The Men’s World Championship will come to an end with the final Spain vs. Denmark in Barcelona on Sunday 27 January. Before the gold medals will be handed over, here are some facts and figures about the World Championship in Spain:

TV and media:

In total 84 matches were broadcasted by TV stations from around the world.

TV coverage of the World Championship in 150 countries worldwide, more than 40 TV stations covered the matches live.

30 million cumulative TV audience for live matches in Germany on 6 matches

10 million cumulative TV audience for live matches in Poland on 4 matches

More than 43 million TV viewers on the top 10 audiences

More than 1600 media representatives accredited for the tournament

Internet and live streaming:

All produced matches were broadcasted live on http://www.handball.livesport.tv

Nearly 2 Mio Page views on www.ihf.info

Mobile Application:

For Android and iPhone – huge number of worldwide downloads, free of charge

Doping Controls:

Doping controls in all stages in close cooperation of Prof. Hosny Abdelrahman (Head of IHF Anti-Doping Unit) and NADO

Number of samples:

Out of competition: 23 samples           

In competition:  73 samples                 

Seven blood samples for blood biological profile for the first time ever in contact sport – all results all negative so far

Referee Performance:

16 nominated referee couples from 4 continents

First World Championship for two couples, majority of the referees had already been nominated for the Olympic Games in London.

The average age of the nominated referees in Spain is with 36 years quiet young for a senior competition.

All nominated referees are under permanent IHF training, some in separate courses or in Global Referee Training Program (GRTP).

Also during this Championship there were daily trainings with intensive video analyses and regularly work on fitness.

After finalization of 83 games the IHF do not have any formal protest regarding the referee performances in this World Championship – PRC members had individual talks with coaches at different venues and we can summarize their statements as follows: The line of refereeing in this World Championship was better than in previous Championships.