Official language EnglishFrenchGerman | Region served Worldwide | |
 | ||
Formation 11 July 1946; 70 years ago (1946-07-11) Type International Sports Federation Membership 204 National Federations | ||
The International Handball Federation (IHF) is the administrative and controlling body for handball, beach handball, wheelchair handball and snow 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 IHF World Women's Handball Championship which commenced in 1957.
Contents
- History
- Laws and governance
- Five confederations and 204 national associations
- IHF Tournaments
- Continental Title Holders
- Nations Beach Handball
- Combined medal table
- IHF Awards
- Sponsors
- References
IHF was founded in 1946 to oversee international competition among the national federations of Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland. Headquartered in Basel, its membership now comprises 204 national federations. Member countries must each also be members of one of the five regional confederations into which the world is divided: Africa, Asia, Europe, Americas Oceania.
History
The IHF was founded on July 11, 1946, in Copenhagen (Denmark) by representatives of 8 national federations. The founding members are Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland. The first president of IHF was 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 6 national teams. In 1957, the first IHF Women's World Handball Championship was held in SFR Yugoslavia with the participation of 9 national teams. The Olympic Games were organized for the first time under the auspices of IHF in Munich 1972 (men's tournament) and Montreal 1976 (women's tournament).
Laws and governance
IHF is headquartered in Basel, and is an 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. Dr. Hassan Moustafa is the current president, appointed in the year 2000 at the 28th Ordinary IHF Congress.
Five confederations and 204 national associations
The IHF is composed of five continental federations which organize continental championships held every other second year: Asian Handball Federation, African Handball Confederation, Pan-American Team Handball Federation, European Handball Federation and Oceania Continent Handball Federation. In addition to continental competitions between national teams, the federations arrange international tournaments between club teams. The federations and their corresponding tournaments and members are summarize in the following table:
IHF Tournaments
Continental Title Holders
Nations (Beach Handball)
Combined medal table
This table shows all medals by country, in all International Handball Federation Team Handball national competitions. This table does not include medals won at club level and Beach Handball.
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: