Oman’s men’s senior team have been regular participants in the IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championships, appearing at its debut in 2004 and going on to appear in a total of seven events out of 10 in the three decades since it started.

But for their youth side, Tunisia 2025 is a debut appearance and one which is full of hope, after they replaced Qatar who grabbed the last qualification spot at the third edition of the Asian Handball Federation (AHF) Men’s Youth Asian Beach Handball Championships in Thailand last October.

When Mexico’s men throw-off their 2025 IHF Men’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship campaign they will be making handball history for their nation.

Depending on how you view life, you can look at Kenya’s preliminary group at Tunisia 2025 either as a glass half full or as a glass half empty situation.

On one hand, they are in a group with two of the medallists of the YAC EURO 16, held last year in Varna, Bulgaria: title-winners Hungary and the third-placed Germany.

It is not often that debutants enter a championship as favourites, but as current European champions, Hungary’s men are just that.

Last year at the YAC 16 EURO in Bulgaria, the Hungarians lost just one of their nine matches on their way to gold – losing to Spain in the main round. Their eight wins came against Romania, Bulgaria, Sweden, Croatia, Portugal, Czechia, Croatia and Spain, but this time, in the final, which they won 15:14 via shoot-out, Marko Forgacs scoring the winning one.

A bronze medal at the YAC16 EURO in Bulgaria last year ensured that the German men booked not only their spot at the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship in Tunisia, but a shot at a place for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal next year.

And while dreams of their first Olympic Games are present, immediate thoughts turn to what this age group can do at Tunisia 2025 where they will face debutants Kenya and Tanzania, plus reigning European champions Hungary in the preliminary stage.

Whilst the beauty of the Pacific island nation of the Cook Islands is unparalleled, the sheer remoteness of the country makes getting anywhere particularly hard.

But when they arrive in Tunisia later this month for the 2025 IHF Youth Men’s Beach Handball World Championship, the Cook Islands men’s youth beach handball team will become the first-ever team from their country to appear at an IHF World Championship.

Financial issues meant Brazil missed the debut edition of the IHF Men’s Youth Beach Handball World Championships back in 2017, with the team pulling out of the competition late on.

But the then South and Central America champions arrived for the second edition, Greece 2022, fully-prepared and ended up with a silver.

However, it was an inauspicious start, as they relied on a win against Togo to qualify through to the main round after losses against France and Croatia.

In a shock upset, Argentina’s women will not be competing at the 2025 IHF Women’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship, and, therefore, the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, after missing out on qualification at the 2024 South and Central American Handball Confederation (SCAHC) Youth (U17) Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball Championships held in Chile last December.