| International Handball Federation | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sport | Handball |
| Other sports | |
| Official website | ihf |
| History | |
| Preceding organisations | International Amateur Athletic Federation (1926–1928) International Amateur Handball Federation (1928–1946) |
| Year of formation | 12 July 1946; 79 years ago (1946-07-12) |
| Demographics | |
| Membership size | 209 members |
| Affiliations | |
| Other affiliation(s) | |
| Governance | |
| President | Hassan Moustafa |
| Honorary president | |
| Headquarters | |
| Address |
|
| Country | Switzerland |
| General director | Amal Khalifa |
| Official language(s) | English,French andGerman |
| Main organ | IHF Congress IHF Council |
| Finance | |
| Company status | Active |
| Operating income |  CHF 7.24 million or US$ 7.84 million (in 2022) CHF 2.10 million or US$ 2.28 million (in 2023) |
| Sponsors | Gerflor Hummel International Sportfive Molten Corporation |
| Regions | |
TheInternational Handball Federation (IHF) is the administrative and controlling body forhandball andbeach handball.[1] IHF is responsible for the organisation of handball's major international tournaments, notably theIHF World Men's Handball Championship, which commenced in 1938, and theIHF World Women's Handball Championship, which commenced in 1957.
IHF was founded in 1946 to oversee international competitions. Headquartered inBasel, 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, andSouth and Central America.Hassan Moustafa fromEgypt has been President of the IHF since 26 November 2000.[2]
The precursor to IHF, the International Amateur Handball Federation (IAHF) was founded in Amsterdam during the1928 Olympic Games.[3]
The IHF was founded on 12 July 1946, inPalace Hotel inCopenhagen (Denmark) by representatives of eight national federations. The founding members wereDenmark,Finland,France,Norway,Netherlands,Poland,Sweden, andSwitzerland. The first president of IHF was Gösta Björk fromSweden.[3] Björk was replaced in 1950 byHans Baumann fromSwitzerland. In 1954, the firstIHF Men's World Championship, was conducted under the aegis of the IHF, in Sweden with the participation of six national teams.[3] In 1957, the firstIHF World Women's Handball Championship was held inSFR Yugoslavia with the participation of nine national teams.[3] Handball was included in theOlympic Games for the first time under the auspices of IHF inMunich 1972 (men's tournament) andMontreal 1976 (women's tournament).
IHF is headquartered inBasel, and is a federation established under theLaw of Switzerland.IHF's supreme body is theIHF 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 theIHF 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 theIHF 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 OrdinaryIHF Congress.
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.[4]
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 theIHF Congress, but the 36thIHF Congress in 2017 authorized the IHF Council to divide thePan-American Team Handball Federation.[5]
| No. | Name | Country | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Gösta Björk |  Sweden | 11 July 1946 – 9 September 1950 |
| 2. | Hans Baumann† |  Switzerland | 9 September 1950 – 9 February 1971 |
| Interim | Paul Högberg | Sweden | 9 February 1971 – 23 August 1972 |
| 3. | Paul Högberg | Sweden | 23 August 1972 – 25 July 1984 |
| 4. | Erwin Lanc |  Austria | 25 July 1984 – 26 November 2000 |
| 5. | Hassan Moustafa |  Egypt | 26 November 2000 – present |
† Hans Baumann died in office on 9 February 1971 due toillness.
The following is the IHF Executive Committee for the term 2021 — 2025.
| Designation | Name |
|---|---|
| President | Hassan Moustafa |
| 1st Vice-president |  Joël Delplanque |
| Treasurer | Anna Rapp |
| Executive members |  Narcisa Lecușanu |
 František Táborský | |
| Managing director | Amal Khalifa |
TheIHF Council is the IHF's main decision-making body between meetings of theIHF Congress. It is currently serving a 2021—2025 term.
