International Handball Federation

International Handball Federation
SportHandball
Other sports
Official websiteihf.info
History
Preceding organisationsInternational Amateur Athletic Federation
(1926–1928)
International Amateur Handball Federation
(1928–1946)
Year of formation12 July 1946 (1946-07-12)
Demographics
Membership size209 members
Affiliations
Other affiliation(s)
Governance
PresidentHassan Moustafa
Honorary president
  • Erwin Lanc
Headquarters
Address
  • Peter Merian-Strasse 23, P.O. Box CH-4002, Basel
CountrySwitzerland
General directorAmal Khalifa
Official language(s)English, French and German
Main organIHF Congress
IHF Council
Finance
Company statusActive
Operating incomeIncrease CHF 7.24 million or US$ 7.84 million (in 2022)
Increase CHF 2.10 million or US$ 2.28 million (in 2023)
SponsorsGerflor
Hummel International
Sportfive
Molten Corporation
Regions
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • North America and Caribbean
  • Oceania
  • South and Central America

The International Handball Federation (IHF) is the administrative and controlling body for handball and beach handball.[1] IHF is responsible for the organisation of handball's major international tournaments, notably the IHF World Men's Handball Championship, which commenced in 1938, and the IHF World Women's Handball Championship, which commenced in 1957.

IHF was founded in 1946 to oversee international competitions. Headquartered in Basel, its membership now comprises 209 national federations. Each member country must each also be a member of one of the six regional confederations: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Caribbean, Oceania, and South and Central America. Hassan Moustafa from Egypt has been President of the IHF since 26 November 2000.[2]

History

The precursor to IHF, the International Amateur Handball Federation (IAHF) was founded in Amsterdam during the 1928 Olympic Games.[3]

The IHF was founded on 12 July 1946, in Palace Hotel in Copenhagen (Denmark) by representatives of eight national federations. The founding members were Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland. The first president of IHF was Gösta Björk from Sweden.[3] Björk was replaced in 1950 by Hans Baumann from Switzerland. In 1954, the first IHF Men's World Championship, was conducted under the aegis of the IHF, in Sweden with the participation of six national teams.[3] In 1957, the first IHF World Women's Handball Championship was held in SFR Yugoslavia with the participation of nine national teams.[3] Handball was included in the Olympic Games for the first time under the auspices of IHF in Munich 1972 (men's tournament) and Montreal 1976 (women's tournament).

Structure

Laws and governance

IHF is headquartered in Basel, and is a federation established under the Law of Switzerland. IHF's supreme body is the IHF Congress, an assembly made up of representatives from each affiliated member association. Each national handball association has one vote, regardless of its size or handballing strength. The Congress assembles in ordinary session once in two years (odd years) after the IHF World Men's Handball Championship. The congress makes decisions relating to IHF's governing statutes and their method of implementation and application. Only the Congress can pass changes to IHF's statutes. The congress approves the annual report, and decides on the acceptance of new national associations and holds elections. Congress elects the President of IHF, its General Secretary, and the other members of the IHF Council. IHF's Council, chaired by the President, is the main decision-making body of the organisation in the intervals of Congress. The Council is composed of 18 people: the President, 5 Vice Presidents, and 12 members. The Council is the body that decides which country will host the World Championship. The President and General Secretary are the main officeholders of IHF, and are in charge of its daily administration, carried out by the General Secretariat. Hassan Moustafa is the current president, appointed in the year 2000 at the 28th Ordinary IHF Congress.

Six confederations and 209 national associations

The IHF is composed of six continental federations which organize continental championships held every other second year:

In addition to continental competitions between national teams, the federations arrange international tournaments between club teams.[4]

Until 2017, there were five continental confederations. On 14 January 2018, the IHF Council divided the Pan-American Confederation into the North America and the Caribbean Handball Confederation and the South and Central America Handball Confederation. The authority to divide a continental confederation was assigned to the IHF Congress, but the 36th IHF Congress in 2017 authorized the IHF Council to divide the Pan-American Team Handball Federation.[5]

IHF presidents

No. Name Country Term
1. Gösta Björk  Sweden 11 July 1946 – 9 September 1950
2. Hans Baumann†  Switzerland 9 September 1950 – 9 February 1971
Interim Paul Högberg  Sweden 9 February 1971 – 23 August 1972
3. Paul Högberg  Sweden 23 August 1972 – 25 July 1984
4. Erwin Lanc  Austria 25 July 1984 – 26 November 2000
5. Hassan Moustafa  Egypt 26 November 2000 – present

† Hans Baumann died in office on 9 February 1971 due to illness.

IHF Executive committee

The following is the IHF Executive Committee for the term 2021 — 2025.

