Eight men’s teams and eight women’s teams lined up at the start of the two handball competitions at the 2023 African Games, which took place in Accra, Ghana, between 13 and 22 March 2024.

The most decorated team in the men’s competition, Egypt, who won seven titles in their 11 appearances, were once again the big favourites, confirming their status in the group, where they secured three wins, 49:16 against Mali, 55:24 against Togo and 27:24 against Nigeria, clinching the first place.

With star right back Faruk Yusuf, who shined at the 2023 IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, in the roster, Nigeria finished on the second place, taking two wins, 38:19 against Togo, and 30:18 against Mali, as their loss against Egypt dealt Nigeria a tougher path towards a medal.

In Group B, DR Congo, who have featured at the IHF Men’s World Championship in 2021, secured three wins and the first place in the group. It was a dominating attacking performance from DR Congo, with a 37:31 win against Benin followed by a 33:21 win against Ghana and a 45:31 win against Kenya.

Benin ended up on the second place, with wins against Kenya (27:25) and hosts Ghana (29:25), with the hosts ending up on the last place in the group.

Egypt, who had all of their players aged 24 or under, and DR Congo had big wins in the semi-finals, with the most decorated team in the history of the competition securing a 38:27 win against Benin, while DR Congo took a clear 29:20 win over Nigeria, dominating from start to finish.

Egypt also dominated the final in the first half, 19:14, but DR Congo bounced back, only to concede a painful 32:33 loss. While Egypt sealed their seventh title, DR Congo still emerged with their best-ever finish in the competition, with the silver medal being the first one in their history.

Nigeria won the bronze medal, with a 38:20 win over Benin, their fourth bronze medal in history.

In the women’s competition, favourites Angola, who had previously won seven of the eight editions they took part in, swept their opponents on their way to the eighth trophy in history.

In the group phase, Angola scored 120 goals and conceded only 44, with big wins over Burkina Faso (47:13), Ghana (35:13) and Algeria (38:18), as Algeria finished second and progressed to the semi-finals.

In the other group, DR Congo won twice, 38:10 against Mali and 25:24 against Cameroon, drawing against Uganda, 32:32. However, Uganda, which produced the biggest shock of the group phase, fell short of qualifying, after losing against Cameroon, 27:38.

Angola registered another big win in the semi-finals, 35:16, against Cameroon, while DR Congo made it to the final of the African Games for the first time in history, clinching a 29:25 against Algeria.

However, they were no match against Angola, which cruised to a 33:15 win and to the title, while DR Congo secured their best result in history and their second medal in history. In the bronze medal match, Cameroon took a 29:21 win against Algeria.