World Men's Handball Championship
The World Men’s Handball Championship is played every other year in January. For us who like handball, it is a fantastic start to the new year. On this page you can read more about the World Men’s Handball Championship and also compare odds with different betting companies.
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The World Men’s Handball Championship was first played in 1938 in Germany and since 1993 the tournament has been played every two years. The host countries have been mostly European with the exception of Egypt (1999 and 2021), Tunisia (2005), Qatar (2015) and Japan (1997).
The tournament is organized by the International Handball Federation (IHF) which also organizes the Handball WC for women and the competitions in the Olympics.
2021 World Men’s Handball Championship in Egypt
The 2021 edition of the Handball World Cup will be played in Egypt. For the first time ever, 32 teams participate instead of 24 as in previous tournaments. Some of the newcomers are Cape Verde, DR Congo and Uruguay.
See the full game schedule for the Handball World Cup 2021 here
European dominance in the Handball World Cup
European teams have dominated the tournament since its inception in 1938. The Soviet Union and Qatar are the only overseas countries to reach the final. When Qatar met France in the 2015 final, it was at home with a large number of “imported” players in the squad.
Most world champions in handball
The countries that have had the greatest successes historically are France, Sweden and Romania. With its 6 gold medals, France has won the World Men’s Handball Championship the most times, closely followed by Sweden and Romania with 4 gold each. The total number of medals is shared by Sweden and France with 11 medals each and has a fairly superior lead over second place Romania which has won 6 medals in total.
Previous champions in World Men’s Handball Championship
| Year | Host nation | Gold | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | Germany | ? | ? |
| 2025 | Denmark, Norway and Croatia | ? | ? |
| 2023 | Poland and Sweden | ? | ? |
| 2021 | Egypt | ? | ? |
| 2019 | Denmark and Germany | Denmark | Norway |
| 2017 | France | France | Norway |
| 2015 | Qatar | France | Qatar |
| 2013 | Spain | Spain | Denmark |
| 2011 | Sweden | France | Denmark |
| 2009 | Croatia | France | Croatia |
| 2007 | Germany | Germany | Poland |
| 2005 | Tunisia | Spain | Croatia |
| 2003 | Portugal | Croatia | Germany |
| 2001 | France | France | Sweden |
| 1999 | Egypt | Sweden | Russia |
| 1997 | Japan | Russia | Sweden |
| 1995 | Iceland | France | Croatia |
| 1993 | Sweden | Russia | France |
| 1990 | Czechoslovakia | Sweden | Soviet Union |
| 1986 | Switzerland | Yugoslavia | Hungary |
| 1982 | West Germany | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia |
| 1978 | Denmark | West Germany | Soviet Union |
| 1974 | East Germany | Romania | East Germany |
| 1970 | France | Romania | East Germany |
| 1967 | Sweden | Czechoslovakia | Denmark |
| 1964 | Czechoslovakia | Romania | Sweden |
| 1961 | West Germany | Romania | Czechoslovakia |
| 1958 | East Germany | Sweden | Czechoslovakia |
| 1954 | Sweden | Sweden | Germany |
| 1938 | Germany | Germany | Österrike |