The International Handball Federation (IHF) is the administrative and controlling body for handball and beach handball. 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.

History

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

From 10-13 July 1946, in Palace Hotel in Copenhagen (Denmark) the IHF Founding Congress was attended by 35 representatives of eight national federations, following a joint proposal and invitation from Denmark and Sweden. The founding members were Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland.

On 12 July 1946 the IHF was officially certified at the IHF Founding Congress, with the first president of IHF being Gösta Björk from Sweden. 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. In 1957, the first IHF World Women's Handball Championship was held in SFR Yugoslavia with the participation of nine national teams. 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.

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.

IHF presidents

No.NameCountryTerm
1.Gösta BjörkSweden11 July 1946 – 9 September 1950
2.Hans Baumann†Switzerland9 September 1950 – 9 February 1971
InterimPaul HögbergSweden9 February 1971 – 23 August 1972
3.Paul HögbergSweden23 August 1972 – 25 July 1984
4.Erwin LancAustria25 July 1984 – 26 November 2000
5.Hassan MoustafaEgypt26 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 2025 — 2029.

DesignationName
PresidentEgypt Hassan Moustafa
1st Vice-presidentFrance Philippe Bana
TreasurerSweden Anna Rapp
Executive membersRomania Narcisa Lecușanu
Spain Paco Blázquez García
Managing directorEgypt 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 MethodsGermany Dietrich Späte
IHF Medical CommissionCameroon Dr. Yannick Mossus
IHF Commission for DevelopmentCroatia Tomislav Grahovac
IHF Athletes' CommissionSpain Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas
IHF Arbitration CommissionCroatia Lovro Badzim
IHF Arbitration TribunalMontenegro Zoran Radojičić
IHF Ethics CommissionEgypt Hussein Moustafa Fathy
  • Italics means Acting Chairperson

IHF tournaments

Handball

Beach handball

Wheelchair handball

Club handball

Multi-sport events

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

Title holders

International title holders

CompetitionMen's ChampionWomen's Champion
World CupDenmark (2025) (4)Norway (2025) (5)
Handball Olympic TournamentDenmark (2024) (2)Norway (2024) (3*)
Emerging Nations ChampionshipGreat Britain (2025) (1)—
Junior World ChampionshipDenmark (2025) (4)France (2024) (1)
Youth World ChampionshipGermany (2025) (1)Spain (2024) (1)
Cadet World ChampionshipGermany (2025) (1)—
Handball Youth Olympic TournamentSpain (2018) (1*)Argentina (2018) (1*)
Club World CupSpain Barcelona (2025) (6*)—
Beach Handball World ChampionshipCroatia (2024) (4)Germany (2024) (2)
Youth Beach Handball World ChampionshipSpain (2025) (2*)Spain (2025) (2*)

Continental title holders

AfricaAsiaEuropeOceaniaSouth and Central AmericaNorth America and Caribbean
Senior Men'sEgypt (2026) (10)Bahrain (2026) (1)Denmark (2026) (3)Australia (2014) (8*)Argentina (2026) (2*)Cuba (2024) (2*)
Senior Women'sAngola (2024) (16*)Japan (2024) (2)Norway (2024) (10*)Australia (2016) (7*)Brazil (2024) (4*)Cuba (2025) (3*)
Men's Continental GamesEgypt (2023) (8*)Qatar (2022) (3)—Australia (2006) (2*)Argentina (2023) (3*)
Women's Continental GamesAngola (2023) (8*)Japan (2022) (1)—New Caledonia (2007) (1*)Brazil (2023) (7*)
Junior Men'sEgypt (2024) (14*)Japan (2024) (2)Spain (2024) (4*)New Caledonia (2024) (1)Argentina (2024) (2*)United States (2024)
Junior Women'sEgypt (2025) (1)Japan (2023) (1)Germany (2025) (1)New Caledonia (2023) (2*)Argentina (2023) (2*)Canada (2025)
Youth BoysEgypt (2024) (8*)Japan (2024) (3*)Sweden (2024) (3*)New Caledonia (2024) (1)Brazil (2024) (2*)United States (2024)
Youth GirlsEgypt (2025) (6*)China (2025) (1)Slovakia (2025) (1)New Caledonia (2023) (3*)Brazil (2023) (2*)Guadeloupe (2025)
Boys' Continental Youth Games—Saudi Arabia (2025) (1*)Iceland (2025) (1)———
Girls' Continental Youth Games—Iran (2025) (1*)Germany (2025) (1)———
Men's ClubEgypt Al Ahly (2025) (8)United Arab Emirates Sharjah SC (2025) (1)Germany SC Magdeburg (2024–25) (5)Australia Sydney University (2025) (11*)Brazil H. Taubaté (2025) (4*)United States California Eagles (2025) (2*)
Women's ClubAngola 1º de Agosto (2023) (8)Kazakhstan Kaysar Club (2024) (3*)Hungary Győri Audi ETO (2024–25) (7)Australia University of Queensland (2025) (3*)Uruguay Layva (2025) (1)—
Men's Beach HandballEgypt (2022)Oman (2025) (2)Germany (2025) (1)New Zealand (2022) (1)Brazil (2024) (3*)United States (2024)
Women's Beach Handball—Vietnam (2025) (3*)Spain (2025) (1)Australia (2022) (5*)Brazil (2024) (2*)United States (2024)
Men's Youth Beach Handball—Iran (2022) (1*)Sweden (2021)Australia (2017) (1*)Brazil (2022) (1*)—
Women's Youth Beach Handball—Thailand (2022) (1*)Hungary (2021)American Samoa (2017) (1*)Argentina (2022) (1*)—
  • * = Record titles

Member federations

Category A[definition needed]

Category B

Category C

Associated members

Regional members

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:

IHF partners

TypePartner
Official sportswearHummel International
Host broadcasterSportfive
Official ball supplierMolten Corporation
Official floor supplierGerflor

External links