After being announced on IHF.info back in February the United States of America (USA) will host the Men’s IHF Trophy North American & Caribbean - Zone I Championships at the Lifezone 360 Facility in West Dundee, Illinois this week.

 

The tournament will run from Tuesday 8 May to Saturday 12 May and feature two age categories – Junior (born on or after 1 January 1998) and Youth (born on or after 1 January 2000).

 

In the Junior category Canada (CAN), Dominica (DMA), Haiti (HAI) and Martinique (MTN), along with the hosts, United States of America (USA) will fight it out for the title, while in the Youth category Canada, Martinique and USA will do battle. Except for the USA, all teams have squads with players based solely at domestic clubs. The USA feature several players based outside of the country, with 17-year-old left back Amar Amitovic playing for RK Kakanj in Bosnia, right wing Maximillian Binderis playing for Hammarby IF HF in Sweden and others playing in Germany.

 

The best two teams from both categories will advance to the IHF Trophy Continental Phase, to be held later this year with the winners of the eventual IHF Trophy Intercontinental Junior Championships earning an automatic spot at the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championships in Spain.

 

In 2019, the IHF Trophy will be for junior and youth women with the same format and qualification potential for the following years’ IHF Junior World Championships (2020).

 

The IHF Trophy will then continue to alternate between men’s and women’s competitions each year.

 

 

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

All times local

 

Youth Competition

 

Tuesday 8 May

18:00    USA vs MTQ

 

Wednesday 9 May

14:00    CAN vs MTQ

 

Thursday 10 May

12:00    USA vs CAN

20:00    USA vs MTQ

 

Friday 11 May

14:00    CAN vs MTQ

 

Saturday 12 May

16:00    USA vs CAN

 

Junior Competition

 

Tuesday 8 May

16:00    MTQ vs CAN

20:00    USA vs DMA

 

Wednesday 9 May

16:00    DMA vs CAN

18:00    HAI vs USA

 

Thursday 10 May

14:00    DMA vs MTQ

18:00    CAN vs HAI

 

Friday 11 May

16:00    DMA vs HAI

18:00    USA vs MTQ

 

Saturday 12 May

14:00    MTQ vs HAI

18:00    CAN vs USA

 

All matches will be streamed live on the IHF Facebook page.