| IHF Commission of Coaching and Methods |  Dietrich Späte |
| IHF Medical Commission | TBD |
| IHF Commission for Development |  Tomislav Grahovac |
| IHF Athletes' Commission |  Karolina Kudłacz-Gloc |
| IHF Arbitration Commission | Lovro Badzim |
| IHF Arbitration Tribunal |  Zoran Radojičić |
| IHF Ethics Commission | Hussein Moustafa Fathy |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Russia (RUS) | 31 | 12 | 4 | 47 |
| 2 |  Denmark (DEN) | 16 | 18 | 14 | 48 |
| 3 | France (FRA) | 14 | 7 | 8 | 29 |
| 4 | Germany (GER) | 11 | 10 | 12 | 33 |
| 5 | Sweden (SWE) | 9 | 7 | 9 | 25 |
| 6 | Romania (ROU) | 8 | 2 | 7 | 17 |
| 7 |  Serbia (SRB) | 7 | 9 | 11 | 27 |
| 8 |  Norway (NOR) | 6 | 10 | 6 | 22 |
| 9 |  Spain (ESP) | 5 | 8 | 4 | 17 |
| 10 |  South Korea (KOR) | 3 | 5 | 8 | 16 |
| 11 |  Hungary (HUN) | 2 | 12 | 8 | 22 |
| 12 | Croatia (CRO) | 2 | 7 | 3 | 12 |
| 13 | Czech Republic (CZE) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 14 | Egypt (EGY) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 15 |  Netherlands (NED) | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 16 |  Brazil (BRA) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Poland (POL) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 18 |  Iceland (ISL) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
 Slovenia (SLO) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 20 | Austria (AUT) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Bulgaria (BUL) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 Portugal (POR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 23 |  Lithuania (LTU) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Qatar (QAT) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Ukraine (UKR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 26 |  Faroe Islands (FRO) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Montenegro (MNE) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Tunisia (TUN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (28 entries) | 120 | 121 | 120 | 361 | |
| Competition | Men's Champion | Women's Champion |
|---|---|---|
| World Cup | Denmark (2025) (4) | France (2023) (3) |
| Handball Olympic Tournament | Denmark (2024) (2) | Norway (2024) (3*) |
| Emerging Nations Championship |  Great Britain (2025) (1) | — |
| Junior World Championship | Denmark (2025) (4) | France (2024) (1) |
| Youth World Championship | Germany (2025) (1) | Spain (2024) (1) |
| Cadet World Championship | — | |
| Handball Youth Olympic Tournament | Spain (2018) (1*) |  Argentina (2018) (1*) |
| Club World Cup | Barcelona (2025) (6*) | — |
| Beach Handball World Championship | Croatia (2024) (4) | Germany (2024) (2) |
| Youth Beach Handball World Championship | Spain (2025) (2*) | Spain (2025) (2*) |
Afghanistan
Albania
American Samoa
Andorra
Antigua and Barbuda
Armenia
Australia
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Botswana
British Virgin Islands
BruneiBulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cayman Islands
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
Colombia
Congo
DR Congo
Cook Islands
Comoros
Costa Rica
Cuba
Cyprus
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Estonia
EthiopiaFaroe Islands
Federated States of Micronesia
Fiji
Gabon
Gambia
GeorgiaGreat Britain
Guinea-Bissau
Ghana
Greenland
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guam
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Ireland
Ivory Coast
Jamaica
Kenya
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
LiechtensteinLithuania
Macau,China
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Marshall Islands
Mali
Malta
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
North Korea
Pakistan
Palestine
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Puerto Rico
Rwanda
Samoa
São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal
Seychelles
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Sierra Leone
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Swaziland
Syria
Tanzania
Tajikistan
Chinese Taipei
Thailand
Timor Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Uruguay
United States of America
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
ZimbabweThe 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:
| Type | Partner |
|---|---|
| Official sportswear | Hummel International |
| Host broadcaster | Sportfive |
| Official ball supplier | Molten Corporation |
| Official floor supplier | Gerflor |
Internationalhandball | ||
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| International |  | |
| Africa |
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| North America and Caribbean |
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| South & Central America |
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| Asia | ||
| Europe | ||
| Oceania |
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| Defunct | ||
| African Handball Confederation (CAHB) | | ||||
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| Asian Handball Federation (AHF) | |||||
| European Handball Federation (EHF) | |||||
| North America and Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC) |
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| Oceania Continent Handball Federation (OCHF) | |||||
| South and Central America Handball Confederation (SCAHC) |
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| Associated Members | |||||
ǂ = suspended by the IHF | |||||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
