Joaquín Rocamora has been appointed as the new head coach of the Spain women’s national handball team, taking over the “Guerreras” with immediate effect. His arrival marks the beginning of a new cycle, with a clear long-term focus on Spain’s home IHF Women’s World Championship in 2029.

Rocamora, who was the coach of the Spain women's junior team, replaces Ambros Martín, who had been in charge of Spain’s women’s national team since 2023. Under Martín, Spain underwent a significant rebuilt, with a focus on integrating younger talents while remaining competitive in major tournaments.

However, results at recent IHF Women’s World Championships prompted a change, with Spain finishing 13th at the 2023 edition and 14th at the 2025 edition. Spain also were the only team not to secure a win at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, finishing on the last pleace, 12th. Following these campaigns and in agreement with the Spanish Handball Federation (RFEBM) leadership, Martín was relieved of his duties, opening the way for Rocamora to take over and continue the rebuilding process.

Rocamora will step up from his previous role with Spain’s youth and junior structures, bringing deep knowledge of the domestic league and player development pathways.

The new Spain women’s national team coach has led Atticgo Elche since 2016, guiding the club to national and European success, including the EHF European Cup title in 2024. He also won the Spanish Cup and Supercup in 2021, and finished as runners-up in the domestic league in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Rocamora will initially combine his national team duties with his club role until the end of the current season.

Before taking charge of the Guerreras, Rocamora was head coach of Spain’s junior women’s national team, with which he built an impressive track record in recent seasons. He steered Spain to the EHF Championship title in 2023, securing promotion to the top continental tier, and then to a silver medal at the following year’s W19 EHF EURO 2025, with the generation which won the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship.

At the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, Rocamora also led Spain’s junior women’s side, which finished 17th, providing valuable top-level experience for a generation expected to compete for senior places in the coming years. This pathway is central to his philosophy, with many of these players now pushing to make the step up to the senior national team ahead of the next Olympic and World Championship cycles.

The appointment of Rocamora comes with an important strategic horizon: Spain will host the 2029 IHF Women’s World Championship. Spain have already been trying to integrate the core of their young talent in the long-term “2029 project” which aims to blend the current core of experienced internationals with the promising generation that Rocamora has coached at junior level, targeting a return to the world’s elite on home soil.

Most recently, Spain were silver medallists at the 2019 IHF Women’s World Championship and finished fourth at the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship, which they hosted. 

Rocamora will make his debut in the doubleheader against Austria, on 4 and 7 March 2026, in the EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers.