The organising rights for the 2029 and 2031 editions of the IHF Men’s World Championship and the 2029 and 2031 editions of the IHF Women’s World Championship have been awarded during the IHF Council meeting taking place in Créteil, France, Tuesday, on 16 April 2024.

The Council members voted unanimously from the final bidders selected by the IHF, which have been selected from the National Federations which had previously sent letters of intent for organising the world handball flagship competition.

Therefore, the next editions of the IHF Men’s World Championship and the IHF Women’s World Championship will take place as follows.

• France/Germany: 2029 IHF Men’s World Championship
• Denmark/Iceland/Norway: 2031 IHF Men’s World Championship
   
• Spain: 2029 IHF Women’s World Championship
• Czechia/Poland: 2031 IHF Women’s World Championship

"The interest for the IHF World Championship has been getting bigger and bigger in the last years and the fact that big handball countries like the ones which were awarded the hosting rights are still interested in hosting only means that handball is growing as a sport throughout the world. We are looking forward to create new memories and see the best players in the world in these four editions of the IHF World Championship and I wish the best of luck for all the organisers to ensure the best conditions," said Dr Hassan Moustafa, the IHF President.


 
France and Germany joined forces to host the 2029 IHF Men’s World Championship, with two of the European countries where handball is one of the most popular sports promising a fantastic competition, in state-of-the-art arenas.

For France, this will be the fourth time they organise the world handball flagship competition, after 1970, 2001 and 2017, while Germany host the IHF Men’s World Championship for the 10th time.

“Following on from the 1970, 2001 and, more recently, 2017 World Championship, the opportunity to welcome this competition to France represents a further milestone in the development of handball. This association with Germany, our neighbour, also marks a turning point in the history of the two biggest handball federations. It is also an illustration of our desire to write history together,” said Philippe Bana, the President of the French Handball Federation.

The 2031 IHF Men’s World Championship will mark the return to the Northern part of Europe, with Denmark, Norway and Iceland joining forces to organise the 32nd edition of the world handball flagship competition. This will be only the second edition co-hosted by three countries, after Denmark and Norway joined forces with Croatia for the upcoming 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship.

"This collaborative effort not only promises to elevate handball's profile within Iceland significantly but also serves as a powerful testament to the potential of smaller nations to co-host major sporting events through strong international partnerships,” said Guðmundur B. Ólafsson, the President of the Icelandic Handball Federation.

“We are thrilled to be chosen as the host of the IHF Men's World Championship 2031 together with Denmark and Iceland. It will be tournament showcasing the width of Nordic handball, culture and atmosphere," added Kåre Geir Lio, the President of the Norwegian Handball Federation.

Denmark will host the IHF Men’s World Championship for the fourth time, while Iceland and Norway are due to be hosts for the second time in history, with Iceland previously being the hosts in 1995.

"The championship will be a grand celebration of handball, where the world's best teams will create unforgettable moments for our spectators and inspire the next generation of handball players," said Morten Stig Christensen, the President of the Danish Handball Association.

The two editions of the IHF Women’s World Championship awarded on Tuesday, 16 April, by the IHF Council, will see the competition return to Spain in 2029 after an eight-year wait, after the European country has also hosted the women’s world premium competition in 2021, when Norway were crowned champions for the fourth time in history.

"The image that we created at the 2021 IHF Women's World Championship and the two Olympic Qualification Tournaments hosted by Granollers and Torrevieja has been crucial. This new challenge has many meanings, from the relevance we now have in international handball, to the national support of the venues that will host this great event, which will turn our country into the image of handball worldwide. In addition, we hope to be able to carry out the plan to promote women's handball which was hampered in 2021 by the Covid-19 pandemic," said Francisco Blazquez, the President of the Royal Spanish Handball Federation. 

The 2031 IHF Women’s World Championship will be the fourth one co-hosted by two countries and the fifth one co-hosted by multiple countries, as Czechia and Poland have joined forces for a successful bid.

Czechia have hosted the competition only once, in 1978, as Czechoslovakia, while for Poland this will be the first time they host the women’s competition, with their most recent experience being as co-hosts for the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, alongside Sweden.

The organising rights for the world handball flagship competitions had been previously awarded until 2029 as follows: the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship will take place in Croatia, Denmark and Norway, while the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship will be held in Germany.

The 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship will take place in Germany and the Netherlands, while the 2027 IHF Women’s World Championship is set to be played in Hungary.

Photo credit: French Handball Federation