLIVEIRA from Brazil backed up by Croatian IHF World Championship and The World Games title-holder Ivan JURIC both feeding the ‘Handball Ninja’, Ebiye UDO-UDOMA (USA)? You can imagine no longer as they are together in All-star Team 2.            
And what a treat it will be to see two South American heroes in Gil Vicente DE PAES PIRES (BRA) and Santiago RODRIGUEZ (URU) join together in All-star Team 1, supported by Qatar’s Mohsen Al YAFAEI in goal? Oh, and Youth Olympic Games gold medallist Domingo Jesus LUIS MOSQUERA from Spain will be helping out too. Incredible.

Four continents contribute to Men’s All-star Team 3 with EHF European Champion Laszlo NAHAJ from Hungary joining the USA’s Andrew (Drew) DONLIN, Brazil’s Thiago DE OLIVEIRA BARCELLOS and Iran’s Ali HEIDARIAN on the French sand.

“I am grateful to be selected into what is practically the world's All-star Team in Beach Handball,” said Croatia’s Ivan JURIC to ihf.info ahead of the teams being announced. “It’s the best of the best. I can't wait. I'm looking forward to playing side-by-side with my sports rivals and Beach Handball friends.”

Danish captain Martin VILSTRUP ANDERSEN is also counting down the days to the end of July. “To be selected among so many great Beach Handball players is something I only hoped and dreamed about,” he said. “I’m super-excited and looking forward to it more than anything.”

In total, 64 (32 men, 32 women) of the world’s best Beach Handball players from 18 countries will feature, including players from Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Islamic Republic of Iran, Netherlands, Norway, People’s Republic of China, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Spain, United States of America and Uruguay. 

The ‘IHF Beach Handball Showcase’ is part of a wider series of celebrations in Créteil, based in the Val-de-Marne region of France, which will receive the Olympic Flame on its global tour.

For the duration of the Olympic Games – July 26 to August 11 – a variety of free events will take place, including a fan zone for up to 2,000 people featuring live broadcasts, exhibitions, food, drink and concerts. 

IHF Beach Handball Showcase – Teams

Women’s All-star Team 1 - TEAM VELA
Magdalini KEPESIDOU (GRE)
Elisabeth HAMMERSTAD (NOR)
Line KRISTENSEN (DEN)
Patricia SCHEPPA (BRA)
Gisella BONOMI (ARG)
Renata CSIKI (HUN)
Rianne MOL (NED)
Jimena LAGUNA (ESP)

Women’s All-star Team 2 - TEAM HYDRA
Patricia ENCINAS (ESP)
Jijuan DU (CHN)
Fiorella CORIMBERTO (ARG)
Meike KRUIJER (NED)
Isabel KATTNER (GER)
Carolina PIRES MILITAO (BRA)
Renata DA SILVA SANTIAGO (BRA)
Cristiana MORGADO (POR)

Women’s All-star Team 3 - TEAM LYRA
Ana Maria URSU (POR)
Lucie Marie KRETZSCHMAR (GER)
Nathalie SOUZA GUEDES DE SENA (BRA)
Christine MANSOUR (USA)
Asuncion BATISTA (ESP) 
Line LARSEN (DEN)
Emese TOTH (HUN)
Isabel BARNARD (NED)

Men’s All-star Team 1 - TEAM AQUILA
Mohsen ALYAFEAI (QAT)    
Peter HAJDU (HUN)
Mohammed ZAKY HASSAN (QAT)    
Jesus Domingo LUIS MOSQUERA (ESP)
Gil Vicente DE PAES PIRES (BRA)
Santiago RODRIGUEZ (URU)
Severin HENRICH (GER)
Ivan DUMENCIC (CRO)

Men’s All-star Team 2 - TEAM PEGASUS
Moritz EBERT (GER)
Ivan JURIC (CRO)
Ebiye Jeremy UDO-UDOMA (USA)                
Hani KAKHI (QAT)
Attila KUN (HUN)
Bruno CARLOS DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Elhji TOURE JABBY (ESP)
Nahuel PEREZ (ARG)

Men’s All-star Team 3 - TEAM DRACO
Laszlo NAHAJ (HUN)
Lukasz NIEDZIELAK (POL)
Diogo FERREIRA (POR)
Lucian BURA (CRO)
Andrew DONLIN (USA)
Martin VILSTRUP ANDERSEN (DEN)
Thiago DE OLIVEIRA BARCELLOS (BRA)
Ali HEIDARIAN (IRI)

The IHF Beach Handball Showcase is a collaborative effort between the International Handball Federation (IHF), Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (COJOP2024), French Handball Federation (FFHB) and International Olympic Committee (IOC).