Designation Name
President Egypt Hassan Moustafa
1st Vice-president France Joël Delplanque
Treasurer Sweden Anna Rapp
Executive members Romania Narcisa Lecușanu
Czech Republic František Táborský
Managing director Egypt Amal Khalifa

IHF Council

The IHF Council is the IHF's main decision-making body between meetings of the IHF Congress. It is currently serving a 2021—2025 term.

IHF commissions

IHF Commission of Coaching and Methods Germany Dietrich Späte
IHF Medical Commission TBD
IHF Commission for Development Croatia Tomislav Grahovac
IHF Athletes' Commission Poland Karolina Kudłacz-Gloc
IHF Arbitration Commission Croatia Lovro Badzim
IHF Arbitration Tribunal Montenegro Zoran Radojičić
IHF Ethics Commission Egypt Hussein Moustafa Fathy
  • Italics means Acting Chairperson

IHF tournaments

Handball
  • IHF World Men's Handball Championship
  • IHF World Women's Handball Championship
  • IHF Men's Junior World Championship
  • IHF Women's Junior World Championship
  • IHF Men's Youth World Championship
  • IHF Women's Youth World Championship
  • IHF Men's Cadet World Championship
  • IHF Women's Cadet World Championship
  • IHF Emerging Nations Championship
  • IHF Inter-Continental Trophy
  • IHF Confederations Cup (proposed)
Beach handball
Wheelchair handball
  • IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship
Club handball
Multi-sport events
  • Beach handball at the Youth Olympic Games

Medals

As of 1 August 2025 (After 120 Events)

Events

  1. IHF World Men's Handball Championship (1938-2025) - 29 Editions
  2. IHF World Women's Handball Championship (1957-2023) - 26 Editions
  3. IHF Men's Junior World Championship (1977-2025) - 24 Editions
  4. IHF Women's Junior World Championship (1977-2024) - 23 Editions
  5. IHF Men's Youth World Championship (2005-2023) - 9 Editions
  6. IHF Women's Youth World Championship (2005-2024) - 9 Editions

With Precursors

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Russia (RUS)3112447
2 Denmark (DEN)16181448
3 France (FRA)147829
4 Germany (GER)11101233
5 Sweden (SWE)97925
6 Romania (ROU)82717
7 Serbia (SRB)791127
8 Norway (NOR)610622
9 Spain (ESP)58417
10 South Korea (KOR)35816
11 Hungary (HUN)212822
12 Croatia (CRO)27312
13 Czech Republic (CZE)2349
14 Egypt (EGY)2024
15 Netherlands (NED)1146
16 Brazil (BRA)1001
17 Poland (POL)0145
18 Iceland (ISL)0134
 Slovenia (SLO)0134
20 Austria (AUT)0112
 Bulgaria (BUL)0112
 Portugal (POR)0112
23 Lithuania (LTU)0101
 Qatar (QAT)0101
 Ukraine (UKR)0101
26 Faroe Islands (FRO)0011
 Montenegro (MNE)0011
 Tunisia (TUN)0011
Totals (28 entries)120120120360

Title holders

International title holders

Competition Men's Champion Women's Champion
World Cup  Denmark (2023) (3)  France (2023) (3)
Handball Olympic Tournament  Denmark (2024) (2)  Norway (2024) (3*)
Emerging Nations Championship  Great Britain (2025) (1) —
Junior World Championship  Germany (2023) (3)  France (2024) (1)
Youth World Championship  Spain (2023) (1)  Spain (2024) (1)
Cadet World Championship —
Handball Youth Olympic Tournament  Spain (2018) (1*)  Argentina (2018) (1*)
Club World Cup Germany SC Magdeburg (2023) (3) —
Beach Handball World Championship  Croatia (2022) (3)  Germany (2022) (1)
Youth Beach Handball World Championship  Croatia (2022) (1*)  Spain (2022) (1*)

