The 28th IHF World Men's Championship will be played in Poland and Sweden from 11/12 to 29 January 2023. The tournament will start with an Opening Match in Poland. The host city of the final weekend will be Stockholm.

Poland and Sweden will host 32 teams from all over the world. Including the two host countries, among the participants will be the reigning champions Denmark, who are already qualified for the tournament.

This will be the fifth World Championship in Sweden and the first men’s event organised in Poland. The team of Sweden were runners-up during last IHF World Men's Handball Championship in Egypt. The tournament in 2023 should be also a peak for the young Polish national team coached by Patryk Rombel.

Host Cities in Poland are going to be announced very soon during the autumn. Poland will also host the draw event, which takes place on 2 July 2022. Host cities in Sweden are intended to be Göteborg, Malmö, Stockholm, Kristianstad, Jönköping (all subject to inspection). Sweden team would start their tournament in Göteborg, while the world champions from Denmark would play in Malmö.

20,000 fans could attend the final weekend games in Stockholm’s Tele2 Arena. It would be the first time that the final weekend of a Handball World Championship takes place in a football stadium. Stockholm would also host two quarter-finals, one semi-final, placement matches 5-8 and the final match of the World Championship. 

“Once again we will be able to show the best side of Sweden as a co-host of a championship. The success of the latest event, EHF EURO 2020, we will try to follow up with an upgrade of the World Championship together with our handball friends in Poland. We will be putting a huge emphasis on the event atmosphere at the final weekend in Stockholm. Our aim is to achieve that ‘when the matches are played, the world comes to a halt’.  Together with Poland are we looking into a high-level handball and entertainment concept, cooperation with local hospitality facilities and much more. The final Sunday in Tele 2 Arena will include four matches to determine the placement 1-8.”

Krister Bergström, CEO Handbolls-VM 2023 AB, Sweden

”All fans of handball and for sure all supporters who follow the Polish national handball team are longing after watching their favourites in their first World Championship as a host team. We have been missing the energy, the white and red shirts, the loud singings, the happiness and the interplay between the players and the Polish fans. We know that walls can give players the wings so we count on twofold success: in sport and organisational areas. We are looking forward to host another successful event after a thrilling and amazing EHF Euro 2016, when fans filled fully the stands of the venues and we celebrated a true handball fest in Poland.

Grzegorz Gutkowski, Tournament Director, Poland

Facts about the 28th IHF Men´s World Championship 2023

-    Host Cities: 
o    In Sweden (subject to inspection): Göteborg, Malmö, Stockholm, Kristianstad, Jönköping
o    In Poland: Cities will be confirmed soon
-    Participating nations: 32 of those 16 plays in Sweden and 16 in Poland
-    Number of matches: 112 
-    Final arena: Tele 2 Arena, Stockholm
-    Capacity final arena: approx 20,000
-    Number of visitors: approx 1,000,000 
-    Viewers in the world: broadcasted in nearly 200 countries for several billion viewers
-    Number of journalists: approx 1,000

At the 28th IHF Men´s World Championship 2023…
•    approx 20,000 room nights will be utilised
•    approx 60,000 meals will be served
•    800 conference rooms days will be utilised
•    approx 20,000 meals to the volunteers will be served
•    approx 20,000 litres of water will be drunk
•    approx 12,000 clothing items for the volunteers will be produced

For more information

Krister Bergström, CEO Handballs WCh 2023 Sweden
Mail: [email protected]
Mobile: +46703-525622

Mats Olsson, Media Manager Handball WCh 2023 Sweden
Mail: [email protected]
Mobile: +46706-336130

Grzegorz Gutkowski, Tournament Director Handball WCh 2023 Poland
Mail: [email protected]
Mobile: +48 665-437-732

Kamil Kołsut, Media Manager Handball WCh 2023 Poland
Mail: [email protected]
Mobile: +48 792-631-614

Press release of the Poland/Sweden 2023 Organising Committee