EGYPT will host the 2021 Men's World Handball Championship. After a hotly contested campaign against Hungary, Egypt won the right to host the event after last staging it in 1999 when Sweden were crowned champions after defeating Russia in the final. In that tournament, Egypt made it to the quarter-finals after overcoming Tunisia but a defeat to finalists Russia denied the hosts a place in the semis. Egypt's best-ever place in the World Handball Championship came in 2001 when it finished fourth in 2001. “I am very proud we won the bid of such a prestigious event after 16 years,” Minister of Youth and Sports Khaled Abdel-Aziz, who attended the announcement in Russia to lend support to the Egyptian bid, said. “It is a strong message to the whole world that Egypt is and will forever be safe, opening its arms to welcome all… we will start working from today to make the event a spectacular one,” Abdel-Aziz said. At the Russian congress, it was also decided that the 2023 championship will be held jointly in Poland and Sweden. The International Handball Federation (IHF), the world governing handball body, has been headed by Egyptian Hassan Mustafa since 2000.
