World Men's Handball Championship
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The World Championship in team handball for men has been organized by the International Handball Federation since 1938.
[edit] History
In 1938, the first field handball world championship was played in Germany. In 1946, at the initiative and invitation of Denmark and Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland founded the International Handball Federation (IHF). The IHF's official birthday is 11 July.
Five months after the IHF was founded, the first official international match was played under its aegis, with Sweden beating Denmark 9-7 in Gothenburg on 6 November 1946. In those days, the classic eleven-a-side outdoor game of field handball, so dear to the central Europeans, and the still-up-and-coming sport of seven-a-side handball, played indoors on a small court the form preferred in Scandinavia, were equally popular. Both disciplines had their fans: in 1955, 50,000 spectators watched the final of the field handball World Championships between Germany and Switzerland (25-13) in Berlin, but the indoor final between Sweden and Czechoslovakia in East Berlin in 1958, which ended 22-12, was also played in a packed hall in front of 6,500 spectators. The dominating nations at that time were Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Denmark.
[edit] Tournaments
The first World Championship took place in Germany in 1938, involving 10 teams from Europe. Throughout their history, the World Championships were dominated by teams from the former Soviet Union and Germany, with Romania and Yugoslavia second and fourth in this hall of fame.
Over the years, the organisation of the World Championships has changed. Initially, there were group games in both the preliminary and main rounds, but more recently a ruthless knockout system has been applied after the preliminary round, leaving 50 per cent of the teams out in the cold before the final.
- Egypt and Tunisia are the only non-European teams to reach the semi-finals, Egypt in 2001 and Tunisia in 2005. Both have placed 4th.
[edit] Medal count
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sweden |
4 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
| 2 |  Romania |
4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 |  Germany and
|
3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 4 |  France |
2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 5 |  Russia |
2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 |  Czechoslovakia |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 |  Croatia |
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 |  Soviet Union |
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 |  Yugoslavia |
1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 10 |  Spain |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 |  Denmark |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 |  Poland |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 |  Austria |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 |  Hungary |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
