Ahmed Al Shaabi, President of the Qatar Handball Federation, confirmed that the national team’s preparations are continuing for the upcoming 29th World Men’s Handball Championship, scheduled to be held in Croatia, Denmark and Norway during the period from January 14 to February 2.
Al-Shaabi said in statements to the media that preparations are taking place according to several stages, the first of which was an external camp held in Croatia, and the second stage was in Doha, where the team played three friendly matches, two of which were against the Argentine team and one against Bahrain, and the third stage will be held in Slovenia. Hoping that the preparation process will achieve all its goals so that the team will be fully prepared for the World Championship.
He pointed out that the Qatari team is awaiting very strong confrontations in the tournament, as it plays in the third group alongside the teams of France, Austria and Kuwait. He said: “Our group is not easy at all, but we will face strong teams. The first match is against the French team, which has great capabilities and includes stars.” Internationally, then we will meet in the second match with Austria, which is a European team known for its distinguished capabilities, and the third match against the Kuwaiti team, which has developed greatly, and therefore the competition in this group will be difficult, but we have developed a strategy. To deal with the matches appropriately, and our first goal is to qualify for the main round, and then move forward step by step in order to reach far in the tournament.”
Regarding the extent of the team’s development under the leadership of the new coach, Veselin Vujovic, he said that the nature of the current coach’s work differs from the previous coach, Valero Rivera, and it is certain that the players need some time to adapt to the style and method of the new coach. It is difficult to issue a current assessment because the team is in the process of preparing for the World Championship. .
Regarding the Qatar Handball Federation winning the Golden Federation Award for Group Games in 2024 during the Sports Excellence and Giving Awards ceremony held annually by the Qatar Olympic Committee, and the extent of its impact on the aspirations of the Qatar Handball Federation, he said that this increases responsibility and motivates the Federation towards achieving more achievements. .
He said: “We succeeded in winning the Asian Championship 6 times in a row, and we also won the gold medal in the Asian Games 3 times in a row, in addition to many other achievements that confirm the value and status of Qatari handball. We strive for more in the future, and we consider our winning the Golden Union Award in 2024 an incentive for further work and development until We maintain our constant aspiration towards presenting an honorable image for Qatari handball in every tournament in which we participate.”
Al-Shabi revealed that the Qatari Federation has a vision to develop the national teams in accordance with Vision 2030, and the development process includes pumping new blood into the national teams. He said that discussions were held with the Qatar Olympic Committee in this regard, stressing at the same time the importance of the role of the Qatari clubs as the main partner with the Federation in Developing Qatari handball and supporting national teams.
He said that the development process will begin after returning from the next World Championship and will include age groups through the junior and youth stages all the way to the first team.
It is worth noting that the Qatari handball team delegation leaves today for Slovenia to participate in the final camp before competing in the World Championship. During the camp, Al Annabi will play two matches, the first with the Slovenia national team next Tuesday before playing with the Algerian national team on Thursday, January 9, and after that, it will head to… Al-Anabi delegation to the Croatian city of Porec, which hosts the third group competitions in which Al-Anabi plays in the World Championship.
The Qatari handball team is participating in the World Championship for the tenth time in its history, after Portugal 2003, Tunisia 2005, Germany 2007, Spain 2013, Qatar 2015, France 2017, Germany and Denmark 2019, Egypt 2021, Poland and Sweden 2023, and achieved second place in the Qatar 2015 edition as the best. As a result of his History of his World Cup participations.