Al Noor will make their first IHF Men’s Super Globe appearance after they were selected by the host nation as a wild card team. Winners of the Prince Faisal bin Fahad Saudi Handball League last season for the first time since the 2016/17 season, they join fellow Saudi side Al-Wehda in the competition.

Two years ago, Al Wehda took part in their first IHF Men’s Super Globe and finished fourth, winning a game against Brazilian side Taubaté and conceding losses against European powerhouses Barça and Vardar.

This time around, the Saudi side will play once again as hosts in Jeddah, with a makeshift roster, which includes several interesting names, like the top scorer of the IHF Men’s World Championship in January, Qatari back Frankis Carol Marzo.

After the expansion to a 10-team line-up at the 2019 IHF Men’s Super Globe, the winners of the North America and Caribbean Senior Club Championship earned an automatic berth to the competition.

Two years ago, New York City THC, during their maiden participation in the competition, lost all their three games, but it meant that American handball was finally put on the map, with plenty of experience still to be gained.

The biggest rivalry in Brazilian handball, EC Pinheiros versus HC Taubaté, had another chapter added in August, when the two sides toughed it out at the South and Central America Men's Club Championship for a place at the IHF Men’s Super Globe.

Both teams won their first two games, against Paraguayan side Olimpia, and Brazilian rival Nacional, making the final match a do-or-die one. Pinheiros won the domestic league in 2015, 2017 and 2018, while Taubaté beat their archrivals to the trophy in 2014, 2016 and 2019.

Last June, Qatari side Al Duhail SC were crowned champions in the 23rd AHF Men’s Club League Championship after a flawless tournament, which saw them seal the title after winning all seven games in Jeddah.

The Qatari team looked flawless at times, securing their second Asian crown, after the one won in the 2017/18 season.

It was a collective performance from Al Duhail, with nine players scoring at least 20 goals in the tournament, much to the satisfaction of coach Goran Dzokic.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made life difficult for handball in the past 18 months, especially in Oceania. Multiple lockdowns, including the one imposed at the time of writing, have forced the cancellation of several championships, while the travel ban adopted by Australia and New Zealand has seen the two countries effectively shut to outsiders.

Egyptian handball has known a well-documented resurgence in the past two years, as the national team finished seventh at the IHF Men’s World Championship they hosted in January and fourth at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the African nation’s best finish in the competition.