Draw for the Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championship 2026 will be held on Saturday, 2 May 2026.
The draw will take place at 13:00 (Zagreb time) in Croatia. The broadcast is live on the main IHF YouTube channel and will feature the participation of 32 national teams.
Beach Handball: the World Cup will take place at Lake Jarun in Zagreb, Croatia from June 23-28, 2026.
Ranking
Qualifying phase for the world championship will conclude at the end of April with the continental championships of Africa and North America and the Caribbean, in addition to the final qualifying tournament of South and Central America.
Competition format
The men’s and women’s competitions have 16 teams each, initially divided into four groups of four teams each for the preliminary round.
Then, the top three teams from each group (12 in total) advance to two groups of six teams each for the main round.
While the top four in each group advance to the quarterfinals and semifinals. Then the bronze medal match and the final for the gold.
Last team in each of the four preliminary groups advances to the consolation round.
Drawing procedure
Finally, the draw for the men’s and women’s competition will have the teams distributed as follows:
Men’s
Pot 1: Croatia, Germany, Spain, Hungary. In 2: France, Portugal, Brazil, Denmark. Pot 3: Argentina, Oman, Oman, CAHB, Islamic Republic of Iran and 4: NACHC1, Australia, NACHC2, Italy.
Women’s
Pot 1: Germany, Spain, Argentina, Norway. In 2: Netherlands, Croatia, Denmark, Greece. Pot 3: Brazil, Vietnam, Philippines, Australia and 4: NACHC1, NACHC2, SCAHC3, CAHB.
Participating teams
Men’s competitiona
Hosts and reigning world champions: Croatia. AHF (Asia): Oman, 1st – Asian Championship. AHF: Islamic Republic of Iran, 2nd – Asian Championship. Europe: Germany, 1st – European Championship.
Spain, 2nd – European Championship. Hungary, 4th – European Championship. France, 5th – European Championship. Portugal, 6th – European Championship. and Denmark, 7th – European Championship.
EHF: Italy, 8th – European Championship. Africa: Continental berth to be awarded at the African Championship to be held in Togo from 24 to 27 April 2026.
Oceania: Australia, 1st -Championship. South and Central America: Brazil, 1st – South and Central America Championship and Argentina, 2nd.
North America and Caribbean: Continental berth to be awarded at the North American and Caribbean Beach Handball Championship, to be held in St. Kitts and Nevis from April 24-27, 2026.
Women’s competition
Host: Croatia. 2. Defending World Champion: Germany. AHF (Asia): Vietnam, 1st – Asian Championship. AHF: Philippines, 2nd – Asian Championship.
Europe: Spain, 1st – European Championship. Norway, 2nd – European, Netherlands, 4th – European, Denmark, 5th and Greece, 6th – European Championship.
Africa: Continental Place To be awarded at the African Championship to be held in Togo from 24 to 27 April 2026.
Oceania: Australia, 1st place at the Oceania Championship. South and Central America: Argentina, 1st place in the South and Central America Championship and Brazil, 2nd.
SCAHC: One continental berth will be awarded at the SCAHC Final Qualifying Tournament to be held in Peru on April 15-17, 2026.
NACHC: One continental berth will be awarded at the North American and Caribbean Championship.
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