Hosting the first ever IHF Four-a-Side Wheelchair Handball World Championship has put a new emphasis on the discipline in Egypt, which has been gaining popularity over the last few months.

In fact, with Egypt dominating African handball in the men’s indoor handball competitions over the past decade, including a hat-trick of wins in the continental championships this summer, it was just about right that wheelchair handball was going to become an important part of the development of the sport in the African country.

Wheelchair handball has been popular in South and Central America over the past two decades and has getting more and more focus in the region. While Brazil has been the driving force, other nations have adopted the discipline as well, such as Chile.

In Brazil, wheelchair handball made its debut in 2005, in the city of Toledo, Paraná. Professor Décio Roberto Calegari and his collaborators developed the rules for the practice of handball in a wheelchair, trying to create a dynamic, inclusive and low-cost sport, which culminated in the creation of Wheelchair Handball Four-a-Side.