Continental title holders

Africa Asia Europe Oceania Pan-America
Senior Men's  Egypt (2024) (9)  Qatar (2024) (6)  France (2024) (4)  Australia (2014) (8*)  Argentina (2018) (7)
Senior Women's  Angola (2022) (15*)  South Korea (2022) (16*)  Norway (2022) (9*)  Australia (2016) (7*)  Brazil (2017) (10*)
Men's Continental Games  Angola (2019) (1)  Qatar (2022) (3) —  Australia (2006) (2*)  Argentina (2023) (3*)
Women's Continental Games  Angola (2019) (7*)  Japan (2022) (1) —  New Caledonia (2007) (1*)  Brazil (2023) (7*)
Junior Men's  Egypt (2022) (13*)  Japan (2022) (1)  Spain (2024) (4*)  Australia (2022) (5*)  Brazil (2017) (6*)
Junior Women's  Angola (2023) (11*)  South Korea (2023) (16*)  Hungary (2023) (3)  New Caledonia (2023) (2*)  Brazil (2018) (9*)
Youth Boys  Egypt (2022) (7*)  Japan (2024) (3*)  Sweden (2024) (3*)  French Polynesia (2022) (2*)  Argentina (2017) (8*)
Youth Girls  Egypt (2023) (5*)  Japan (2023) (1)  France (2023) (2)  New Caledonia (2023) (3*)  Brazil (2018) (12*)
Boys' Continental Youth Games —  Qatar (2013) (1*)  Germany (2023) (3*) — —
Girls' Continental Youth Games —  South Korea (2013) (1*)  France (2023) (2) — —
Men's Club Egypt Al-Zamalek SC (2019) (12*) Kuwait Al-Kuwait SC (2022) (1) Germany SC Magdeburg (2022–23) (4) Australia Sydney University (2024) (10) Brazil H. Taubaté (2018) (5*)
Women's Club Angola 1º de Agosto (2019) (6) Kazakhstan Kaysar Club (2019) (2*) Norway Vipers Kristiansand (2022–23) (3) Australia University of Technology Sydney (2023) (1) Brazil EC Pinheiros (2017) (1*)
Men's Beach Handball —  Iran (2022) (1)  Hungary (2023) (1)  New Zealand (2022) (1)  Brazil (2018) (7*)
Women's Beach Handball —  Vietnam (2022) (1)  Germany (2023) (3*)  Australia (2022) (5*)  Brazil (2018) (4*)
Men's Youth Beach Handball —  Iran (2022) (1*)  Sweden (2021)  Australia (2017) (1*)  Brazil (2017) (1*)
Women's Youth Beach Handball —  Thailand (2022) (1*)  Hungary (2021)  American Samoa (2017) (1*)  Argentina (2017) (1*)
  • * = Record titles

Member federations

Category A
  • Algeria Algeria
  • Argentina Argentina
  • Austria Austria
  • Belarus Belarus
  • Bahrain Bahrain
  • China China
  • Croatia Croatia
  • Czech Republic Czechia
  • Denmark Denmark
  • Spain Spain
  • France France
  • Germany Germany
  • Hungary Hungary
  • Iran I. R. Iran
  • Iceland Iceland
  • Italy Italy
  • Japan Japan
  • South Korea South Korea
  • Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
  • Kuwait Kuwait
  • Montenegro Montenegro
  • Netherlands Netherlands
  • Norway Norway
  • Oman Oman
  • Poland Poland
  • Qatar Qatar
  • Romania Romania
  • Russia Russian Federation
  • Slovenia Slovenia
  • Serbia Serbia
  • Switzerland Switzerland
  • Slovakia Slovakia
  • Sweden Sweden
  • United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
Category B
  • Angola Angola
  • Belgium Belgium
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Brazil Brazil
  • Egypt Egypt
  • Finland Finland
  • Greece Greece
  • Hong Kong Hong Kong, China
  • Israel Israel
  • Jordan Jordan
  • Kazakhstan Kazakhstan
  • Libya Libya
  • Luxembourg Luxembourg
  • Morocco Morocco
  • North Macedonia North Macedonia
  • Portugal Portugal
  • Singapore Singapore
  • Tunisia Tunisia
  • Turkey Turkey
  • Ukraine Ukraine
Category C
  • Afghanistan Afghanistan
  • Albania Albania
  • American Samoa American Samoa
  • Andorra Andorra
  • Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda
  • Armenia Armenia
  • Australia Australia
  • Azerbaijan Azerbaijan
  • The Bahamas Bahamas
  • Bangladesh Bangladesh
  • Barbados Barbados
  • Belize Belize
  • Benin Benin
  • Bhutan Bhutan
  • Bolivia Bolivia
  • Botswana Botswana
  • British Virgin Islands British Virgin Islands
  • Brunei Brunei
  • Bulgaria Bulgaria
  • Burkina Faso Burkina Faso
  • Burundi Burundi
  • Cambodia Cambodia
  • Cameroon Cameroon
  • Canada Canada
  • Cayman Islands Cayman Islands
  • Cape Verde Cape Verde
  • Central African Republic Central African Republic
  • Chad Chad
  • Chile Chile
  • Colombia Colombia
  • Republic of the Congo Congo
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo DR Congo
  • Cook Islands Cook Islands
  • Comoros Comoros
  • Costa Rica Costa Rica
  • Cuba Cuba
  • Cyprus Cyprus
  • Djibouti Djibouti
  • Dominica Dominica
  • Dominican Republic Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador Ecuador
  • El Salvador El Salvador
  • Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea
  • Estonia Estonia
  • Ethiopia Ethiopia
  • Faroe Islands Faroe Islands
  • Federated States of Micronesia Federated States of Micronesia
  • Fiji Fiji
  • Gabon Gabon
  • The Gambia Gambia
  • Georgia (country) Georgia
  • United Kingdom Great Britain
  • Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau
  • Ghana Ghana
  • Greenland Greenland
  • Grenada Grenada
  • Guatemala Guatemala
  • Guinea Guinea
  • Guam Guam
  • Guyana Guyana
  • Haiti Haiti
  • Honduras Honduras
  • India India
  • Indonesia Indonesia
  • Iraq Iraq
  • Republic of Ireland Ireland
  • Ivory Coast Ivory Coast
  • Jamaica Jamaica
  • Kenya Kenya
  • Kiribati Kiribati
  • Kosovo Kosovo
  • Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan
  • Laos Laos
  • Latvia Latvia
  • Lebanon Lebanon
  • Lesotho Lesotho
  • Liberia Liberia
  • Liechtenstein Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania Lithuania
  • Macau Macau,China
  • Madagascar Madagascar
  • Malawi Malawi
  • Malaysia Malaysia
  • Maldives Maldives
  • Marshall Islands Marshall Islands
  • Mali Mali
  • Malta Malta
  • Mauritania Mauritania
  • Mauritius Mauritius
  • Mexico Mexico
  • Moldova Moldova
  • Monaco Monaco
  • Mongolia Mongolia
  • Mozambique Mozambique
  • Namibia Namibia
  • Nauru Nauru
  • Nepal Nepal
  • New Zealand New Zealand
  • Nicaragua Nicaragua
  • Niger Niger
  • Nigeria Nigeria
  • North Korea North Korea
  • Pakistan Pakistan
  • Palestine Palestine
  • Palau Palau
  • Panama Panama
  • Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea
  • Paraguay Paraguay
  • Peru Peru
  • Philippines Philippines
  • Puerto Rico Puerto Rico
  • Rwanda Rwanda
  • Samoa Samoa
  • São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe
  • Senegal Senegal
  • Seychelles Seychelles
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia Saint Lucia
  • Sierra Leone Sierra Leone
  • Solomon Islands Solomon Islands
  • Somalia Somalia
  • South Africa South Africa
  • South Sudan South Sudan
  • Sri Lanka Sri Lanka
  • Sudan Sudan
  • Eswatini Swaziland
  • Syria Syria
  • Tanzania Tanzania
  • Tajikistan Tajikistan
  • Chinese Taipei Chinese Taipei
  • Thailand Thailand
  • Timor-Leste Timor Leste
  • Togo Togo
  • Tonga Tonga
  • Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago
  • Turkmenistan Turkmenistan
  • Tuvalu Tuvalu
  • Uganda Uganda
  • Uruguay Uruguay
  • United States United States of America
  • Uzbekistan Uzbekistan
  • Vanuatu Vanuatu
  • Venezuela Venezuela
  • Vietnam Vietnam
  • Yemen Yemen
  • Zambia Zambia
  • Zimbabwe Zimbabwe


