IHF Council meets with IHF Member Federations

17 Jul. 2020

IHF Council meets with IHF Member Federations

Thursday (16 July), the IHF Council, led by IHF President Dr Hassan Moustafa, met virtually with representatives from more than 120 National Federations from all six Continental Confederations.

The ‘Joint Meeting of the IHF Council with all Member Federations’ lasted for two hours with a number of agenda points addressed in the first hour and the second hour reserved for an open discussion where anyone could address the IHF leadership directly, ask questions or make requests.

After a welcome address by Dr Moustafa, the ongoing debut edition of the IHF’s International Handball Week was discussed, with a number of federations in attendance themselves being actively part of the worldwide celebration of handball. Dr Moustafa praised the initiatives federations were doing to participate in the celebratory week including online seminars, in-person activities and more.

Next up, the IHF Council explained the support available from the world’s governing body for National Federations and clubs, before moving on to the latest news regarding IHF events in 2020 and 2021.

The meeting concluded with an open discussion between federations and IHF leadership. 

“I am very pleased with the outcome of the open forum that took place between IHF leadership and National Federation representatives,” said Dr Moustafa. “I think everyone came away with a stronger sense of unity which is even more important during these uncertain times. Thank you to everyone who participated.”

The joint meeting with the Member Federations took place after the IHF Council convened for their eighth meeting of the 2017-2021 Electoral Period.

After a review of the minutes from the previous IHF Council meeting and the previous IHF Executive Committee Meeting, IHF President Dr Hassan Moustafa reported on the launch and ongoing success of the first-ever ‘International Handball Week’. 

The discussion then moved to events and competitions, with the fees associated to the recent news about Poland and Russia being awarded Wild Cards for the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship in Egypt.

IHF events for 2020 and 2021 were then discussed with the 2020 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, set to take place in Croatia from 29 September to 11 October, and the 2020 IHF Men’s Super Globe, set for Saudi Arabia from 6 to 10 October, both postponed, with new dates to be confirmed. 

Next on the agenda was the IHF Virtual Academy, launched in May before reports were heard from the six IHF Continental Federations about the restart of their handball activities with COVID-19.

The IHF COVID-19 Medical Task Force was the final main agenda point, before the meeting concluded.

About the IHF Council

The IHF Council, along with the IHF Executive Committee forms the IHF executive body and is responsible for a number of different duties including, but not limited to, decision-making (financial matters, Rules of the Game), provisional admission of new Member Federations, awarding Men’s and Women’s World Championships in all age categories (seniors and younger age) and the international event calendar. 

The IHF Council is made up of all the members of the IHF Executive Committee, continental Vice-Presidents, the Chairpersons of the IHF Commissions and all six continental representatives. 

The IHF Council meets at least twice a year with all members serving a four-year term of office and available for IHF duties at least 12 days per year on a voluntary basis. A simple majority applies for IHF Council votes with the IHF President’s vote deciding in the case of equality of votes.

To see the members of the IHF Council and recent news visit here