May will be an action-packed month of handball, with crucial matches being played throughout the world, both at club and at the international level, with 11 tickets for the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship ready to be sealed in Europe.

The European Qualification Part 2 – Phase 2 will be played in a doubleheader system, with the first leg scheduled for 8 and 9 May, while the second legs are played on 11 and 12 May.

In total, 11 tickets for Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 will be delivered, as 22 teams are on the clock and will try to qualify to the world handball flagship competition. Probably the most balanced tie is the one between Spain and Serbia, but there are also other well-balanced doubleheaders, with Slovenia facing Switzerland or the Faroe Islands aiming for their maiden World Championship berth against North Macedonia.

Czechia will face Romania, with the latter side trying to secure their first ticket to the IHF Men’s World Championship since 2011, while Hungary are big favourites against Lithuania, as well as Portugal against Bosnia Herzegovina.

A well-balanced tie is the one between Greece and the Netherlands, while Poland are favoured against Slovakia, Montenegro will try to use their experience against Italy and Iceland try to secure their ticket against Estonia.

The Austria vs Georgia doubleheader also looks exciting, with the card providing some excellent matches and some crunch ties, as there is hardly room for mistake in the 11 doubleheaders. Currently, 18 teams have qualified for the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship.

Another qualification event for the 2025 IHF Men's World Championship is the 2024 NACHC Men's Handball Championship, which will see six teams - Puerto Rico, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Greenland and Cuba - try to secure the coveted trophy. The competition is due to take place between 6 and 12 May in Ciudad de Mexico.

At club level, the second-tier European competition, the EHF European League, will see the EHF Finals Men and Women played in Hamburg (25-26 May) and Graz (11-12 May) respectively. Only the four women sides which will battle for the crown are already known, with Norwegian side Storhamar, French side Neptunes de Nantes and Romanian teams Gloria Bistrița and Dunărea Brăila fighting for the coveted trophy.

The first week of May will also see the four qualified sides for the EHF FINAL4 in both the men’s and the women’s EHF Champions League, with the business end of the European premium competition being played in each competitions in June.

Also at club level, the Women’s SCA Club Championship will take place between 21 and 25 May, where the top clubs at this level in the South and Central American Confederation locking horns for the trophy. The Men’s SCA Club Championship is also scheduled for 28 May – 1 June.

Several IHF Trophies will also be played in Africa throughout the month of May, with Zones 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 seeing team fight for the coveted trophies at the junior and youth level throughout the whole month.

Moving on the beach handball, the first stage of the 2023 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour is scheduled for Marica, Brazil, with six teams in each competition – men’s and women’s – at the start, in a superb competition, due to take place between 8 and 12 May.

A beach handball festival will also take place in Denmark between 10 and 12 May, with a superb line-up on display, as we are looking forward towards the Beach Handball Showcase at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.