The IHF Men's World Championship has been determining the best men's national handball team in the world every two years.
The current handball world champion is the team from Denmark, which has already defended the trophy it first won in 2019 three times (2021, 2023, 2025). The record world champion is France with six victories.
Handball World Championship 2027 in Germany
After 1938, 1958, 1961, 1974, 1982, 2007 and 2019, Germany will host the Men's World Handball Championship for the eighth time in 2027. It´s the 30th edition of the tournament. Munich, Stuttgart, Magdeburg, Kiel, Hanover and Cologne have been selected as the venues. A total of 32 national teams will then compete for the world championship title from January 13 to 31, 2027.
LANXESS arena Cologne selected as venue for the final
To kick off the tournament, the SAP Garden in Munich (11,000 spectators), the Porsche-Arena Stuttgart (6,200 spectators), the MERKUR Ostseehalle Kiel (10,250 spectators) and the GETEC Arena Magdeburg (6,500 spectators) will welcome handball fans from all over the world in a total of eight preliminary round groups (two groups per venue). The matches in the two main round groups will then take place in the LANXESS arena Cologne (19,250 spectators) and the ZAG arena Hanover (10,000 spectators). The quarter-finals, semi-finals, placement and medal matches will also be held in the Rhine metropolis. The new world champion will then be crowned here on January 31, 2027, exactly 20 years after the German national handball team's World Cup triumph.
Route of the German team at the 2027 Handball World Championship
The German national handball team will start the tournament at the SAP Garden in Munich. If qualified, national coach Alfred Gislason's team will move to Cologne for the main round.
Highlight in the decade of handball
The 2027 Handball World Championship is another milestone in the decade of handball, which began in 2023 with the U21 World Championship and was followed by a highlight in January 2024: the record-breaking EHF EURO 2024. Next will be the IHF Women's Handball World Championship 2025 together with the Netherlands and in 2029 Germany will once again host the Men's World Championship alongside France. In 2032, the decade of handball in Germany will be concluded by the European Handball Championships for men (with France) and women (with Denmark and Poland).
Seeded Teams and Preliminary Round
The seeded teams for the preliminary round have been determined by the IHF. This means that the first nations competing at each venue are now confirmed.
The preliminary round marks the start of the tournament and will be played across four host cities: Munich, Stuttgart, Kiel, and Magdeburg.
Munich (SAP Garden)
Group A: Germany
Group C: Croatia
The German national team will play its preliminary round matches in Munich, joined by Croatia as the second seeded team at this venue.
Stuttgart (Porsche Arena)
Group B: Winner of Switzerland vs. Italy
Group D: Winner of France vs. Czech Republic
In Stuttgart, the winners of these playoff matchups will compete in the preliminary round of the 2027 World Championship.
Kiel (MERKUR Ostseehalle)
Group E: Sweden
Group G: Denmark
Two of the world’s top handball nations, Sweden and reigning world champions Denmark, will headline the matches in Kiel.
Magdeburg (GETEC Arena)
Group F: Portugal
Group H: Iceland
Magdeburg will host two strong contenders, both considered potential dark horses aiming to advance to the next stage of the tournament.
The final composition of all preliminary round groups will be confirmed following the qualification matches and the official draw on June 10, 2026.
One thing is already certain: all preliminary round venues promise world-class handball and an outstanding World Championship atmosphere.
