Asian Handball Federation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Asian Handball Federation AHF
Sport	Handball
Other Sports	Beach handball
History
Year of formation	26 August 1974; 51 years ago (1974-08-26) at Tehran, Imperial State of Iran
Demographics
Membership size	44 Members
Affiliations
International federation	International Handball Federation (IHF)
IHF member since	1974
Other affiliation(s)	Olympic Council of Asia
Governance
President	Yoshihide Watanabe (acting)
1st Vice-President	Yoshihide Watanabe
Secretariat
Address	South Surrah, Al-Salam Area, Block 7, Street No. 705, Villa 508
Country	Kuwait
Secretary General	Muhammad Shafiq
Official Language(s)	English (Official) Arabic (Also used for correspondences)
Number of staff	8
Finance
Sponsors	Al Kass Sports Channels SK Group Gerflor Molten Corporation
Regions
Western Asia Central Asia South Asia Southeast Asia East Asia

The Asian Handball Federation (AHF) is the main organization for handball and beach handball in Asia. It helps organize and promote these sports across the continent. The AHF has 44 member countries. Most of these are in Asia. However, some countries that are partly in Europe, like Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Turkey, are part of the European Handball Federation instead.

The AHF is one of six groups that work with the International Handball Federation (IHF). It was officially started on August 26, 1974, in Tehran, Iran. This happened during the 1974 Asian Games. The main office of the AHF is in Kuwait City, Kuwait.

History of Asian Handball

The Asian Handball Federation has a unique history. For a long time, it had only two presidents, and they were father and son.

In 1974, during the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran, Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah from Kuwait played a big part. He asked for handball to be included in the games. He also helped start a handball group for Asia. Handball was already popular in Asia at that time. The leaders of the Asian Games agreed to make handball an official sport. They asked Sheikh Fahad to be the temporary president and help create the rules for the new federation. He got help from Secretary General Syed Abul Hassan from Pakistan. In 1976, the federation was officially founded, and Sheikh Fahad was elected as its first president.

Leaders of the AHF

Past Presidents

The AHF has had important leaders over the years. Here are the presidents who have guided the federation:

S. No.	Name	Time in Role
1.	Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah	August 26, 1974 – August 2, 1990
Acting	Mohammed Ali Abul	August 2, 1990 – 1991
2.	Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah	1991 – November 5, 2021
Acting	Yoshihide Watanabe	November 5, 2021 – present

Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah passed away in 1990. Mohammed Ali Abul then served as acting president until 1991. Later, Sheikh Ahmed stepped down from his role as AHF president. After that, Yoshihide Watanabe, who was the 1st Vice-President, became the acting president.

Secretaries-General

The Secretary General helps manage the daily work of the AHF.

S. No.	Name	Time in Role
1.	Syad Abul Hassan	August 26, 1974 – November 26, 2000
2.	Roshan Lal Anand	November 26, 2000 – October 25, 2013
3.	Muhammad Shafiq	October 25, 2013 – present

AHF Tournaments and Competitions

The AHF organizes many exciting handball and beach handball tournaments for different age groups and levels.

AHF Championships

These are the main championships organized by the AHF:

• Asian Men's Handball Championship
• Asian Women's Handball Championship
• Asian Men's Junior Handball Championship (for younger players)
• Asian Women's Junior Handball Championship (for younger players)
• Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship (for even younger players)
• Asian Women's Youth Handball Championship (for even younger players)
• Asian Games (handball is part of this big event)
• Asian Youth Games

Club Competitions

Clubs from different countries also compete in AHF tournaments:

• Asian Club League Handball Championship
• Asian Women's Club League Handball Championship

Beach Handball Events

Beach handball is a fun version of the sport played on sand:

• Asian Beach Handball Championship
• Asian Youth Beach Handball Championship
• Asian Beach Games

Regional Tournaments

Some tournaments are held for specific regions within Asia:

• West Asia: West Asian Women's Handball Championship, West Asian Games
• South Asia: South Asian Men's Handball Championship, South Asian Women's Handball Championship, South Asian Games
• Southeast Asia: Southeast Asian Games
• East Asia: East Asian Games

Current Champions in Asian Handball

Here are the teams that are currently champions in various AHF tournaments:

Category	Men's	Women's
Senior Handball Championship	QAT (2024) (6)	Japan (2024) (2*)
Asian Games	QAT (2022) (3)	Japan (2022) (1)
Junior Handball Championship	Japan (2024) (2)	South Korea (2023) (16*)
Asian Youth Games	Qatar (2013) (1*)	South Korea (2013) (1*)
Youth Handball Championship	Japan (2024) (1)	Japan (2023) (1)
Beach Handball Championship	Oman (2025) (2)	Vietnam (2025) (3*)
Asian Beach Games	Qatar (2016) (3*)	Vietnam (2016) (1)
Youth Beach Handball Championship	Iran (2022) (1*)	Thailand (2022) (1*)
Club Handball Championship	Khaleej Club (2024) (1)	Kaysar Club (2024) (3*)

(Titles) (*) Record titles

Member Countries of AHF

The AHF has many member countries, grouped by how active they are in handball.

First level (most active)

Second level

Third level

• ✝ non-active member

Sponsors of AHF

The Asian Handball Federation works with several sponsors who help support its activities and tournaments:

• Al-Kass Sports Channel
• SK Group
• Molten Corporation
• Gerflor