It was a great pleasure for the talents of the 24 participating teams at the V Men’s Youth World Handball Championship. IHF President Dr Hassan Moustafa visited the tournament and answered some questions around the tournament.

  

Which impressions have you gained about this tournament?

Dr Moustafa: This V Men’s Youth World Championship has taken place at a really high level. The players have developed, and the level of the matches has developed and improved. Everybody can see this development. That means on the one hand the individual strength of the players, and on the other hand the possibilities of the teams. For sure we have some differences in the standard, but the overall level has become higher and the differences have decreased. I’m very happy about this. I remember that it was not an easy way to install the Youth World Championships. Eight years ago, before the first championship took part in Qatar, we fought against some resistance. And now we can be a little bit proud of the success of this tournament.

  

What has been new in Hungary?

Dr Moustafa: For the first time ever 24 teams took part in a Youth World Championship. This is an excellent step, but this step is also necessary to develop our sport worldwide. All the referees on the tournament have been involved in the international referee course of the IHF. As a result of that fact, the level of the referee couples was definitely better than before. I have also seen inspired coaches and officials. And let me tell you: For the first time on an international tournament in handball, the number of media representatives working for different online media was higher than the number of journalists working for traditional print media. Why do I mention this? Online media are preferably used by young people. In my opinion it is a clear example of handball being a sport for young people – not only on the court.

  

Please tell us a word about the hosts…

Dr Moustafa: You can always visit Budapest – also without handball. But I've learned and experienced for myself that the preparation and the realization of this Youth World Championship has been effected with a lot of commitment. Everything has always worked perfectly. So finally I have to say thank you to our hosts!