INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL SPORT FEDERATION AND INTERNATIONAL HANDBALL FEDERATION (IHF) SIGN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

The International Handball Federation (IHF) and the International School Sport Federation (ISF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday evening on the outskirts of the 28th IHF Men’s World Championship, whose final weekend is taking place in the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the IHF President, Dr Hassan Moustafa, and the President of the ISF, Laurent Petrynka, at the half-time of the second semi-final of the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship between Sweden and France.

With this newly established cooperation, the overall goal is to encourage and develop the sport of handball and its use as an educational tool for youth, further strengthening the cooperation between the two institutions.

This Memorandum of Understanding will enhance the promotion of handball within schools and school sport events, both at national and international levels, creating increased awareness about the sport and bringing more youth to the sport from an early age through improved cooperation and communication with local authorities.

According to Petrynka, handball has been one of the main pillars for the development of young children through sport, being the team sport that is played the most in several countries worldwide.

Handball is also one of the most prominent sports in the Gymnasiade, an event that takes place every two years, the largest international multi-sport event for 16-18 years old school students.

During the past decade, the International Handball Federation (IHF) has put huge emphasis on developing handball at all levels, even at the youngest of ages, launching a training and education programme for physical education teachers and coaches in schools across all continents in 2011, called Handball at School (H@S).

The IHF provides the opportunity to introduce a comprehensive training and education programme for PE teachers and coaches in schools across all continents. The H@S programme introduces and teaches handball with rules adapted to make the game accessible, challenging and enjoyable for children ages 5 to 17.

"This Memorandum of Understanding is very important for both the IHF and the ISF because it is a recognition of the importance of the development of the sport in schools. The IHF have plenty of experts who are trying to bring their knowledge and expertise to have the best development of the sport even from an early age," says Petrynka.

“We have a great collaboration with the IHF and I want to thank the IHF President, Dr Hassan Moustafa, because we share the same spirit and values. Handball embodies some great values of the sport – respect and fair play – between all of its shareholders.”

We are looking forward to more developed ISF Handball events in future!