2026 Women's Beach Handball World Championships

For the men's tournament, see 2026 Men's Beach Handball World Championships.

2026 Women's Beach Handball World Championships

Tournament details
Host country	Croatia
Venue	Zagreb
Teams	16

The 2026 Women's Beach Handball World Championships will be the 11th edition of the championship, held in Zagreb, Croatia, under the aegis of International Handball Federation (IHF).

Qualification

16 teams will participate.

Qualification	Vacancies	Qualified
Host	1	Croatia
Defending champion	1	Germany
2025 Asian Beach Handball Championship	2	Vietnam Philippines
2025 European Beach Handball Championship	5	Spain Norway Netherlands Denmark Greece
2025 Oceania Beach Handball Championship	1	Cook Islands
2026 South and Central American Beach Handball Championship	3	Argentina Brazil Uruguay
2026 NACHC Beach Handball Championship	2	United States Puerto Rico
Africa	1	Benin

• Australia withdrew and the Cook Islands were invited.

Draw

The draw took place on 2 May 2026.

Seeding

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Germany Spain Argentina Norway	Netherlands Croatia Denmark Greece	Brazil Vietnam Philippines Cook Islands	United States Puerto Rico Uruguay Benin

Preliminary round

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	Germany	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	Main round
2	Netherlands	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
3	Vietnam	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
4	Uruguay	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	Consolation round

First match(es) will be played: 23 June 2026. Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head set difference; 4) Head-to-head points won; 5) Set difference; 6) Points won; 7) Draw.

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	Spain	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	Main round
2	Croatia	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
3	Cook Islands	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
4	Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	Consolation round

First match(es) will be played: 23 June 2026. Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head set difference; 4) Head-to-head points won; 5) Set difference; 6) Points won; 7) Draw.

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	Norway	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	Main round
2	Greece	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
3	Brazil	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
4	United States	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	Consolation round

First match(es) will be played: 23 June 2026. Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head set difference; 4) Head-to-head points won; 5) Set difference; 6) Points won; 7) Draw.

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	Argentina	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	Main round
2	Denmark	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
3	Philippines	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
4	Benin	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	Consolation round

First match(es) will be played: 23 June 2026. Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head set difference; 4) Head-to-head points won; 5) Set difference; 6) Points won; 7) Draw.

Consolation round

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR
1	A4	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
2	B4	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
3	C4	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
4	D4	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—

First match(es) will be played: June 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head set difference; 4) Head-to-head points won; 5) Set difference; 6) Points won; 7) Draw.

Main round

Points obtained against teams from the same group are carried over.

Group I

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	A1	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	Quarterfinals
2	B1	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
3	A2	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
4	B2	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
5	A3	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
6	B3	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—

First match(es) will be played: June 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head set difference; 4) Head-to-head points won; 5) Set difference; 6) Points won; 7) Draw.

Group II

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	C1	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	Quarterfinals
2	D1	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
3	C2	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
4	D2	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
5	C3	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
6	D3	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—

First match(es) will be played: June 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head set difference; 4) Head-to-head points won; 5) Set difference; 6) Points won; 7) Draw.

Knockout stage

Bracket

Championship bracket

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	I1
	II4
	II2
	I3
	I2
	II3
									Third place
	II1
	I4

Fifth place bracket

	5–8th place semifinals				Fifth place game
					Seventh place game

9–16th place bracket

	9–16th place quarterfinals				9–12th place semifinals				Ninth place game
	Best 5th MR
	CR4
	2nd best 6th MR
	CR1
	2nd best 5th MR
	CR3
									Eleventh place game
	Best 6th MR
	CR2

13–16th place bracket

	13–16th place semifinals				13th place game
					15th place game

Final ranking

Rank	Team
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16