Handball at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's qualification facts for kids
This page is all about how men's handball teams earned their spots to play at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris! The qualification games happened from January 2023 to March 2024. Twelve teams got to go to the Olympics. These spots were given out in a few ways: the host country, the world champion, winners from big tournaments in different parts of the world (like Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas), and six teams from special Olympic qualification tournaments.
How Teams Qualified
| Qualification Event | When | Where | Spots | Qualified Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | — | — | 1 |  FRA |
| 2023 World Championship | January 11–29, 2023 |  Poland Sweden |
1 |  DEN |
| 2023 Asian Qualification Tournament | October 18–28, 2023 |  Doha |
1 |  JPN |
| 2023 Pan American Games | October 30 – November 4, 2023 |  Viña del Mar |
1 |  ARG |
| 2024 European Championship | January 10–28, 2024 |  Germany |
1 | SWE |
| 2024 African Championship | January 17–27, 2024 |  Cairo |
1 |  EGY |
| 2024 IHF Men's Olympic Qualification Tournaments | March 14–17, 2024 |  Granollers |
2 |  ESP SLO |
 Hanover |
2 |  CRO GER |
||
 Tatabánya |
2 |  NOR HUN |
||
| Total | 12 | |||
Understanding the Colors
This table helps you understand what the colors in the ranking tables mean:
| Qualified Teams | ||
|---|---|---|
| Color Key | How They Qualified | What They Qualified For |
| Olympic host country | 2024 Summer Olympics | |
| Winner of the 2023 IHF World Championship | ||
| Winner of a 2022–2024 Continental Qualification Tournament | ||
| From the 2023 IHF World Championship | 2024 IHF World Olympic Qualification Tournament | |
| From a 2022–2024 Continental Qualification Tournament | ||
Host Country Spot
- The team from
France automatically got a spot in the Olympics because France is hosting the games.
World Championship Qualification
The team that won the 2023 World Men's Handball Championship got a direct spot in the Olympics. Since France, the host country, won the silver medal, the next six best teams (those ranked 3rd to 8th) got a chance to play in the Olympic Qualification Tournaments. If any of these teams later qualified directly through their continental tournaments, then the next teams in line (like the 9th place team) would get their spot in the qualification tournaments.
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
 |
DEN |
 |
FRA |
 |
ESP |
| 4 | SWE |
| 5 | GER |
| 6 | NOR |
| 7 | EGY |
| 8 | HUN |
| 9 | CRO |
| 10 | SLO |
| 11 |  SRB |
| 12 |  ISL |
| 13 |  POR |
| 14 |  NED |
| 15 | POL |
| 16 |  BHR |
| 17 |  BRA |
| 18 |  MNE |
| 19 | ARG |
| 20 |  USA |
| 21 |  BEL |
| 22 |  QAT |
| 23 |  CPV |
| 24 |  IRI |
| 25 |  TUN |
| 26 |  CHI |
| 27 |  MKD |
| 28 |  KOR |
| 29 |  KSA |
| 30 |  MAR |
| 31 |  ALG |
| 32 |  URU |
Continental Qualification Tournaments
These tournaments were held in different parts of the world to decide which teams would get a spot in the Olympics or a chance to play in the Olympic Qualification Tournaments.
Europe
The final match of the European Championship was between France and Denmark. Both of these teams had already secured their Olympic spots (France as the host, and Denmark as the World Champions). Because of this, the winner of the third-place match, SWE, earned the European Olympic spot.
Also, POR and 
AUT were the next best teams that hadn't already qualified for the Olympics or the Olympic Qualification Tournaments through the World Championship. They got a chance to play in the Olympic Qualification Tournaments.
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
|
FRA |
|
DEN |
|
SWE |
| 4 | GER |
| 5 | HUN |
| 6 | SLO |
| 7 | POR |
| 8 | AUT |
| 9 | NOR |
| 10 | ISL |
| 11 | CRO |
| 12 | NED |
| 13 | ESP |
| 14 | MNE |
| 15 |  CZE |
| 16 | POL |
| 17 | MKD |
| 18 |  GEO |
| 19 | SRB |
| 20 |  FRO |
| 21 |  SUI |
| 22 |  ROU |
| 23 |  GRE |
| 24 |  BIH |
| Teams like Faroe Islands cannot qualify for the Olympics because their National Olympic Committee is not recognized by the IOC. |
Americas
The team that won the handball tournament at the Pan American Games got a direct spot in the Olympics. The team that came in second place got a chance to play in the Olympic Qualification Tournaments.
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
|
ARG |
|
BRA |
|
CHI |
| 4 | USA |
| 5 | URU |
| 6 |  CUB |
| 7 |  MEX |
| 8 |  DOM |
Asia
Eleven teams competed in the Asian qualification tournament. It was held in Doha, Qatar, from October 18 to 28, 2023.
Final Standings
Africa
The African champions got a direct spot in the Olympics. The teams that came in second and third place got a chance to play in the Olympic Qualification Tournaments.
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
|
EGY |
|
ALG |
|
TUN |
| 4 | CPV |
| 5 |  GUI |
| 6 |  COD |
| 7 | MAR |
| 8 |  ANG |
| 9 |  NGA |
| 10 |  CMR |
| 11 |  GAB |
| 12 |  LBY |
| 13 |  CGO |
| 14 |  RWA |
| 15 |  KEN |
| 16 |  ZAM |
Olympic Qualification Tournaments
These were the final tournaments where teams could earn a spot in the Olympics. Teams that didn't qualify directly from the World Championship or continental events got another chance here.
Teams That Qualified for These Tournaments
Tournament #1
This tournament took place from March 14 to 17, 2024, in Granollers, Spain.
Tournament #2
This tournament took place from March 14 to 17, 2024, in Hanover, Germany.
Tournament #3
This tournament took place from March 14 to 17, 2024, in Tatabánya, Hungary.
See also
