A record-breaking edition. The Women's World Championship, won by Norway Last Sunday, the event largely met the expectations of the International Handball Federation (IHF). The spectacle was certainly there, as a record of 64 goals per match has been established, exceeding the 60,8 goals per game of the 2003 edition. Per Bertelsen, Chairman of the IHF Organising and Competition Commission, welcomed " a great sporting success "as well as handball" high quality » offered by the teams throughout the competition.
Another source of satisfaction: the progress of non-European nationsIn 2023, two teams reached the round of 16 – Brazil (9th) and Angola (15th). This time, three did: Brazil finished sixth in the tournament, while Angola (10th) and Japan (13th) also advanced. Beyond the purely sporting aspect, this World Championship, co-hosted by Germany and the Netherlands, established a new attendance record with 354,029 spectators even before the final day of competition, compared to 344.399 spectators in 2023.
Regarding refereeing, the IHF welcomes the New features such as announcements over the microphone after video reviews and the live broadcast of images from the referee's camera on television, which have strengthened the connection with spectators and viewers, and provided valuable material for education and analysis Morten Sødal, chairman of the IHF Rules of the Game and Referees Commission, continued: To reflect the global nature of our sport, We also need top-level referees from continents other than Europe.In this championship, eight of the 22 couples come from continents other than Europe. »
Five of these duos were female, an area for improvement that the IHF acknowledges. We believe in diversity, so this figure is clearly lower than what we would like., confides Morten Sødal. Le development of a greater number of female referees elite is also a clear objective for us. »
