The road to the 12th IHF Men's and Women's Beach Handball World Championships has been mapped out. Officials and players gathered in Zagreb on 2 May to complete the draw for an event that will see 16 teams in each gender compete at Jarun Lake from 23 to 28 June, with Croatia hosting the global showpiece on home sand.
The women's draw produced a tightly balanced bracket. Group A pits Germany against the Netherlands, Vietnam and Uruguay. Group B opens up a strong intra-Mediterranean clash with Spain, hosts Croatia, the Cook Islands and Puerto Rico. Group C features Norway, Greece, Brazil and the United States, while Group D hands defending Argentine and Danish sides the chance to take on the Philippines and Benin.
The men's draw is no less interesting. Group A includes Spain, Portugal, Iran and the United States. Group B contains Hungary, Denmark, Tunisia and Puerto Rico. Group C is a heavyweight pool with Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Italy, and Group D delivers a true world tour with Croatia, France, Oman and Australia in the same group. Australia's inclusion is a particular point of interest given the gradual growth of the sport in the southern hemisphere.
The format is the same one that produced the drama at the previous edition. Teams are split into four preliminary groups of four, with the top three from each pool advancing to main-round groups of six. The structure rewards consistency across days, eliminates the risk of any single bad set ending a campaign too early, and gives the medal rounds a familiar tournament-bracket feel.
"The best emotion you can have is when you hear your national anthem before a game, and especially when you play in your home in Zagreb," Croatian women's captain Nika Vojnovic said after the draw was completed. Her comment captured the sense of occasion that surrounds a home World Championship, and the host nation will go into both events as serious medal contenders given Croatia's pedigree in beach handball.
Jarun Lake's beach courts have been a fixture of the European beach handball calendar for years and have hosted multiple national and continental events. The infrastructure is ready, the local fan culture is loud and informed, and Croatian organisers have a track record of running tightly produced beach handball competitions that translate well to streaming and broadcast audiences. Television numbers across the previous two cycles have set new highs for the discipline.
The sporting questions are now in front of the players. Spain and Norway will fancy their chances on both sides of the draw, Brazil and Argentina will be looking to remind the world that South America still produces the most natural beach handball talent, and Croatia's home advantage adds an extra layer of pressure and possibility. Australia's men have a real opportunity to make a statement in Group D against Croatia and France.
With the draw out of the way, attention now turns to the final tune-up events on the European Beach Handball Tour. The countdown to Zagreb has begun, and on current form the women's competition looks particularly hard to call. By the end of June, the sport will have new world champions, and Croatia will have hosted one of the most anticipated weeks in beach handball history.