Last month, the draw for the preliminary groups of men’s and women’s Beach Handball competitions of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games were completed at the International Handball Federation (IHF) headquarters in Basel, Switzerland.
IHF.info hears from many of the men’s teams involved as they gear up for the event, which throws-off in Senegal in late October.
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GROUP A: GERMANY, TUNISIA, THAILAND, COOK ISLANDS
Thure BIELFELDT, Captain – Germany:
“Participating in the Youth Olympic Games is a great opportunity for us. It is the next highlight after the European Championships in 2024 and the World Championships last year. I am really excited to participate in an Olympic Event. We have a great team and I am happy to be part of it.
“We know all three teams from Tunisia 2025 but didn’t play against any of them so it will definitely be an interesting group and we are looking forward to the tournament with extremely great pleasure. It is a dream for every athlete to be at an Olympic Games.”
Konrad BONSA, Head Coach – Germany:
“It is not an easy group to assess. Tunisia played a very strong world championship as the host nation last year, while Thailand are a quick and agile team who can cause problems for anyone. At Tunisia 2025 the Cook Islands were still quite new to the international stage, but they will certainly have learned a lot from that experience and would have continued to improve since then.
“As the reigning world championship silver medallists, we are travelling to Dakar with confidence. Of course, our goal is to go as far as possible, but we also know that we will have to perform at our best in every single match.
“Above all, we are looking forward to an incredible sporting and personal experience. We want these Youth Olympic Games to become an unforgettable adventure for our players and for the whole team.”
Jens PFANDER, Head of Beach Handball, German Handball Federation – Germany:
“We are really excited to be part of the Youth Olympic Games. Around 10 years ago, when Beach Handball first was announced as part of the event we already tried to qualify and one of the players from that team is now part of our coaching staff. So, for us, this is a long-held dream finally coming true, and that makes it very special.
“The draw makes everything feel much more real. We now know who we are going to face, the tournament is taking shape, and Dakar suddenly feels a lot closer.”
“We have never faced any of the teams in our group before, so it will be really interesting to experience their different styles, mentalities and beach handball cultures. That is also one of the things that makes the Youth Olympic Games so exciting.”
Hana GUENAOUI, Beach Handball Manager – Tunisia:
“The draw placed our Tunisian team in a highly-competitive, tough group. At this level, there are no easy matches; every team has qualified on merit and possesses strong technical and physical qualities.
“We have great respect for all our opponents, but we also have full confidence in our players’ abilities’ and in our preparations and the work we have done. We will approach every match with a winning mentality and give everything we have to showcase the best of Tunisian beach handball and proudly represent our national flag at this Olympic event.”
Dr. Sombat KURUPHAN, President, Handball Association of Thailand – Thailand:
“We are honoured to be drawn in Group A alongside Germany, Tunisia, and the Cook Islands. Every team has earned its place at the Youth Olympic Games and we have great respect for all of our opponents. We believe this will be a highly-competitive group, and our young athletes are excited for the opportunity to challenge themselves against some of the world’s best teams.
“For Thailand, participating in the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games is a proud milestone and an important step in the development of beach handball. Our goal is to perform at our highest level, gain valuable international experience, and represent Thailand with pride, determination, and fair play. We hope our athletes will inspire the next generation of young players and continue contributing to the growth of beach handball in our country.”
Aiga SAMANIA, Captain – Cook Islands:
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of these top teams and to see where our level is at. Myself and the vice-captain have already played against two of the teams in our group so I am excited to see how we have improved when playing them again.
“We are hoping for a better placing (than at Tunisia 2025), but we know it’s not going to be easy. We will give our best while learning as much as we can.”
Peter TANGIMETUA JOHN, Coach – Cook Islands:
“We are honoured and privileged to be playing at this level, amongst the best in the world. To participate at a Youth Olympic Games is the ultimate in this age group and it is also history-making for my country, the Cook Islands, and for our Oceania small island nations.
“We have crafted our way and our beacons have been set alight as we are on course to Senegal to be amongst the best with our international handball family. We come carrying all our Oceania nations, our Cook Islands and its people. We will deliver ‘Island ingenuity’ as best as we can defining our own playing style with cultural and spiritual significance.
“Participation in these Youth Olympic Games is about our families and our people. We are navigating our course for our generations yet to come. They will now know the positive pathway for a sport of an Olympic calibre. But most importantly they will nurture good and positive values that will strengthen the unity of family in a sport that really cares about people. The Cook Islands is enroute. We are coming again.
“It is also a lifestyle change for our whole team and federation. Our family have been the foundation for handball developments over 28 years now in the Cook Islands and over the last eight years we have focused on Beach Handball.
“We have made it to the top, to world championships in the senior women and U17 men and have changed the course of handball history. We want to acknowledge our elders who have laid the foundation for us but are no longer with us today. Their hard work and sacrifice is a testament to justify how far we have come with the guidance and faith in God, we made it.
