The German Handball Association is organizing the 2027 World Cup, but wants more: It is applying together with France for the 2029 and 2031 editions.
Germany and France have officially applied for the 2029 and 2031 Men’s Handball World Championships. As the German Handball Association confirmed, the DHB, together with the French Handball Association FFH, submitted corresponding documents to the world association IHF on Friday (February 16, 2024). The decision on whether to host the two finals will be made on April 16, 2024.
“Both from a sporting and organizational perspective, we have proven that we are able to offer a remarkable and professional infrastructure – including venues, hotels and travel,” The two association presidents Andreas Michelmann (DHB) and Philippe Bana (FFH) were quoted in a press release. At the same time, both nations are able to “to create a unique atmosphere thanks to the many enthusiastic handball fans who take part in the tournaments”.
Switzerland is no longer there
France has already hosted World Cup finals in 1970, 2001 and 2017, and Germany hosted the World Cup together with Denmark in 2007 and 2019 this millennium. In addition, the DHB, which was the first country to organize a European Championship finals alone in January, has already secured the contract for the 2027 World Cup. The DHB is also hosting the 2025 Women’s World Cup together with the Netherlands.
The DHB had already communicated the intention of the application, which aims to host only one of the two tournaments, last year at the “Handball Day” in Munich. At that time, Switzerland was considered as the third nation in the application process.
Competition from Saudi Arabia
Germany expects competition from Saudi Arabia, among others, which, like Iceland (together with Denmark and Norway), has expressed interest in hosting one of the two finals.
After the successful home European Championships, the DHB wants to continue to act as hosts at European level. The association officially registered its interest in the 2030 and 2032 European Championship finals last October. Applications must be submitted by June 1, 2024, and a decision will be made at the end of this year.