2025 World Women's Handball Championship qualification
The 2025 World Women's Handball Championship qualification decided who qualified for the 2025 World Women's Handball Championship in Germany and Netherlands. Excluding the previous World Championship, qualifying occurred between October 2024 and April 2025. The championship will feature 32 teams for the third time.
Qualified teams
[edit]- ^ Bold indicates champion for that year, Italics indicates host for that year.
Slot allocation
[edit]The slot allocation is as follows:
- AHF (Asia): 4 slots
- CAHB (Africa): 4 slots
- EHF (Europe): 17 slots (including the two co-hosts and defending champion)
- NACHC (North America and the Caribbean): 1 slot
- OCHF (Oceania): 0 slots
- SCAHC (South and Central America): 4 slots
- Wildcards: 2 slots
| Detailed distribution of places (following current IHF rules[1]) | Vacancies | Details | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organisers[A] | 2 | ||
| Reigning world champion[B] | 1 | ||
| Performance places for the continental confederations | 12 | Based on teams ranked 1–12 in the preceding world championship | |
| Africa | 0 | ||
| Asia | 0 | ||
| Europe | 11 | ||
| North America and the Caribbean | 0 | ||
| South and Central America | 1 | As Brazil ranked 9th in previous World Championship | |
| Oceania | 0 | ||
| Compulsory places for the continental confederations | 15 | 17 compulsory places reduced by 1 due to having two organisers | |
| Africa | 4 | ||
| Asia | 4 | ||
| Europe | 3 | 4 compulsory places reduced by 1 due to having two organisers from Europe | |
| North America and the Caribbean | 1 | ||
| South and Central America | 3 | ||
| Oceania | 0 or 1[C] | Place allocated to Oceania or an additional free wild card | |
| Wild card | 1 or 2[D] | ||
| Total | 32 |
Summary
[edit]Summary of qualification process
[edit]The World Championship hosts will be directly qualified, along with the reigning world champions. In regards to the 12 performance spots, and based on the results of the 2025 Women's World Championship, Europe receives 11 more spots, while South and Central America takes 1.
 | |||||||
| Detailed summary of 2025 World Women's Handball Championship qualification process | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confederation | Direct slots | Teams started | Teams eliminated | Teams qualified | Percentage of entered teams with spots in finals | Qualifying start date | Qualifying end date |
| AHF | 4 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 50% | 3 December 2024 | 10 December 2024 |
| CAHB | 4 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 33% | 27 November 2024 | 7 December 2024 |
| EHF[E] | 15+2 | 34+2 | 19 | 15+2 | 44.11% | 24 October 2024 | 13 April 2025 |
| NACHC | 1 | TBD | TBD | 1 | TBD% | TBD 2025 | TBD 2025 |
| OCHF[F] | 0 or 1 | 1[G] | 1 | 0 | 12.25% | 3 December 2024 | 10 December 2024 |
| SCAHC | 4 | TBD | TBD | 4 | TBD% | 26 November 2024 | TBD 2025 |
| Total | 28+2+2 | TBD+2 | TBD | 28+2+2 | 24 October 2024 | TBD 2025 | |
Summary of qualified teams
[edit]| Competition | Dates | Host | Vacancies | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host nations | 28 February 2020 |  Cairo
|
2 |  Germany Netherlands
|
| 2023 World Championship | 17 December 2023 |  Denmark Norway Sweden
|
1 |  France
|
| 2024 South and Central American Championship | 26–30 November 2024 |  Niterói
|
3+1 |  Argentina Brazil Uruguay
|
| 2024 African Championship | 27 November – 7 December 2024 |  Kinshasa
|
4 |  Angola Egypt Senegal Tunisia
|
| 2024 Asian Championship | 3–10 December 2024 |  New Delhi
|
4 |  Iran Japan Kazakhstan South Korea
|
| 2024 European Championship | 28 November – 15 December 2024 |  Austria Hungary Switzerland
|
3 | Denmark Hungary Norway
|
| 2025 Nor.Ca. Women's Championship | 7–12 April 2025 |  Mexico City
|
1 |  Cuba
|
| European qualification | 24 October 2024 – 13 April 2025 | Various | 11 | Austria Czech Republic Spain Faroe Islands Iceland Montenegro Poland Romania Serbia Sweden Switzerland
|
| 2025 South and Central American Last Chance Qualifier | 3–10 December 2024 |  Palmira
|
1 |  Paraguay
|
| Wild card | 31 March 2025 |  Doha
|
1[1][2] |  China
|
^ 1. To bear in mind the 2028 Summer Olympics, the IHF Council awarded the United States wild cards for the 2025 and 2027 World Championships. If they reach a certain performance level.[2][3]
^ 2. If countries from Oceania (Australia or New Zealand) participating in the Asian Championships finish within the top 5, they will qualify for the World Championships. If either finishes sixth or lower, the place would have been transferred to the wild card spot. As New Zealand didn't registered and Australia withdrew before the draw, the place is transferred.