“I also want to acknowledge the other national teams from every continent who worked harder and deservingly should have been here our Team Cook Islands will carry you all in our hearts when we take to the sand in Senegal because you have educated and impacted on us so much over the years.”
Makiroa MITCHELL JOHN, President of the Cook Islands Handball Federation – Cook Islands:
“Our group is probably the strongest with the best teams in this age group from each continent namely Germany from Europe, Tunisia from Africa and Thailand from Asia.
“They are groomed and well-developed in comparison to use. We have much respect for these countries as we are being educated by them all and the relationships our athletes, coaches, managers and head of delegation have had with many from attending the IHF Men’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship in Tunisia 2025 then again at the IHF Beach Handbal World Championships last 2026 have become capacity-building blocks for us in every facet. These experiences have nurtured and given us growth.
“Just by being at Dakar 2026 we have made history for all our 21 small island nations throughout our Oceania region. We also made history again representing our 15 islands of the Cook Islands that make up our country.
“We hope these footprints will give our sport of handball in this discipline of beach handball the recognition it deserves and history to be made when we debut at the Mini Pacific Games in 2029 which will be held in the Cook Islands. This is the biggest breakthrough in the Oceania region for our sport.
“The presence of our team at Dakar 2026 is not only about the experience and exchanges our individuals will have but it is about the bigger picture for pour International Handball Federation and the true meaning of the establishment of being a ‘real’ sporting family that cares.
“Although being the unknown we have our own Island flair, flavour or ingenuity. We dictate play as to how it fits our physicality, mentality and capability. In other words we counteract and customise our gameplan to suit us, our way. We are navigators from the biggest ocean in the world. It took us so much courage and sacrifice to pack our suitcases and follow our dreams to Tunisia last year. But with God at the centre of it all we made it on our vaka (canoe).”
GROUP B: BRAZIL, HUNGARY, PUERTO RICO, SENEGAL
Jose NILTON CARDOZO JUNIOR, Coach – Brazil:
“Group B is a very strong group, with the hosts Senegal who have been preparing for some time and will have their fans supporting them. Hungary are from a strong European school in the sport and who played a very hard game against us when we won bronze at the last IHF Youth Beach Handball World Championship in Tunisia, in a game decided via shoot-out. Puerto Rico are also very good team from the American continent.
“But we arrive in Dakar with the aim of holding a good competition representing our country, Brazil, which has a huge tradition in the sport. We know the difficulty and high level of the teams there so each step will be taken with humility and will be very important. We will be focused on having a good Youth Olympic Games debut and qualifying from out group so we can fight for a medal, which would be historic for our country.”
Ferenc CSASZAR, Head Coach, Hungary:
“Brazil has been one of the strongest beach handball nations since the very beginning and they will certainly come to the competition with a very strong and talented team. We do not have much information about Puerto Rico, but we can see that their senior national teams have been developing very well, so I assume it will not be easy to beat them either.
“Senegal will be the host nation and we also have reliable information that they have been preparing for this competition for the past two years and have a very good and experienced coach.
“We will have to fight for success in every single match and the better position we achieve in our preliminary group, the more favourable our quarter-final match-up will be, but there are still many unknown factors at this stage.
“Our dream is to win a medal – and, if possible, the brightest one.”
Dayna MILETE ROBLES, President, Puerto Rico Handball Federation – Puerto Rico:
“Everyone connected with handball in Puerto Rico is very excited about the opportunity to represent the country at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
“We will send a very young and renewed team. We have been working toward this qualification for the past four years; however, due to the international age-category changes, the team that originally qualified will not be the team participating in Dakar.
“Our expectations are to compete hard, win at least one game in the group stage, and position ourselves as high as possible in the standings. More importantly, we see Dakar 2026 as a tremendous opportunity to give this new generation valuable international experience and prepare them for the future of Puerto Rican handball.
“As an island, Puerto Rico is also strongly committed to developing Beach Handball from the grassroots level. We are working to introduce and strengthen the sport among younger age groups, expand it through schools, and eventually establish a strong pathway toward the national level.
“We believe Beach Handball gives Puerto Rico a great opportunity to position itself internationally, particularly because the development pathway and access to the sport can be more accessible for an island nation than traditional indoor handball.
“We are grateful and proud to have this opportunity and will continue working hard to build a strong foundation for the next generations of Puerto Rican handball.”
Mikael ILLES, part of the coaching staff – Senegal:
“We are very satisfied with this draw. As underdogs, we chose to be in the same group as Puerto Rico, a team we already faced at Tunisia 2025 and whom we consider to be at a similar level to us.
“We don’t have much information about Thailand but, considering the performances of the Asian teams at that last world championship, we are wary of an emerging beach handball nation who have been making steady progress and quietly improving.
“Of course, Brazil and Hungary are among the world’s top beach handball nations. While we do not expect to win those matches, in beach handball anything is possible, especially with the home crowd behind us. Our goal is to finish third in the group so that we can face the runner-up from the other group in the quarter-finals.”