Overview

Handball is a fast-paced game involving two teams of seven players who pass, throw, catch and dribble a small ball with their hands while trying to score goals. The team with the most goals wins the game. A game consists of two 30-minute halves with a 10-minute half-time break.

Handball was introduced to the Olympic Games at Munich ’72. A women’s event was added at Montreal ’76. Before that, ‘field handball’, an 11-a-side version of the game which is played on a football pitch, featured in the Berlin ’36 Olympic Games.

Team Qatar have had great success in handball on a world stage. They became the first non-European side to make it to a final at the Qatar 2015 Handball World Championships, finishing runners-up to France. They also made history by becoming the first Qatari handball team to qualify for an Olympic Games at Rio 2016, where they reached the quarter-finals.