Qatar men's national handball team

Last updated

Qatar
Flag of Qatar.svg
Information
Association Qatar Handball Association
Coach Valero Rivera López
Most caps Abdulrazzaq Murad (78)
Ranking#70 (108 points)
Colours
Kit left arm whiteborder.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body whitecollar.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm whiteborder.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
1st
Kit left arm samredborder.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body villa1112a.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm samredborder.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
2nd
Results
Summer Olympics
Appearances1 (First in 2016 )
Best result8th (2016)
World Championship
Appearances10 (First in 2003 )
Best resultSilver medal world centered-2.svg 2nd (2015)
Asian Championship
Appearances17 (First in 1983 )
Best resultGold medal asia.svg 1st (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024)
Last updated on Unknown.
Qatar men's national handball team
Medal record
World Championship
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2015 Qatar
Asian Championship
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2014 Bahrain
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2016 Bahrain
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2018 South Korea
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2020 Kuwait
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Saudi Arabia
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Bahrain
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2002 Iran
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2012 Saudi Arabia
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2004 Qatar
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Thailand

The Qatar national handball team is controlled by the Qatar Handball Association and take part in international handball competitions.

Contents

Qatar has the distinction of being the only non-European side to reach the final of the Men’s World Handball Championship, when they finished as runners-up at the 2015 edition, losing to France in a close contest (22–25) on home soil.

Honours

Winners: 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024
Winners: 2014, 2018

Results

Summer Olympics

World Championship

Asian Championship

Current squad

Squad for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship. [1] [2]

Head coach: Flag of Montenegro.svg Veselin Vujović

No.Pos.NameDate of birth (age)HeightApp.GoalsClub
1RB Žarko Marković (1986-06-01) 1 June 1986 (age 39)1.96 m1331 Flag of Qatar.svg Al-Gharafa
7LW Ahmad Madadi (1994-08-31) 31 August 1994 (age 31)1.75 m97298 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Duhail
9LB Rafael Capote (1987-10-05) 5 October 1987 (age 37)2.00 m91348 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Duhail
10LB Frankis Carol (1987-09-07) 7 September 1987 (age 37)1.91 m70235 Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait SC
11LW Abdulrazzaq Ahmad (1990-06-29) 29 June 1990 (age 35)1.86 m114177 Flag of Qatar.svg Al-Gharafa
12GK Bilal Lepenica (1996-12-26) 26 December 1996 (age 28)1.91 m500 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Duhail
13RW Eldar Memišević (1992-06-21) 21 June 1992 (age 33)1.78 m120232 Flag of Qatar.svg Al-Rayyan
16GK Irhad Alihodžić (1996-12-22) 22 December 1996 (age 28)1.85 m200 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Arabi
17LB Amir Nowraddine (1995-03-07) 7 March 1995 (age 30)1.90 m77654 Flag of Qatar.svg Al-Gharafa
22CB Abdelrahman Tarek (1994-01-01) 1 January 1994 (age 31)1.89 m70106 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Duhail
23RW Allaedine Berrached (1994-01-31) 31 January 1994 (age 31)1.86 m87179 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Duhail
24CB Wajdi Sinen (1990-09-17) 17 September 1990 (age 34)1.93 m93298 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Arabi
28RW Nidhal Aissa (1991-06-08) 8 June 1991 (age 34)1.88 m1820 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Arabi
37P Yassine Sami (1985-05-01) 1 May 1985 (age 40)1.91 m4642 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Wakrah
41P Youssef Benali (1987-05-28) 28 May 1987 (age 38)1.90 m107186 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Rayyan
44LB Amine Guehis (1996-03-23) 23 March 1996 (age 29)2.03 m54134 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Duhail
88CB Moustafa Heiba (1996-12-17) 17 December 1996 (age 28)1.84 m94175 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Duhail
93LW Hamdi Ayed (1993-08-16) 16 August 1993 (age 32)1.88 m80109 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Duhail
94LB Ameen Zakkar (1994-06-15) 15 June 1994 (age 31)1.98 m85120 Flag of Qatar.svg Al Rayyan
98GK Anadin Suljaković (1998-06-16) 16 June 1998 (age 27)1.96 m430 Flag of Germany.svg HSG Wetzlar

Statistics

Controversy

2015 World Men's Handball Championship final, Qatar vs France 2015 World Men's Handball Championship final, Qatar vs France.jpg
2015 World Men's Handball Championship final, Qatar vs France

Player naturalisation

The Qatari national team naturalized a large number of foreign players to their squad for the 2015 World Men's Handball Championship. [3]

According to IHF rules, to gain eligibility for a new national team, a player cannot have played for another nation for three years in an official match. [4] [5] This allowed several foreign-born players, including Spanish-born Borja Vidal, Goran Stojanović and Jovo Damjanović from Montenegro, and Bertrand Roiné who previously played for France, to play for the Qatar team at the championship.