Associated members

  • England England
  • French Polynesia French Polynesia
  • Northern Mariana Islands Northern Mariana Islands
  • Scotland Scotland

Regional members

  • French Guiana French Guiana
  • Guadeloupe Guadeloupe
  • Martinique Martinique
  • New Caledonia New Caledonia

IHF Awards

The IHF issues awards to organisations and individuals in recognition of their particular contribution to developing the sport of handball and the IHF.

These awards are:

  • Hans Baumann Trophy (defunct after 2015, renamed as IHF President's Development Award)
  • IHF Badge of Merit
  • IHF Certificate of Merit
  • IHF Cup of Honour and certificate
  • IHF Hall of Fame
  • IHF Honorary President and Honorary Members
  • IHF Olympic Order
  • IHF Plaque of Merit
  • IHF President's Development Award
  • IHF Referee's Badge of Honour
  • IHF Referee's Diploma of Honour
  • IHF Ring of Honour
  • IHF World Coach of the Year
  • IHF World Player of the Year

IHF partners

Type Partner
Official sportswear Hummel International
Host broadcaster Sportfive
Official ball supplier Molten Corporation
Official floor supplier Gerflor

References

  1. ^ Krieger, Jörg; Duckworth, Austin (2021). "Annexation or fertile inclusion? The origins of handball's international organisational structures". Sport in History. 42 (2): 235–256. doi:10.1080/17460263.2021.1927810. ISSN 1746-0263. S2CID 236363980.
  2. ^ Curriculum Vitae: Dr Hassan Moustafa EGY - 2000. International Handball Federation. Accessed February 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d "IHF | the International Handball Federation – Timeline of Milestones".
  4. ^ "Bylaws" (PDF). International Handball Federation. September 2007. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  5. ^ "IHF statement related to Pan-American continent". IHF. 19 January 2018.
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