Host country Croatia Venue(s) 7 (in 7 host cities) Runner-up Croatia | Dates 16 January–1 February Champions France (3rd title) | |
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Teams 24 (from 5 confederations) | ||
The 2009 World Men's Handball Championship (21st tournament) took place in Croatia from 16 January–1 February, in the cities of Split, Zadar, Osijek, Varaždin, Poreč, Zagreb and Pula. Croatia was selected from a group of four potential hosts which included the Czech Republic, Greece and Romania.
Contents
- Venues
- Qualification
- Seeding
- Preliminary round
- Group A
- Group B
- Group C
- Group D
- Group I
- Group II
- Top goalscorers
- Match officials
- IHF Broadcasting rights
- References
The opening game and ceremony were held in Split, and the final game was played in Zagreb. France won the tournament after defeating Croatia in the final. Poland took the third place after winning over Denmark. Tickets for the tournament went on sale from 15 to 20 November. For the finals, ticket prices started at 700 kuna (c. €95). To promote the tournament, the Croatian National Tourist Board launched a series of presentations in the capitals of 13 participating countries.
During the championship internal criticism arose against Hassan Moustafa, President of the IHF. The secretary general of the IHF, Peter Mühlematter, criticized Moustafa and asked for his demission. Moustafa asked to exclude Mühlematter after his criticism.
Venues
Seven Croatian cities were selected as hosts for the 2009 Championship: Split, Zadar, Osijek, Varaždin, Poreč, Zagreb and Pula.
The sites included the new Spaladium Arena in Split and Arena Zagreb, where the final took place.
Qualification
Qualification occurred through the previous years' continental championships or qualifying tournaments:
Seeding
The draw for the groups of the preliminary round was held on 21 June 2008, in Zagreb. The draw took place at Zagreb's central Ban Jelačić Square and was hosted by Filip Brkić and Kristina Krepela.
Preliminary round
In the following tables:
The teams placed first, second and third (shaded in green) qualified to the main round.
Group A
Venue: Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek
All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
Group B
Venue: Spaladium Arena, Split
All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
Group C
Venue: Varaždin Arena, Varaždin
All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
Group D
Venue: Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč
All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
Group I
Venue: Arena Zagreb, Zagreb
All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
Group II
Venue: Krešimir Ćosić Hall, Zadar
All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
Group I
Venue: Mate Parlov Sport Centre, Pula
All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
Group II
Venue: Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč
All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)
Top goalscorers
Source: ihf.info
Match officials
On 12 October 2008, the match officials for the tournament were confirmed. But due to injury, the Swedish referee team Rickard Canbro and Mikael Claesson had to withdraw from the championship, and was replaced by Danish duo Per Olesen and Lars Ejby Pedersen.