Explained: Pathway to Men’s World Championship 2021 and Men’s EHF EURO 2022 Qualifiers

Explained: Pathway to Men’s World Championship 2021 and Men’s EHF EURO 2022 Qualifiers

With the Men’s EHF EURO 2020 being played with 24 teams for the first time, European handball is in for a big change.

This change also influences the pathway to the Men’s World Championship 2021 in Egypt and the Men’s EHF EURO 2022.

With the registration the Men’s EHF EURO 2022 starting soon (and soon enough for the Men’s World Championship 2021) for the European federations, eurohandball.com takes the opportunity to explain in detail the most important milestones to the two final tournaments.

Men’s World Championship 2021

• Organisers Egypt and the eventual winners of the World Championship 2019 will qualify directly. From a European point of view, also up to 3 of the best ranked teams at EHF EURO 2020 also qualify directly
• The teams registered but not qualified for the EHF EURO 2020 play the first qualification phase, with rounds scheduled for the end of October 2019 and early January 2020
• The European teams that qualify from the EHF EURO 2020 for the 2020 Olympic Games Qualification Tournaments are directly qualified for the second phase play-offs, schedule for the first and second week of June 2020
• While the Olympic Qualification Tournaments are being (17 to 19 April 2020) played, the remaining participants of EHF EURO 2020 and the winners of the first qualification phase play a first phase of play-off matches (15/16 and 18/19 April 2020). The winners qualify for the second phase of play-off matches.
• This second qualification phase will be contested among 18 teams, with eight coming from the Olympic Qualification Tournaments and 10 through the first phase play-offs.
• The nine eventual winners will qualify for the Men’s World Championship2021 in Egypt.

Men’s EHF EURO 2022

• The champions of EHF EURO 2020 (and possibly also the 2^nd ranked team depending on an EHF EXEC decision) will qualify directly for EHF EURO 2022 in Hungary and Slovakia.
• The first qualification phase will be played in a tournament format on either 4 to 6 January or 11 to 13 January. Contrary to previous first qualification phases in the past, it is obligatory that this phase is played in tournament
• From 10 to 16 June 2019, the Emerging Nations Championship takes place which offers a second possibility to qualify for the EHF EURO 2022 Qualifiers. However, a single registration for the Emerging Nations Championship is no longer possible. Federations wishing to participate also have to register for the first qualification phase.
• The basic structure of the EHF EURO 2022 Qualifiers and the necessity of free places for the winners of phase 1 and the Emerging Nations Championship require the relegation of a maximum of four teams (the four lowest ranked 4^th ranked teams in the EHF EURO 2020 Qualifiers).
• These up to four teams will receive a second chance to make it to the EHF EURO 2022 Qualifiers by the implementation of a ‘relegation round’ in which they face the winners of the first qualification phase 1 and the Emerging Nations Championship.
• This relegation round is either played in October 2019 or January 2020 depending on the teams’ involvement in the Men’s World Championship 2021 Qualification.
• The Men’s EHF EURO 2022 Qualifiers start in October / November 2020.