Thanks to one of the longest relationships with Wheelchair Handball, dating back well over 30 years, it was no surprise that Brazil took the debut four-a-side IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship by storm.

At Egypt 2022 they won all five of their preliminary round games 2-0 (against Slovenia, Netherlands, India, Egypt and Chile) before seeing off the hosts again, this time in the final, 2-1 (8:3, 6:7, 6:3).

Two years later they now find themselves facing three new teams in the preliminary round, where France, Japan and the United States of America await them in group A – Japan the only nation which can boast a longer, documented history in the sport.

“Like all the other teams, I believe the feeling is to achieve maximum success and with Brazil it is no different, we will do everything possible to be in the final game again,” said Brazil head coach Samuel Macena to ihf.info on the eve of the championship.

“Group A is the most mysterious of the championship, with three teams making their debuts. We know little about them, but the certainty is that they will not be easy games.”

Macena is hoping the experienced captain Marcelo Amaral, plus Jordean Rodrigues and Egypt 2022 MVP Guilherme Lourenço, combined with new additions can be the right recipe for success.

For Amaral, who won the title two years ago, it is clear that Brazil will be looked at as the team to beat, but has a word of warning for their competitors.

“There’s a feeling of great responsibility because Brazil, as the current champions, will certainly be something for all the other teams and this generates an even greater feeling of responsibility,” said Amaral to ihf.info. 

“But firstly, it’s a feeling of honour to be able to represent our country, our nation and our sport. I hope to help my teammates as much as possible on and off the court and as a team. I hope we play good games and have an excellent competition.

“Our team for Egypt 2024 is a more mature team,” he added. “We have kept a base of players who were there in 2022, which brings experience to the group, but mixed it with new athletes who have stood out in the last two years playing in national competitions.

“This team is certainly better prepared both in terms of individual technical skills of its athletes and in the collective – Brazil in 2024 is stronger than in 2022, for sure.

“We are in a group where the other teams are debuting in the competition, but this does not diminish the potential of each of them. I see a very strong and competitive group with three different schools, each with its own characteristics.

“However, our combination of experience, individual potential and a better-prepared collective puts us once again among the favourites.”

Brazil developing sport and future players at home for global success

According to the Brazilian Handball Confederation (CBHB) currently 168 men’s and women’s players across 23 teams in six states (Paraná, São Paulo, Alagoas, Ceará, Santa Catarina and Rio de Janeiro) are registered in the sport – but the number is higher, due to players who have only participated in national championships being registered. 

And these numbers are set to grow even more as the CBHB continues to grow the sport in the South American nation.

“Wheelchair Handball has been practiced in Brazil for many years and there is a community that believes in the development of this sport at both national and global levels,” explained Rudney Uezu, part of the coaching set-up from 2022 and now team official at Egypt 2024 in addition to this role as Director of Technical Development at the CBHB, to ihf.info.

“It is of utmost importance for us to be part of the most significant competition in the world and we also seek to actively contribute to the consolidation of Wheelchair Handball worldwide.

“Over the past three years, we have been working on structuring and professionalising the sport in Brazil, organising national championships (2023 - 8 men’s teams/3 women’s teams, 2024 – 10/3) in partnership with the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB),” he added.

“We now have a national referee panel and a team of functional classifiers and have secured an important sponsor Faculdade de Medicina de Olinda (FMO) to donate sports wheelchairs – 20 were distributed to 10 teams in 2023 with 40 set to be distributed this year. We have also created a programme for the distribution and donation of official goalposts five states in three regions of the country, also financed by FMO.

“Our plans include spreading Wheelchair Handball throughout the country, aiming to support the establishment of teams in regions where they do not yet exist by supporting regional competitions and we also seek to strengthen women's competitions.

“In addition, we will continue to train coaches through our Wheelchair Handball Academy and with these actions, we believe we can strengthen the culture of our sport in the country, which will help us maintain a strong presence internationally.”

For captain Amaral, the reality of this investment and support is showing at the court level and he hopes the future continues with the upward trend currently being seen.

“There is still a lot to be achieved, but new teams from different regions of Brazil are already forming and the calendar is taking on a format that tends to develop the sport more quickly in all regions of the country,” said the 44-year-old captain.

“At the Brazilian level, my hope is that the sport continues to grow. We know that we have to overcome challenges each season, but I am hopeful that Wheelchair Handball is experiencing its best days in Brazil. 

“When I look at the global scenario, I see that these World Championships are happening, the sport is moving towards realising a dream: in becoming a Paralympic sport. I would really like this dream to be a reality.

“It is no longer possible to say that Wheelchair Handball is not a global sport. All continents are developing, and proof of this is that in Egypt 2024 we will have this global representation.

“Wheelchair Handball is a sport that captivates, impacts and motivates. It is beautiful to watch and it is impossible for someone to watch a match and not cheer and to not like it.”

Coach: Samuel MACENA

Previous appearances: 2022 (4-a-side): 1st, 2022 (6-a-side): DNQ

Preliminary Group at Egypt 2024: Group A – Brazil, France, Japan, United States of America