A record number of 12 teams will be at the start of the 4th IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, which will take place in Granollers, Spain, from 16 to 20 September 2026.

For the first time in the history of the competition, all six continents will be represented at the start, as Libya, Australia and Lithuania make their debut alongside nine teams with previous experience on the wheelchair handball world stage. It is also the first edition of the competition to feature 12 teams, four more than the previous edition in Cairo, Egypt.

Reigning champions Egypt head the field after their triumph on home soil at the 3rd IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, and will be joined by fellow African representatives Libya, who arrive as debutants. North America is represented by the United States of America, the runners-up of the previous edition, while South America sends two teams, Brazil and Chile.

Host nation Spain will compete on home ground for the first time, lining up alongside fellow European sides Portugal, France and Lithuania - the latter also making their first appearance at the event. Asia's representatives are Japan and India, while Australia becomes the first Oceanian side ever to feature at the IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship.

The draw for the 4th IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship will take place on Wednesday, 22 July, at 11:45 CEST, at the IHF Head Office in Basel, Switzerland.

The 12 teams have been divided into three pots of four, seeded according to performance row and continental representation:

Pot 1: Egypt (reigning world champion), Libya (Africa 1), USA (North America and the Caribbean 1), Brazil (South and Central America 1)
Pot 2: Portugal (Europe 1), Japan (Asia 1), Chile (South and Central America 2), Spain (host)
Pot 3: France (Europe 2), Australia (Oceania), Lithuania (Europe 3), India (Asia 2)

 

As per Article 1.3 of the Competition Manual for Wheelchair Handball: "The draw shall be in compliance with the performance criteria. The Organiser shall have a free choice of its preliminary round group within its performance row that is drawn last. Alternatively, the Organiser may submit a request to the IHF to assign one team (including the Organiser's team) per group."

Therefore, the draw will see teams from Pot 3 drawn first, followed by the teams from Pot 1. Spain, as the hosts, will then choose their group, with the next three teams from Pot 2 following.

The competition will be played in a preliminary round consisting of four groups of three teams each, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarter-finals, meaning every team is guaranteed a minimum of five matches across the tournament.