Cairo. IHF President Dr. Hassan Moustafa praises the high level of handball in the XVII Men’s Junior World Championship.

Mr. President, You have followed the Men’s Junior World Championship at site. How would you summarize the event?

We have experienced a great competition. The level of the participating teams has answered my expectations. We have seen active players that will influence the Men’s National teams in a few years, and from what I have seen, I am sure that our sport will develop positively. We have already seen this trend during the Men’s Youth World Championship in Tunisia this July. Also, the young referees have shown great performance during this Championship. And I would also like to thank the spectators. We never had more than 100.000 visitors, like for this Championship.

Why did you notice that the performance of the handball teams have increased the last years?

You can for example have a look at the overall result. As IHF-President, I am of course neutral, but everyone will understand that me as an Egyptian is happy with the good results of our hosts. Have a look at the performance of the Argentinean team. They were so close to reaching the Semi Finals. Also Brazil have played wonderful handball. Also the performances of teams from Iran and Greenland have contributed to higher the level of the tournament. Never before in a Junior World Championship have we found three non-European teams in positions all within the first 9 places. To conclude: Handball is developing in all continents.

You have not only followed the matches here...

We had an Executive Commission meeting here in Cairo, and also members from the different Continental Federations have met here by the Men’s Junior World Championship. The importance of this World Championship can also be seen from the number of present Delegates and Presidents from different National Federations.


What expectations do You have for the rest of Handball year 2009?

We are now preparing for the Women’s World Championship in China in December. This will be our next big event. We are sure to see more development in our sport. And of course, all other activities will continue as normal, like our Development Aid projects. We also look forward to the following year with the Women’s Junior and Youth World Championships.