The International Handball Federation (IHF) Head Office in Basel, Switzerland was the setting on Friday for the group draws of the 11th IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships.

The two global events will be played side-by-side at the ‘Pingtan International Beach Sports Base’ at Long Wangtou Ocean Park on Pingtan Island, People’s Republic of China from 18 to 23 June 2024.

This edition marks the 20-year anniversary of the IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships, after it made its debut in 2004 in Egypt, with 32 national teams set to travel from across the world to compete for global glory in Asia.

The draw was conducted by Hristo Boskoski, IHF office member responsible for Beach Handball.

As organisers, the People’s Republic of China (CHN) had the right to choose the groups in which they competed. This applied to both the men’s and women’s competitions.

Tough groups, tough competition expected

The draw event started with the women’s competition and saw the United States of America come out of the pot first. A further 11 teams were drawn before a short pause for hosts People’s Republic of China to choose their group. The home nation chose Group A, featuring debutants Philippines.

A further three teams were drawn, ending with Brazil – who won the 2006, 2012, and 2014 titles and who were drawn into group D which also features the last two winners of the IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championships – 2018 champions Greece and 2022 winners Germany.

Puerto Rico were first to be drawn in the men’s competition with 11 more teams drawn ahead of the break to allow the People’s Republic of China to choose their group.

They chose Group B, a group that will also feature Brazil, Spain and Tunisia.

Current world champions Croatia were drawn into Group C, alongside Puerto Rico, Portugal and Argentina.

For further information on the team competing, click HERE. 

The draws were made as follows:

2024 IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship

Group A: Australia (AUS), Oman (OMA), Denmark (DEN), Hungary (HUN)

Group B: Tunisia (TUN), Spain (ESP), People’s Republic of China (CHN), Brazil (BRA)

Group C: Puerto Rico (PUR), Portugal (POR), Argentina (ARG), Croatia (CRO)

Group D: United States of America (USA), Uruguay (URU), Qatar (QAT), Germany (GER)

2024 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship

Group A: Australia (AUS), Philippines (PHI), People’s Republic of China (CHN), Portugal (POR)

Group B: Croatia (CRO), Vietnam (VIE), Argentina (ARG), Spain (ESP)

Group C: United States of America (USA), Denmark (DEN), Norway (NOR), Netherlands (NED)

Group D: Puerto Rico (PUR), Greece (GRE), Brazil (BRA), Germany (GER)

Competition Format
The men’s and women’s competitions feature 16 teams each, initially divided into four preliminary round groups of four teams each.

The top three teams in each group (12 in total) move through to two main round groups of six teams each, with the top four in each then moving through to the quarter-finals and subsequent semi-finals, bronze medal, placement and final matches.

The bottom team in each of the four preliminary groups will move into the consolation round.

Match schedule
The match schedule and throw-off times will be decided and communicated in due course via IHF.info. Please note – the IHF reserves the right to change the throw-off times and other details of the match schedule at any time within the principles of the ‘Regulations for IHF Competitions’.

Playing squads
All 32 teams competing at China 2024 have to provide a provisional list of a maximum of 20 players by 18 May 2024 (one month before the start of the event). All players must be eligible to play and be a minimum of 16 years old (born by, or earlier than, 2008).

To watch the draw again visit the main International Handball Federation (IHF) YouTube Channel.