2023 World Championship
[edit]World champion directly qualified for 2025 edition. France won the 2023 World Championship to secure their ticket to the 2025 edition.
| Rank | Team[4] |
|---|---|
 |
France
|
 |
Norway
|
 |
Denmark
|
| 4 | Sweden
|
| 5 | Netherlands
|
| 6 | Germany
|
| 7 | Montenegro
|
| 8 | Czech Republic
|
| 9 | Brazil
|
| 10 | Hungary
|
| 11 |  Slovenia
|
| 12 | Romania
|
| 13 | Spain
|
| 14 |  Croatia
|
| 15 | Angola
|
| 16 | Poland
|
| 17 | Japan
|
| 18 | Senegal
|
| 19 | Austria
|
| 20 | Argentina
|
| 21 | Serbia
|
| 22 | South Korea
|
| 23 |  Ukraine
|
| 24 |  Cameroon
|
| 25 | Iceland
|
| 26 |  Congo
|
| 27 |  Chile
|
| 28 | China
|
| 29 | Paraguay
|
| 30 | Kazakhstan
|
| 31 | Iran
|
| 32 |  Greenland
|
Asia
[edit]Eight teams competed in the Asian Championship, held at the Indira Gandhi Arena in New Delhi, India, from 3 to 10 December 2024.[5] The top 4 reached the world championship. Since Australia withdrew before the competition started, Oceania's spot was made into a second wildcard. Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan and South Korea reached the world championship.[6][7]
| Group A | Group B | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Source: Asianhandball
|
|
Bracket
[edit]| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 8 December | ||||||
| South Korea | 33 | |||||
| 10 December | ||||||
| Iran | 20 | |||||
| South Korea | 24 | |||||
| 8 December | ||||||
| Japan | 25 | |||||
| Japan | 30 | |||||
| Kazakhstan | 23 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 10 December | ||||||
| Iran | 22 | |||||
| Kazakhstan | 28 | |||||
Final standing
[edit]| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
|
Japan
|
|
South Korea
|
|
Kazakhstan
|
| 4 | Iran
|
| 5 | China
|
| 6 | India
|
| 7 |  Hong Kong
|
| 8 |  Singapore
|
| Qualified for the 2025 World Women's Handball Championship |
Africa
[edit]Twelve teams competed in the African Championship, held at the Stade des Martyrs Gymnasium in Kinshasa, DR Congo, from 27 November to 7 December 2024.[8] The top four from the championship qualified. Those teams ended up being Angola, Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia.[9]
| Group A | Group B | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Source: CAN
|
|
Bracket
[edit]| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 4 December | ||||||||||
| Congo | 24 | |||||||||
| 6 December | ||||||||||
| Tunisia | 28 | |||||||||
| Tunisia | 18 | |||||||||
| 4 December | ||||||||||
| Senegal | 26 | |||||||||
| Cameroon | 19 | |||||||||
| 7 December | ||||||||||
| Senegal | 26 | |||||||||
| Senegal | 18 | |||||||||
| 4 December | ||||||||||
| Angola | 27 | |||||||||
| Egypt | 23 | |||||||||
| 6 December | ||||||||||
| DR Congo | 22 | |||||||||
| Egypt | 22 | |||||||||
| 4 December | ||||||||||
| Angola | 36 | Third place | ||||||||
| Angola | 34 | |||||||||
| 7 December | ||||||||||
 Algeria | 15 | |||||||||
| Tunisia | 25 | |||||||||
| Egypt | 22 | |||||||||
Final standing
[edit]| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
|
Angola
|
|
Senegal
|
|
Tunisia
|
| 4 | Egypt
|
| 5 | DR Congo
|
| 6 | Congo
|
| 7 | Cameroon
|
| 8 | Algeria
|
| 9 |  Guinea
|
| 10 |  Cape Verde
|
| 11 |  Uganda
|
| 12 |  Kenya
|
| Team qualified for the 2025 World Women's Handball Championship |
Europe
[edit]The three highest ranked non-qualified teams secure a ticket to the world championship.
