United States To Host NACHC Qualifying Tournament for 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship

Addition made on April 20, 2021: To view a copy of the Athlete Selection Procedures (.pdf) for the Women's National Team for the 2021 NACHC Women's Championships, click HERE.

USA Team Handball today announced it will be hosting the North American and Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC) qualifying tournament for the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championships.

The event will be hosted near Chicago in Elgin, Illinois from August 22 – 28, 2021 and will welcome women’s teams from participating North American and Caribbean countries. This competition also serves as the Continental Championship for the NACHC region, which was founded in 2019, consists of 21 countries in the North American and Caribbean region and is led by President Mario Garcia de la Torre from Mexico. More information about the Confederation can be found on its website.

”We could not be more excited to host this qualifier for the North American and Caribbean region. I am not only thrilled to see our women back in action, but also to welcome our friends in the region to the U.S. to return to competition in a safe manner,” said USATH Chief Executive Officer Ryan Johnson.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic situation improving, we are eager to provide our athletes with an opportunity to punch their ticket to a world championship. We are honored to be organizing this qualifier and are delighted to have the Chicago area serve as a terrific host for handball!”

This event marks the first time since 1989 that USA Team Handball has hosted a Women’s World Championship qualifying tournament. The last time a Men’s World Championship qualifying tournament was hosted in America was in 1996. More details surrounding the qualifier will be shared in the coming months.

The winning team will be qualified to the 2021 Women’s World Championship in Spain, which will take place from December 1-19. A total of 32 teams will qualify, with the competition to be staged in five venues in the cities of Barcelona, Castellón, Granollers, Llíria and Torrevieja.  

For more information on the Women’s World Championships, please visit the International Handball Federation website.

About USA Team Handball: USA Team Handball (USATH) is the U.S. National Governing Body for the Olympic discipline of Team Handball, and is responsible for the development of grassroots programs, preparation of national teams for international competition - including the Pan American and Olympic Games - as well as the day-to-day oversight of the sport of team handball in the United States. The mission of USATH is to develop, promote, educate and grow the sport of team handball at all levels domestically, and to enable U.S. athletes to achieve sustained competitive excellence to win medals in international and Olympic competition. USATH is a member of the International Handball Federation, the North American and Caribbean Handball Confederation, and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Media Contact: Melissa Zhang | (508) 768-5649 | Melissa.Zhang@usateamhandball.org