The 22nd Asian Handball Federation (AHF) Ordinary Congress took place in Bangkok, Thailand, last week with a number of important issues on the agenda discussed.
AHF President HE Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah opened the congress, welcoming all the countries and representative present, including Dr Hassan Moustafa, and went on to congratulate the IHF President on the success of the recent 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship, held in Germany and Denmark, which included the historic Unified Team of Korea.
“I would like to thank the President of the International Handball Federation for all the support to the Asian Handball Federation,” said Sheikh Ahmad, quoted on the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) website.
“The Asian Handball Federation will always coordinate and cooperate with the International Handball Federation. We have seen that, through your leadership, the unity and solidarity within handball.”
Following the opening remarks, a number of reports were then presented, including those from the various AHF Commissions, before a number of amendments to the Articles in the AHF Bylaws were discussed, including Official Languages, Aims of AHF and Responsibilities of the Member Federations. The congress then ended with the AHF Calendar of Events 2019-20 and the date of the next congress.
During the event President Moustafa praised the role of the AHF President in his help and assistance with ensuring the presence of that historic Korea team in Germany and Denmark.
“There was a lot of preparation and expectation for this joint Korea team and I want to give my gratitude to everyone involved,” said the IHF President to the OCA website. “For a unified Korea to play against Germany in the opening match in Berlin was very symbolic considering that, in the past, the city was divided between West Germany and East Germany – without the support of His Highness Sheikh Ahmad we could not have achieved this.”
In light of the achievement of the Unified Korea team appearing at the 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship, the Palestine Handball Federation revealed it would host a competition in honour of Sheikh Ahmad’s father in September.
The AHF Ordinary Congress was held just ahead of the 38th OCA General Assembly, also in Bangkok, where it was announced that the AHF President was re-elected as OCA President, for the election period 2019-2023 - his eighth consecutive term.
It was also announced that nations from the continent of Oceania had been invited to compete at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China – the continental multi-sport event which includes men’s and women’s handball competitions.
For more information about the Asian Handball Federation, visit www.asianhandball.org.
Photo: AHF