The Ambassadors inside and outside the arena are three experienced Beach Handball players who agree on how important it is to have achieved five quotas for the next World Cup of the discipline to be held in 2026.
Sofia Mangini from Chile, Patricia Scheppa from Brazil and Santiago Rodriguez from Uruguay are the COSCABAL beach handball referents, they are the ambassadors in and out of the arena, With a magnificent trajectory and in continuous ascent, these exponents gave us their testimonies.
Sensations in Chile
In the coming months, the SCA national team tournament will be played to determine the 5 available slots for the 2026 World Cup in Croatia.
“The truth is that we are very hopeful and happy to know that the 5 quotas have been confirmed, and this time 3 for the female branch. It is an opportunity that opens one more door for us to go to our first world championship”, said Sofia Mangini.
- Has the growth of beach handball in Chile during the last 2 years been significant?
“Very important, we had many outstanding achievements these last years, such as the medal of the men’s branch in the South American beach in Colombia 2023.”
“We also managed to recruit more than 100 children from different parts of Chile and initiate them in the game of beach handball. Today we have a generation that follows us, which gives us strength to continue fighting together for our goals.”
The Chilean national team has been working with an annual calendar that contains different stages to reach the SCA qualifier in the best way possible. “The dream of participating in a World Cup is getting closer and closer, we are very happy, enjoying the process,” said Mangini.Mangini closed.
With Brazilian rhythm
Another reference is the Brazilian Patricia Scheppa, player of the national team and ambassador of beach handball.
“We have to think about the importance of competing more and more. Competitions not only provide more playing opportunities, but also increase the visibility of the sport, foster the emergence of new talent and strengthen national federations.”
Scheppa says that sustaining a consistent and competitive schedule helps athletes gain rhythm, international experience and motivation to continue in the sport.
He also stressed the importance of more and more teams participating. “The more countries that participate, the greater the technical, tactical and cultural diversity on the continental stage, and this is directly reflected in a stronger America on the world stage.”
Regional growth prepares teams to compete at a high level at the World Championships.
- Is it possible for more countries in South and Central America to enter the competition?
“It is possible and necessary for more countries in South and Central America to participate in the competitions, but there are still significant barriers, especially financial, that hinder this expansion.”
Scheppa argues that the responsible institutions should create support initiatives, organize accessible tournaments, develop technical projects and form alliances with the public and private sectors.
“These strategic actions are essential to increase the participation of countries with fewer resources, strengthen the Americas as a whole, raise the level of skills and make the hemisphere more competitive.
“I believe that the 5 quotas for the next world cup serve as a stimulus for the development of our region, providing opportunities for different federations.”
“With more teams competing for a spot, continental tournaments like the SCA championship become more competitive. This raises the level of the competitions and better prepares the qualified teams.”
The charrúa claw
Santiago Rodríguez is a beach handball player not only for the Uruguayan national team, he is also a coach and one of the three ambassadors in and out of the arena.
- What is the importance of having all these quotas for a World Cup?
“In the women’s category, we will have 3 quotas thanks to Argentina’s participation in the World Cup in China 2024( silvermedal ).
In the men’s category, there will be two places, there I personally believe that we could give one more place to the continent, since for several years now 3 South American countries have been in the top 10 or I would say top 8 in the world”, said Santiago Rodriguez.
He also added: “At the South American level the qualification is becoming more and more hard-fought, I believe that this next qualifier will be the most hard-fought in recent times.”
“It was shown that countries like Chile and Paraguay are working to catch up with the top 3.” (Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina).
Santiago expressed his expectation regarding the match that will define who will be the two men’s teams that will qualify. “At the men’s level with 2 quotas I would rent balconies to watch those semifinals, I am sure that in both branches a very good level of Beach Handball will be shown.”
- Do you feel that the practice of beach handball has grown in South America?
“No doubt!” but I really think the growing is worldwide. I follow a lot of Beach from other countries around the world. Today, Spain is several steps above at the national tournament level and it certainly shows with everything they are achieving at the junior and senior level.”
“In the Americas, the countries that are in the top 3 have been growing for years thanks to internal competitions.”
He also highlighted the work done by Chile, Ecuador and Paraguay in competing at the national level. And another great step at continent level that he remarked has been the Open tournaments organized in Chile.
Finally, Rodriguez indicated the vital importance of competitions at the club level, “for me it would be a very important step for the teams to compete internationally as this would make the national teams have players with more games”.
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Photos: COSCABAL / Germán Paez / Camilo Rotela
By Loly
