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As part of the long-running IHF World Women’s Handball Championship series, the 2025 edition continues under the governance of the International Handball Federation (IHF) — the sport’s global organizing body responsible for setting international standards, officiating rules, and hosting elite competitions. This series represents the pinnacle of women’s handball, bringing together continental champions, top-ranked nations, and emerging teams to compete for the world title and valuable points toward Olympic qualification.

The 2025 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship will span from November 26, 2025, to December 14, 2025, and is jointly hosted by the Netherlands (Rotterdam and Den Bosch) and Germany (Dortmund, Stuttgart, and Trier). The hosting and local implementation are handled by joint Local Organizing Committees in the Netherlands and Germany under IHF oversight.

Where Will the 2025 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship Be Held?

The 2025 IHF Women’s World Handball Championship will be held across five venues. The final is scheduled to take place in Rotterdam (Rotterdam Ahoy). Other venues include Maaspoort in ’s-Hertogenbosch (commonly known as Den Bosch), Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Porsche-Arena in Stuttgart, and Trier Arena, a venue in Trier for the preliminary round.

There will be 32 national teams participating. We couldn’t locate credible information about a monetary “prize pool” (i.e., cash awards) or how it’s distributed for the 2025 World Women’s Handball Championship. That’s because many international sports championships (particularly team sports) don’t publicize or even award large cash prizes; the prestige, titles, sponsorship, broadcasting revenues, and support for federations are often more central.

Which Teams Will Take Part in the 2025 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship?

The qualification for the 2025 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship followed several paths, depending on the continental confederation, host status, defending champion status, and wild cards.

The two hosts, Germany and the Netherlands, automatically qualified as host nations. France qualified by virtue of being the reigning world champion. Two teams were invited via wild-card allocation. In 2025, Croatia and China were granted wild cards. Then, there were continental qualifications (regional tournaments/continental championships/qualifying playoffs):

• Europe (EHF: European qualification + 2024 European Women’s Handball Championship)
• Asia (AHF: 2024 Asian Women’s Handball Championship)
• Africa (CAHB: 2024 African Women’s Handball Championship)
• South & Central America (SCAHC: 2024 South and Central American Women’s Handball Championship + 2025 South and Central American Handball Last Chance Qualification Tournament)
• North America/Caribbean (NACHC: 2025 Nor.Ca. Women’s Handball Championship).

Here’s a complete table of the 32 qualified teams for the 2025 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship:

Africa (four teams)

• Angola
• Egypt
• Senegal
• Tunisia

Asia / Oceania (five teams)

• China (wild card)
• Iran
• Japan
• Kazakhstan
• South Korea

Europe (18)

• Austria
• Croatia (wild card)
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Faroe Islands
• France (world champion)
• Germany (co-host)
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Montenegro
• Netherlands (co-host)
• Norway (as one of the top European teams)
• Poland
• Romania
• Serbia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland

North America / Caribbean (one team)

• Cuba

South & Central America (four teams)

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Uruguay
• Paraguay

Features of the 2025 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship

The 2025 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship is organized in multiple stages:

Here’s how matches are structured and how teams are eliminated or ranked:

• In the preliminary round, the 32 teams are divided into eight groups of four teams each (Groups A to H).
• Within each preliminary group, teams play a round-robin (every team meets each other in the group). After the preliminary round, some teams advance to the main round, carrying forward points earned against other advancing teams.
• The main round is again a group phase: qualified teams are re-grouped (four groups of six teams each), and results vs teams they already played (in preliminary) against other advancing teams carry over. Based on the main round performance (points, goal difference, etc.), the best teams enter the final round knockout stage.
• In the final round, standard elimination:

• Quarterfinals → winners advance to semifinals
• Semifinals → winners go to final, losers play for bronze
• Third place/bronze match and final decides positions 1–4

• For teams eliminated before or during group phases, there’s a Presidents Cup/placement bracket to determine lower rankings (25th–32nd, etc.). Also, for teams that lose in quarterfinals, their final ranking (fifth to eighth) is determined not via additional knockout matches, but by comparing their main round performance (points, goal difference, etc.). Similarly, teams finishing third, fourth, fifth, and sixth in the main round get ranked (9–12, 13–16, 17–20, 21–24) based on their points, goal difference, and tie-breakers.

Who’ll Win the 2025 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship?

Based on betting odds, expert previews, and general strength of women’s handball nations, the favorites for the 2025 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship include:

• Norway — listed as the top odds pick in “outright winner” markets.
• France — often among the top contenders in previews.
• Denmark — projected in some previews and betting markets to be in strong contention.
• Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary — also appear in betting markets with decent odds.

Of course, “favorite” status can shift based on team form, injuries, and roster announcements.

Handball’s global reach has led major and most popular bookmakers to cover the Women’s World Championship extensively. Fans usually engage with several types of bets:

• Outright winner bets: predicting the overall champion.
• Match bets (moneyline): choosing who wins individual games.
• Handicap betting: giving a team a virtual goal lead or deficit to balance odds.
• Over/Under totals: betting on whether the combined score exceeds a set number.
• Special markets: top scorer, group winners, or medal finishes.

Because handball matches are high-scoring, total goals and handicap markets tend to attract the most interest.

Licensed international sportsbooks like BetMGM, William Hill, and Marathonbet already list markets for the 2025 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship. Each platform offers live (in-play) odds, outright futures, and prop markets.

The first World Women’s Championship was held in 1957 with just nine teams. Over time, the number of teams expanded in phases. For many decades, the tournament had fewer teams (e.g., 12, 16, 24) before it reached 32 teams starting in 2021. Between 1978 and 1990, it was held every four years, alternating with the Olympics. Since 1993, it has been held every two years (biennially). The seasonal timing shifted: the first five tournaments occurred in summer or early autumn; later, they were moved to November–December dates.

European teams have dominated nearly all editions. The only exceptions were South Korea winning in 1995 (first non-European champion) and Brazil in 2013 (first champion from the Americas). The most successful nations include Russia and Norway, each having won four titles.

The improve viewership for the event, IHF has expanded media rights deals: for 2019–2025, beIN SPORTS was secured to broadcast both Men’s and Women’s World Championships globally (in many regions)

This is where the 2025 tournament will be watched:

• Official IHF/“IHF – Competitions” YouTube channel: In territories where no exclusive broadcasting rights are assigned, matches will be streamed live there (though geo-blocking may apply where local rights are sold).
• beIN SPORTS holds broadcasting rights for the 2019–2025 cycle for both men’s and women’s world championships. This includes 2025.
• TF1 (France): TF1 Group has free-to-air rights to show selected matches involving the French national team, including in pool phases and possibly the final if France reaches it.
• Viaplay: The streaming service reportedly will carry IHF events in multiple countries (e.g., Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, etc.), including Women’s and Men’s World Championships.
• In Germany, from 2026 onward, ProSiebenSat.1 will carry free-to-air rights for German national team matches and key matches (finals, some quarter & semifinals) in future championships. (Note: this applies from the 2026 rights cycle, so effects for 2025 may vary depending on existing deals)
• Local/national broadcasters in many countries will likely acquire rights to show matches (TV and online streaming). The IHF usually coordinates with national federations to list broadcasters. For example, the draw for 2025 is going to be televised in over 40 territories.

Pros and Cons of the 2025 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship Favorites