South and Central America qualification pathway for Spain 2021 confirmed

The South and Central America Handball Confederation (SCAHC), also known in Spanish as the Confederación Sur y Centro Americana de Handball (COSCABAL), have announced the qualification process for their member federations in relation to their three qualifying spots for the 25th IHF Women’s World Championship, set to be held in Spain this December.

The process will take place in two stages:

First Stage – Women’s Central America Senior Classification
26-31 July 2021
IND Handball Gymnasium, Nicaraguan Sports Institute, Managua, Nicaragua

Six Central American countries have been invited to participate in a regional qualifying championship with the winning team moving through to the second, final stage.

Invited teams: Costa Rica (CRC), El Salvador (ESA), Guatemala (GUA), Honduras (HON), Nicaragua (NCA), Panama (PAN)

Second, Final Stage – Women’s South and Central America Senior Classification
4-10 October 2021
Sports Center National Stadium, Santiago, Chile

All 13 teams from South America have been invited to participate, with the winners of the Women’s Central America Senior Classification joining them. Teams ranked 1-3 will receive a direct place for the 2021 IHF Women’s Championship in Spain.

Invited Teams: Argentina (ARG), Belize (BIZ), Bolivia (BOL), Brazil (BRA), Chile (CHI), Colombia (COL), Ecuador (ECU), French Guiana, Guyana (GUY), Paraguay (PAR), Peru (PER), Uruguay (URU), Venezuela (VEN) + Winners of Women’s Central America Senior Classification

More information about the qualification events
(as of 31 May 2021)

Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama have already confirmed their participation in the Women’s Central America Classification, while Guatemala have excused their participation due to governmental restrictions in place not allowing them to leave as a national delegation, nor to carry out any preparatory sports activities.

Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia have already confirmed their participation in the Women’s South and Central America Senior Classification.

In case of ‘force majeure’, the SCAHC has already established alternative plans should the Women’s South and Central America Senior Classification event not be able to take place in Chile, with Argentina a second and third choice for hosting, firstly in Tecnopolis, Villa Martelli, Buenos Aires and secondly, GymNasium No1 in Mendoza. Discussions are also underway with Uruguay and Brazil as a potential fourth host nation.

In a letter to the IHF, SCAHC President Marcel Guido Mancilla Bravo and SCAHC Chairman of Competitions Commission, Martin Chilaca, outlined the reasons behind the two-stage approach.

“The conditions in the region (South and Central America) caused by COVID 19 prevented any [one] NF being an [overall] event host [with] Argentina and Chile declining on instructions from their governments. [In addition,] the commitment of member NFs to attend a qualifying event during June was not concrete, [but] we would like to clarify that it was not a decision of the NFs, but the mandatory compliance with government authorisations to protect the health of our players. 

“The countries of South America are ranked in conjunction with the Central American ranked teams,” it added.

“In this way, the classification for Central American countries is technically and economically more feasible than directly participating in the final event. They get a development event in the Central American area and will be able to apply for funding from the respective National Olympic Committee to travel to South America in the final instance as a representative of the area.”

For more information on the SCAHC, visit their website.

About Spain 2021

The 25th IHF Women's World Championship, the first edition to feature 32 teams, will take place in Spain from 1 to 19 December 2021. 

The event will be staged in five venues in the cities of Barcelona, Castellón, Granollers, Llíria and Torrevieja.

For more details, including the list of nations already qualified, click here or visit the official competition website.