Since 1990, wheelchair handball has been on the up throughout the world, with Brazil hosting an unofficial world championship in 2013 and plenty of European sides following suit in a mixed European Wheelchair Handball Nations’ Tournament.

With the IHF gaining status as an International Federation recognised by the International Paralympic Committee back in 2009, wheelchair handball is making strides to be included in the Paralympic Games Los Angeles 2028.

However, full membership on the sport programme means that the sport, must be played in at least 24 countries on three continents with two world championships organised across a four-year programme.

Now, as new teams appear on the horizon, the goal is more and more achievable. Last weekend, Spain’s national wheelchair handball team made their debut with a friendly match played on home court, in Leon, against Portugal, the runners-up of the 2019 European Wheelchair Handball Nations’ Tournament.

The brand new Spanish side were thoroughly outplayed by their more experienced Portuguese counterparts in the game that took place on 31 October, with Portugal clinching a 26:10 (13:2) win in the All-Iberian match-up.

Oscar Perales scored the largest amount of goals for Spain (5), while Portugal was buoyed by an 11-goal outing from Ricardo Queiroz.

However, Spain’s mixed wheelchair national team has not been taken the loss with a grain of salt.

“We did not have a good start of the game, because Portugal’s rhythm was very high. The feelings were, however, good, we tried to get everyone to play in the game. We tried to be more precise, more confident in the second half and our plan worked out well,” said Ricardo Alonso, Spain’s coach, to the official website of the Spanish Handball Federation.

“We need to bring the same mentality, of the Hispanos and Guerreras in this side and we can achieve good results,” concluded Alonso.

Despite this being a friendly game, Portugal took the game seriously and used it as a benchmark for future performances, building up their form for the 1st edition of the IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, due to take place in 2022.

“We didn't know the opponent, this was the first time that the Spanish team presented itself and after having seen the strong physical structure of the opposing players, we were immediately alert.

“The size of the opponent turned out to be a detrimental factor for them, when it comes to chair mobility, and as we have a more mobile and faster team, we managed to score some goals on the counterattack. We were also very focused in defence, which helped the result to be,” said Ricardo Neves, Portugal’s coach, who stood in for Danilo Pereira.

To watch the full match, click here. 

Photos: Royal Spanish Handball Federation