MUSCAT, MAR 27
The International Handball Federation (IHF) announced that the official draw of the 2026 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships will take place on May 2 in Zagreb city in Croatia. The global event is scheduled from June 23 to 28 2026.
Based on the draw procedures, Oman are allocated Pot 3 besides Argentina, CAHB and Iran. The teams have been allocated a pot 1, 2, 3 or 4, based on their performances. Pot 1 included the hosts Croatia alongside Germany, Spain and Hungary. France topped Pot 2 besides teams of Portugal, Brazil and Denmark.
Pot 4 comprised NACHC1, Australia, NACHC2 and Italy. The qualification for the world championships will conclude in late April, with the Africa (CAHB) and North America and the Caribbean (NACHC) continental championships being played, in addition to the South and Central America (SCAHC) final qualification tournament.
The competition format for both the men’s and women’s competitions will see the 16 teams divided initially into four preliminary round groups of four teams each. The top three teams in each group (12 in total) move through to two main round groups of six teams each, with the top four in each then moving through to the quarterfinals and subsequent semifinals, bronze medal, placement and final matches. The bottom team in each of the four preliminary groups will move into the consolation round.
Oman secured a slot in the 2026 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships as they were crowned champions of the AHF Asian Beach Handball Championship which was hosted in Muscat last May. Oman had defeated Iran 2-0 in the final. The victory had marked Oman’s second Asian title in the sport, ending a 21-year wait since their first championship in 2004. Oman will mark their ninth appearance at Beach Handball Worlds in Zagreb.
INTENSIVE PREPARATION
On the other hand, the board directors of Oman Handball Association (OHA) approved an intensive preparatory programme for the world championship. The actual preparations for the world event will begin following the team’s participation at the sixth Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China, from April 22 to 30, 2026.
Following the Asian event, the team will have a series of internal camps including the first camp which will start from May 2 to 23 at the sands court of Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Then, after the Eid Al Adha break, the team will resume action with another domestic camp during May 28 to 31. The third internal warm-up camp will take place during June 1 to 5 and it will be followed by another short camp from May 7 to 12. The team will travel to Zagreb city in Croatia on June 14 to have a short external camp ahead of the global event.
During the external camp, the team will participate in an international friendly and some tough friendly matches against some European teams which will be confirmed in later stage. This will be the last stage for the team ahead of starting the group matches in the 2026 IHF Beach Handball World Championship.
Oman, under direct supervision of the experienced national head coach Hamood al Hasani, will hope to show top performance at the World Championship. Oman made their debut in 2004 in Hurghada, Egypt. Since then, the team has been a regular participant, with notable finishes including fourth place in 2009 (Taipei), eighth place in 2012 (Musannah, Oman), sixth place in 2014 (Brazil) and seventh place in 2016 (Hungary). The team also competed in Thailand (2017), Russia (2018) and most recently in China (2023), where they finished 15th.
Oman had also qualified for the 2020 edition in Italy, which was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2026 edition will be the sixth time the Beach Handball World Championships are held in Europe, following Spain (2008), Türkiye (2010), Hungary (2016), Russia (2018) and Greece (2022).
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