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
|
Norway
|
|
Denmark
|
|
Hungary
|
| 4 | France
|
| 5 | Sweden
|
| 6 | Netherlands
|
| 7 | Germany
|
| 8 | Montenegro
|
| 9 | Poland
|
| 10 | Slovenia
|
| 11 | Romania
|
| 12 | Switzerland
|
| 13 | Spain
|
| 14 | Austria
|
| 15 | Czech Republic
|
| 16 | Iceland
|
| 17 | Faroe Islands
|
| 18 |  North Macedonia
|
| 19 | Croatia
|
| 20 |  Türkiye
|
| 21 | Serbia
|
| 22 |  Portugal
|
| 23 | Ukraine
|
| 24 |  Slovakia
|
| Team qualified for the 2025 World Women's Handball Championship |
European qualification
[edit]From October 2024 to April 2025, the EHF organised a separate qualification for 11 places.
Bracket
[edit]The draw took place on 15 December 2024 in Vienna.[10]
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland
|
68–46 | Slovakia
|
38–22 | 30–24 |
Italy 
|
38–61 | Romania
|
21–30 | 17–31 |
| Poland
|
45–39 | North Macedonia
|
22–18 | 23–21 |
| Sweden
|
94–40 |  Kosovo
|
51–16 | 43–24 |
| Slovenia
|
60–62 | Serbia
|
29–29 | 31–33 |
| Portugal
|
45–61 | Montenegro
|
19–31 | 26–30 |
| Faroe Islands
|
65–56 |  Lithuania
|
36–26 | 29–30 |
| Czech Republic
|
61–46 | Ukraine
|
35–19 | 26–27 |
| Croatia
|
44–49 | Spain
|
27–26 | 17–23 |
| Austria
|
66–54 | Turkey
|
36–29 | 30–25 |
| Iceland
|
70–48 |  Israel
|
39–27 | 31–21 |
North America and Caribbean
[edit]The championship was held from 7 to 12 April 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico. The top winner of the championship qualified. Cuba would finish and advance to the world championship.
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
|
Cuba
|
|
Mexico
|
|
 Canada
|
| 4 |  United States
|
| 5 |  Puerto Rico
|
South and Central America
[edit]Six teams competed in the South and Central American Championship, held at the Colégio Niterói in Niterói, Brazil, from 26 to 30 November 2024.[11] The top three from the championship qualified. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay would finish in top three and advance to the world championship.[12]
| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil (H)
|
5 | 10 |
| 2 | Argentina
|
5 | 8 |
| 3 | Uruguay
|
5 | 6 |
| 4 | Paraguay
|
5 | 4 |
| 5 | Chile
|
5 | 2 |
| 6 |  El Salvador
|
5 | 0 |
Last chance tournament
[edit]To decide the last qualifier, a last chance tournament was organised in Palmira, Colombia between the 24 to 26 April 2025.[13]
| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paraguay
|
2 | 4 |
| 2 | Colombia (H)
|
2 | 2 |
| 3 |  Peru
|
2 | 0 |
Wildcards
[edit]After no Oceanian team achieved a top 5 finish in the Asian Championship, two wildcards were given out by the IHF. On 31 March 2025, China was given the first wildcard due to good performances and country's position, making it a big market for the sport.[14]The United States team was hoping to receive the other wildcard, so the team could use this opportunity to prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympics which they will be hosting.[15][16] Regarding the second wildcard, 12 nations reportedly applied, with 2 of the applicants unknown.