Head of the Qatar Handball Federation, Ahmed Mohammed Abdulrab Al Shaabi, acknowledged the policy in a statement in June 2013, saying "We're a small nation with limited human resources, so we had to bring players from outside in the past." He also announced an end to the policy at the time, adding however that they "[might] make an exception only in the case of an experienced goalkeeper." [6] In January 2014, Danish sports agent Mads Winther said he had met with "contacts involved with Qatar" regarding the possibility of naturalising Danish players.

The practice was criticised by Austrian goalkeeper Thomas Bauer after his team's loss to Qatar in the quarter-final, saying "It [felt] like playing against a world selection team" and "I think it is not the sense of a world championship." [7] At a press conference during the championship, Qatar head coach Valero Rivera declined to comment on the matter. [7] Spanish player Joan Cañellas did not think it was an issue, saying "If they can do it, why not." [5]

After the controversial semi-final against Poland, and reaching the final as a result, the practice was even more criticised, with players such as Danijel Šarić having now represented four different national teams. [8]

Qatar flew in about 60 Spanish fans to cheer for Qatar during the 2015 World Championship. [9]

Accusation Refereeing favouritism

The referees were widely accused of being one-sided in favour of Qatar during its success, 2nd place in the 2015 World Championship. Especially at the last-16 encounter against Austria, [10] [11] [12] the quarterfinal against Germany [10] [13] [14] and the semi-final against Poland. [15] [16] [17] [18] After the final whistle, the Polish players showed their disgust by sarcastically applauding the three referees. [19]

References

  1. "20 لاعبا في قائمة عنابي اليد النهائية لبطولة العالم والبعثة تغادر لسلوفينيا السبت" (in Arabic). qatarhandball.com. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  2. "Team Roster Qatar" (PDF). ihf.info. 14 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  3. "QATAR STOPS NATURALIZING FOREIGN PLAYERS | HC Metalurg Official Website". 21 January 2015. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015.
  4. "Player Eligibility Code" (PDF). ihf.info. International Handball Federation. p. 5. Retrieved 29 January 2015. They shall not have played in any national team of another country in the three years preceding their first appearance in the national team in an official match.
  5. 1 2 "Qatar's foreign legion primed for handball date with Germany". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  6. "Al Shaabi says no to further naturalisation". dohastadiumplusqatar.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Qatar handball team coach faces questions over foreign players". BBC News. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  8. "Danijel Sarić - to on "zabrał" Polakom finał MŚ". Onet Sport. 30 January 2015.
  9. "Qatar 'buys' noisy Spanish handball fans". thelocal.es. 16 January 2015.
  10. 1 2 Team, Fans und Schiris gekauft? (German)
  11. Handball-WM in Katar: Österreich hält sich für verpfiffen (German)
  12. Österreich von Referees und Katar aus WM gekickt (German)
  13. Reaktionen auf deutsches WM-Aus: "Man muss aufpassen, was man sagt" (German)
  14. WM-Aus der deutschen Handballer: "Im Schiedsrichterwesen gibt es Grauzonen" (German)
  15. Sramotno: Pogledajte trenutak kad su srpski suci pretjerali s navlačenjem za Katar (Croatian) Archived 1 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  16. Polský smutek. Katar je ve finále MS v házené, pomohli mu rozhodčí (Czech)
  17. Polska – Katar – czemu Katar awansował? Kontrowersje wokół drużyny gospodarzy, nie byli faworytami (Polish)
  18. Michał Jurecki: Każdy wie, co tutaj się dzieje... Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine (Polish)
  19. "Polacy nagrodzili postawę sędziów ironicznymi brawami". Przegląd Sportowy. 30 January 2015.