Wednesday 22 July will be a landmark day for handball, as the International Handball Federation (IHF) Head Office in Basel, Switzerland, plays host to three separate draws in the space of 45 minutes - setting the stage for three major competitions across the sport's Olympic, club and Para pathways.

Starting at 11:00 CEST with the Beach Handball draw for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, followed at 11:30 CEST by the 19th IHF Men's Club World Championship, and concluding at 11:45 CEST with the 4th IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, the day will shape the road ahead for these events which will dominate the autumn in the world of handball.

11:00 CEST - Beach Handball draw for Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games

The draw for the Beach Handball competitions at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games opens proceedings, streamed live on the IHF YouTube channel and conducted by IHF office member responsible for Beach Handball, Hristo Boskoski, alongside IHF competition director Patric Strub.

Sixteen teams - eight men's, eight women's - are set to appear at Dakar 2026, seeded based on results from the 2025 IHF Men's and Women's Youth (U17) Beach Handball World Championships in Hammamet, Tunisia. As hosts, Senegal hold the right to choose their preliminary groups in both competitions.

 

Men's competition: Brazil, Cook Islands, Germany, Hungary, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Thailand, Tunisia
Women's competition: Croatia, France, Kenya, Mexico, People's Republic of China, Senegal, Spain, Uruguay.

Pots for both draws will be revealed in order — Pot 1, Pot 2, Pot 3, then Pot 4, with Senegal's group placement decided by the Senegalese Handball Federation.

 

Beach Handball action will unfold across five matchdays, from 9 to 13 November, at the Saly Beach West venue on Senegal's Petite Côte. It marks the sport's second appearance at a Youth Olympic Games, following its debut in Buenos Aires in 2018, and a historic moment for the continent as Dakar becomes the first African city to host the YOG.

More info can be found here.

11:30 CEST - 19th IHF Men's Club World Championship draw

Half an hour later, attention turns to the club game, as the draw sets the stage for a revamped 10-team Club World Championship, returning to Egypt's New Administrative Capital for a third consecutive edition, from 24 September to 1 October 2026.

The 2026 edition introduces a new format: six teams go straight into the Group Phase, while four contest a Preliminary Qualification round for the remaining two group-stage spots - with the two losing sides playing off for 9th and 10th place, ensuring every team has matches throughout the week. From the Group Phase, the competition shifts to a knockout structure across all placements, from the title match down to 7th/8th place.

Preliminary Qualification pots: Pot 1: Los Angeles Handball Club (North America and Caribbean), Sydney Uni (Oceania) Pot 2: Zamalek SC (Africa), Veszprém HC (Europe)

 

Group Phase pots (six direct qualifiers, plus the two Preliminary Qualification winners): Pot 1: FC Barcelona (reigning champions), Füchse Berlin (Europe) Pot 2: Al Ahly (hosts), Montada (Africa) Pot 3: Burgan SC (Asia), E.C. Pinheiros (South and Central America) Pot 4: Preliminary Qualification winners

The Group Phase draw will be a free draw, with final group compositions only decided on the day. Reigning six-time champions Barcelona headline the field, joined by Füchse Berlin - boosted by IHF Male World Player of the Year Mathias Gidsel - and two-time finalists Veszprém HC, chasing another title under Xavi Pascual. Hosts Al Ahly play at home for a third straight edition, Morocco's Montada become the first team from their country to feature since 1997, and Los Angeles Handball Club arrive as debutants representing North America and the Caribbean.

Find out more about this draw here.

11:45 CEST - 4th IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship draw

Closing out the day, the draw for the 4th IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship confirms a landmark edition for the Para game: a record 12 teams, representing all six continents for the first time in the competition's history, will contest the tournament in Granollers, Spain, from 16 to 20 September 2026.

Libya, Australia and Lithuania will make their World Championship debuts, joining nine teams with prior experience on the wheelchair handball world stage. Reigning champions Egypt, victorious on home soil at the 3rd edition in Cairo, headline the field, alongside African debutants Libya, North American representatives the USA - runners-up at the previous edition - and South American duo Brazil and Chile. Host nation Spain compete on home ground for the first time, joined by fellow European sides Portugal, France and debutants Lithuania, while Asia is represented by Japan and India, and Australia becomes the first Oceanian side ever to feature in the competition.

Pots for the draw: 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).

 

Per Article 1.3 of the Competition Manual for Wheelchair Handball, the draw will see Pot 3 teams drawn first, followed by Pot 1, before hosts Spain exercise their right to choose their preliminary group. The remaining three teams from Pot 2 will then be drawn to complete the four groups.

The tournament will run as a preliminary round of four groups of three teams, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals, with the top two teams in each group advancing - guaranteeing every side a minimum of five matches across the week.

Find out more here.