After their play off loss to Serbia, Slovenia's coach, Dragan Adžić, stated that his team deserved the last wildcard.[17]
On 12 May 2025, Croatia was given the second wildcard due to good performances.[18]
Notes
[edit]- ^ All hosting federations are automatically entitled to take part in the World Championship. If there is more than one organiser from the same continental confederation, the number of compulsory places of the respective confederation shall be reduced accordingly. If there is more than one organiser and the organisers are not from the same confederation, the IHF Council shall decide about the reduction of the compulsory places, considering only the compulsory places of the confederations involved.
- ^ The reigning world champion automatically qualifies for the next World Championship and, as a rule, is placed first in the first performance row. In case the reigning world champion is also hosting the next World Championship, the confederation of the reigning world champion obtains one additional performance place.
- ^ The continental confederation of Oceania does not have a direct compulsory place for a confederational qualification event, therefore, the Oceanian confederation is invited to participate in the Asian qualification events. The compulsory place is awarded to Oceania if the representative from Oceania is ranked 5th or higher in the Asian qualification. If Oceania fails to rank 5th or does not participate, the IHF Council will award this place as a free wild card.
- ^ If the teams representing Oceania fail to finish in the top 5 of the Asian Championship or does not participate, the IHF Council will change Oceania's spot into a second wild card.
- ^ There are ways of qualifying from Europe, via the European Championship or European qualification
- ^ The Asian Championship acts as qualification for the Oceanian teams.
- ^ Oceanian teams who enter, participate in the Asian Championship to decides their qualification. However, Australia withdrew before the tournament, meaning no Oceanian team qualified.
References
[edit]- ^ "V. Regulations for IHF Competitions (Indoor Handball)" (PDF). International Handball Federation. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "Strategic plan | USA" (PDF). IHF.
- ^ "Council Meeting No. 3" (PDF). Doha, Qatar: IHF. 18 October 2018. pp. 8–9.
- ^ "Tournament Summary" (PDF). ihf.info. IHF. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "IHF | Eight teams collide for title at the 2024 AHF Asian Women's Handball Championship". www.ihf.info.
- ^ "IHF | Japan deal masterstroke performance to seal second AHF Asian Women's Handball Championship title in history". www.ihf.info.
- ^ "女子日本代表「おりひめジャパン」 第20回女子アジア選手権 決勝結果 韓国に勝利し20年ぶり2回目の優勝！！". 公益財団法人日本ハンドボール協会.
- ^ "IHF | 12 teams line up at the start of the 2024 CAHB African Women's Handball Championship". www.ihf.info.
- ^ "IHF | Angola strike gold again at the CAHB African Women's Handball Championship". www.ihf.info.
- ^ "IHF | Strong sides face daunting challenge in Qualification Europe Phase 2 for the 2025 IHF Women's World Championship". www.ihf.info.
- ^ "IHF | Powerhouses to fight for title and coveted World Championship places at the 2024 South and Central American Women's Handball Championship". www.ihf.info.
- ^ "IHF | Brazil confirm powerhouse status and win title at the 2024 South and Central American Women's Handball Championship". www.ihf.info.
- ^ "IHF | Three teams to battle in the South and Central American Confederation for one ticket for the 2025 IHF Women's World Championship". www.ihf.info.
- ^ "IHF | People's Republic of China granted wild card for the 2025 IHF Women's World Championship". www.ihf.info.
- ^ "Strategic plan | USA" (PDF). IHF.
- ^ "Council Meeting No. 3" (PDF). Doha, Qatar: IHF. 18 October 2018. pp. 8–9.
- ^ "RZS - Rokometna zveza Slovenije". www.rokometna-zveza.si.
- ^ "Croatia Granted Wild Card For The 2025 IHF Women's World Championship". IHF. 12 May 2025.