First of all I
will talk about the history of handball, and then I will talk about the rules. After
that the world champion and top national teams and top clubs. Finally I will
talk about this sport in the United Arab Emirates.
Handball is a
game that been played in many cultures in the past like ancient Greek and
Roman. Also it was in Inuit Greenland. By the 19th century handball
was played in some European countries like Germany (torball), Ukraine (gandbol)
and Denmark (handbold).
The game was
developed in northern Europe in 1800 and it was popular in Denmark, Sweden, and
Germany during this period. A Danish gym teacher called Holger Nielsen drew up the
game rules in 1898 and published them in 1906. But in Germany the rules were published
by Max Heiser, Karl Schelenz and Erich Konigh in 1917. The congress of the
International Amateur Athletic Federation put a committee to draw international rules for the game in 1926. Handball World Championship was started
in 1938; after the World War II it was played every four years sometimes three
years. In 1995 the event has been biannual. The first Women’s World Championship was in
1957. International Handball Federation IHF was formed in 1949 and there were
only two members Denmark and Sweden. Nowadays there are about 170 members and about 795000 teams.
Lets talk about
the field of the court. In the past hand ball was played on a football field with 10 players in each team and the goal was seven meters long. But now it
is different. The field is 40 meter and the width is 20 meter. There are also two lines
surrounding the targets. The first line is solid and the second is dashed; in
between there is a line parallel to the center line. the first solid line surrounding the target is known as 6 meter line. This area is only for the
goalkeeper. The second line is the dashed line called
the 9 meter line. This line is for free throw. The parallel line between 9
meter and 6 meter is for the penalty.
The substitution area is in both sides of the
middle line for each team. In this area there are three main things
substitution line, timekeeper or score keeper, and bench substitution in both
sides of time keeper area. The substitution line is 9 meter long, and the time
keeper area is half meter away from the side line of the court. And between two
benches it is about 7 meter.
The goal target
is 3 meters in width and 2 meters in height. It should be fixed with the wall behind it
or with the ground. The posts and the crossbar should be made from the same
material and the cross section area of it should be 8 centimeter. The targets
should be painted with the same color and mustn't be like the floor or the wall.
The net must be fastened to not let the ball pass.
The ball size depends on
the gander and the age and it is like this
size , class , circumference , weight g
III, men and male above 16 ball, 58-60, 425-475
II, women and male over 12 female over 14, 54-56, 325-375
I, over 8 years, 50-52, 290-330
So let us talk
about the game itself. The game has two periods, each period is 30 minutes for all teams above 16 years. And for the
teams between 16-12 it is 25 minutes. For the teams between 12-8 it is 20 minute.
There are 10-15 minute intervals. In a league it is fine if the match is drawn.
But if it’s a tournament which there should be a winner there are two overtime
periods for five minutes per period. If it is still draw then the referee give
them penalty shootout best of five then they continue until one of the teams
win.
There are five
types of throws, throw off, throw in, goalkeeper throw, free throw, and seven
meter throw. When the game started or when any team score a goal or when the other
period started the ball played from the center, this throw known as throw off.
It must be done in the middle line of the court. If the ball crosses the side
line then it is a throw in. the team which didn’t touch the ball when it cross
the side line take the throw. The third
throw is the goalkeeper throw. If the ball crosses the outer line of the goal and the attacking team of the goalkeeper touch the ball then it is a goalkeeper throw. If
there is a foul or an interruption by the referee, then the free throw restarts the play from the place where the game has been stopped, as long as the spot is
outside the 9 meter line. If there is a clear chance to score anywhere on the
court and it is illegally prevented, then the referee gives the team which had the chance to
score a 7 meter throw. It is like a penalty in football. The player puts one foot
on the 7 meter line and throws the ball when he hears the referee whistle.
Each team has 12 players, 7 in the court and 5 in the substitution area. The players of the same
team should wear the same clothes, only the goalkeeper should wear different. Each
team should have a maximum four officials seated. A field player is allowed to
touch the ball from their knee to their head. Only the goalkeeper is allowed to
touch the ball anywhere. In this game there a is different between catching the ball
and bouncing it. If the player has the ball he can stay in his position only for
3 sec, and he can take 3 steps only. Then he must either shoot, pass, or dribble the ball. I mentioned that in goal
perimeter of 6 meter area only the goalkeeper can move freely there. Attacking
player can score in the goal perimeter by a volley ball by the player who must jump
before the 6 meter line. Also I mentioned that only the goalkeeper can touch the
ball anywhere.
Let’s talk about the penalties; penalties are
given to players for fouls that require more punishment than just a free throw
such as reaching around, holding, pushing, hitting, tripping, and jumping into an opponent. The referee gives a yellow card for illegal action. If the action was a little bit dangerous then the referee stops the player for 2 min. The player may
get one warning before the 2 min suspension and he can get only two 2 min
suspensions; after that the player gets a red card. Sometimes the player gets a red
card directly for a dangerous move like contact from behind during a fast
break. If the player gets the red card then he must leave the game directly.
Actually the penalties are a very big subject and I can’t talk about it in this
brief report so you can go and search in the internet.
As I mentioned before the word championship took place in 1938 and it was organized by the International Handball Federation, IHF. It was in Germany and only four teams were involved. Germany was the first
national team who won the tournament. The teams who won the tournament most are the French in
1995, 2001, 2009, and 2011, Romania in 1961, 1964, 1970, and 1974, and Sweden
in 1954, 1958, 1990, and 1999. This is for male champions. The world womens handball championship was started in 1957 and it was in Yugoslavia; the
winner was Czechoslovakia. Russia is
the team which won the tournament most and it was in 2001, 2005, 2007, and 2009. The
largest winning score was 66–21
Sweden and Australia.
Finally I will talk about handball in my
country the United Arab Emirates. I didn't get much information about handball in
Emirates, so I think this sport is not popular there. The UAE Handball Federation
was established in 1975. The national team got 2nd in Arabian Gulf
Tournament in 1991, and 3rd in 2007, and 2009. In the Arabian tournament
they got 2nd 1998 and 3rd in 2010.In Asian tournament
they get 5th two times in 1998 and 2007. The under 21 team won the Asian
tournament in 1996.
