Who will take hold of Spain's handball crowns?

Student-athletes from 11 countries have travelled to Pessac near Bordeaux in France with the dream of taking the world university titles home. From 20-27 June, this tournament promises to be intense. Don’t miss it!

Before we dive into this beautiful region renowned for its wine and into the details of the competition, make sure to save the following links so you can watch all the action over the next few days.

Where to follow?

The FISU World University Championship Handball will be streamed live, allowing fans around the world to follow the event and cheer on their teams.

Simply click here to watch live and find out more information on the event’s official website and on its social media outlets: I nstagram and Facebook.

Get to know the host

France has already held 27 editions of World University Championships since its inception, and with its deep-rooted handball culture, it is excited to welcome teams from three continents under the best possible conditions in the beautiful Bordeaux region.

With competition venues, accommodation, transports and catering facilities all within close proximity in the heart of the Bordeaux university campus, the organising committee aims at making this event a sustainable and eco-friendly one, ensuring an efficient and cohesive experience for all participants.

The competition venues

The SMART building of the University of Bordeaux will serve as one of the official competition venues, hosting the official training sessions

On June 20, it will also be
the stage for the Opening Ceremony, surrounded by a lively animation village offering activities and entertainment for all participants and visitors.

The SMART (Sports Management, Advanced Research and Technologies) building is a modern sports facility located on the campus. It combines high-level sports infrastructures with spaces dedicated to research, innovation, and education in sport sciences, making it a key hub for both athletic performance and academic excellence

The Bellegrave Sports Hall, located in the city of Pessac, will serve as the second official competition venue of the Championship. It will host the final stages of the tournament, as well as the Closing Ceremony and the Gala
event.

With a capacity of nearly 1,200 seated spectators, Bellegrave is also home to
the emblematic SPUC Handball Club, a key player in the local sports community .

Find out a little more about handball

Handball was the first sport ever organised as a FISU World University Championship, in 1963, in the Swedish city of Lund. In 2022, the event adopted the FISU University World Cup format (where universities compete instead of countries) in Pristina, Kosovo. It returned to the FISU World University Championship format in 2024 in Antequera, Spain.

The tournament rules in Pessac

Teams will compete against one another in each group on a round-robin basis. Match points will be awarded for each group match according to the following criteria : win = 2 points; draw = 1 point; loss = 0 point
No extra time shall be played during the group phase.

The ranking of each team in each group will be determined as follows :

– Higher number of points obtained in all group matches
– Goal difference across all group matches
– Higher number of goals scored in all group matches
– Goal ratio – the number of goals scored divided by the number of goals conceded.

If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above four criteria, their rankings will be determined as follows :

– Higher number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams involved
– Goal difference derived from the group matches contested between the teams involved
– Higher number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams involved
– A draw conducted by the local organising committee, in the presence of the team captains.

This is a full ranking tournament, meaning that teams will compete for every position in the final standings.
Each country is allowed to enter a maximum of 16 athletes per tournament and per game

The participants

Eight teams in both the women’s and the men’s competitions coming from 11 different countries and 3 continents have travelled to this beautiful part of France.