Oman Club Centre Win Handball Development Festival

MUSCAT, SEPT 20
Oman Club Handball Development Centre were crowned champions of the 2026 Handball Development Centres Festival after defeating Nizwa 16-11 in the final held on Saturday at the auxiliary hall of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher.
Organised by the Oman Handball Association (OHA) through its Development Centres Committee, the festival brought together seven centres representing Oman Club, Nizwa, Seeb, Ibri, Al Shabab, Sohar and Yanqul.
The closing ceremony was held under the auspices of Jaber bin Mohammed al Shabibi, Director of the National Teams Affairs Department at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth (MoCSY), in the presence of Salim bin Mohammed al Saadi, Oman Handball Association board member and chairman of the Development Centres Committee, along with committee members and representatives of the participating centres.
The teams were divided into two groups. Group One included Oman Club, Al Shabab, Yanqul and Ibri, while Group Two featured Seeb, Sohar and Nizwa. Oman Club and Al Shabab progressed from the first group, with Seeb and Nizwa advancing from the second.
Oman Club and Nizwa eventually reached the final, where Oman Club secured the title with a 16-11 victory. Al Shabab finished third after Seeb withdrew from the third-place play-off.
Several individual awards were also presented during the closing ceremony. Oman Club's Yahya bin Ahmed al Riyami was named Best Goalkeeper, while Majid bin Ayyad al Maashari won the Best Playmaker award. Aseel Khalid, also from Oman Club, received the Best Left Back award.
Seeb's Nawaf bin Adil was named Best Right Back, while his team-mate Mulham al Balushi won the Best Pivot award. Oman Club's Qais bin Salim al Wahibi was named Best Right Wing, with Seeb's Omar bin Younis al Busaidi receiving the Best Left Wing award.
The festival also recognised the referees who officiated the matches and honoured all participating centres.
The event was organised to develop young players, identify promising talent and strengthen their technical and sporting abilities. It also gave players valuable competitive experience and provided coaches with an opportunity to assess their progress and identify players for possible selection to the Development Centres national team.
Al Shabibi praised the players' technical and physical performances, highlighting their enthusiasm and desire to improve.
“We were pleased with the good technical and physical levels we witnessed, as well as the enthusiasm and strong desire among the players to develop their skills,” he said.
He added that the centres represent “an important foundation for building a new generation of handball players”, describing the participants as “a genuine nucleus for the future of clubs and national teams”.