Asian Handball Federation
| Asian Handball Federation Arabic: الاتحاد الآسيوي لكرة اليد AHF | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sport | Handball |
| Other Sports |
|
| Official website | www |
| History | |
| Year of formation | 26 August 1974 at Tehran, Imperial State of Iran  |
| Demographics | |
| Membership size | 44 Members |
| Affiliations | |
| International federation | International Handball Federation (IHF) |
| IHF member since | 1974 |
| Other affiliation(s) |
|
| Governance | |
| President |  Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah |
| 1st Vice-President | |
| Secretariat | |
| Address |
|
| Country | Kuwait |
| Secretary General |  Muhammad Shafiq |
| Official Language(s) | English (Official) Arabic (Also used for correspondences) |
| Number of staff | 8 |
| Finance | |
| Sponsors | Al Kass Sports Channels SK Group Molten Corporation |
| Regions | |
| |
The Asian Handball Federation (AHF) (Arabic: الاتحاد الآسيوي لكرة اليد) is the governing body of handball and beach handball in Asia. It has 44 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent, but excludes the transcontinental countries with territory in both Europe and Asia – Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation and Turkey – which are instead members of European Handball Federation (EHF). Three other states located along the western fringe of Asia – Cyprus, Armenia and Israel – are also EHF members. Hong Kong China and Macau, although not independent countries (both are Special regions of China), are also members of the AHF.
One of IHF's six continental confederations, the AHF was formed officially on 26 August 1974 in Tehran (Imperial State of Iran), on the sidelines of the 7th Asian Games 1974. The AHF headquarters is located in Kuwait City (Kuwait). Its current President is Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah from Kuwait who is a member of House of Al Sabah, the ruling family of Kuwait.
History[]
The Asian Handball Federation (AHF) is in one way absolutely unique: during its history till date it had two Presidents - and they were father and son.
When in 1976 the federation was officially founded and Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was elected for president, the committed Sheikh had already put a lot of efforts and preparation work into it. In 1974, during the 7th Asian Games in Tehran (Iran), he applied as head of the Kuwaiti delegation at the executive committee for the inclusion of Handball into the sports programme and the foundation of a continental handball federation. The explanation was easy and convincing: meanwhile handball was widely spread in Asia. The leaders of the Asian Game accepted handball as an official sport and asked the Sheikh to act as interim president and to prepare the statutes of the federation. In this task he was supported by the Secretary General (Pakistan).[1]
Presidents[]
| S. No. | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah |
26 August 1974 – 2 August 1990[1] |
| Acting |  Mohammed Ali Abul |
2 August 1990 – 1991 |
| 2. | Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah |
1991 – 5 November 2021[2] |
| Acting |  Yoshihide Watanabe |
5 November 2021 – present |
^1 Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah died on 2 August 1990 during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait while defending Dasman Palace. Mohammed Ali Abul acted as Acting President till the war finished in 1991.
^2 Sheikh Ahmed step down from AHF Presidency following a guilty verdict against him in a Swiss forgery trial. Therefore, 1st Vice-President Yoshihide Watanabe was appointed as Acting President till further orders.
Secretary generals[]
| S. No. | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Syad Abul Hassan |
26 August 1974 – 2000 |
| 2. |  Dr. Roshan Lal Anand |
2000 – 25 October 2013 |
| 3. | Muhammad Shafiq |
25 October 2013 – Till Date |
Executive committee[]
Following is the AHF Executive Committee for 2017 – 2021.
| Designation | Name |
|---|---|
| President | Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah
|
| 1st Vice-President | Yoshihide Watanabe
|
| Secretary General | Muhammad Shafiq
|
| Treasurer | Bader Mohammad Al-Theyab
|
| Member |  Ahmed Mohamed Abdulrab Al-Shaabi
|
Council[]
Following is the AHF Council for the term 2021 — 2025.
| Designation | Name |
|---|---|
| President | Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
|
| 1st Vice-President | Yoshihide Watanabe
|
| Vice-President | Ahmad Mohammed Abdulrab Al-Shaabi
|
| Ali Mohamed Isa Eshaqi
| |
 Dr. Sari Hamdan Ghanima
| |
 Ms. Wang Tao
| |
| Secretary General | Muhammad Shafiq
|
| Treasurer | Bader Mohammad Al-Theyab
|
| Council Member |  Ameen Al-Barwani
|
 Choi Jung-suck
| |
 Mohammed Julfar
| |
 Sombat Kuruphan
| |
 Alireza Pakdel
| |
| Female Council Member |  Gulnara Turlykhanova
|
| Chairman of AHF COC |  Fadhel Al-Nemer
|
| Chairman of AHF PRC | Saleh bin Ashour
|
| Chairman of AHF CCM | Prof. Dr. Chung Hyung-kyun
|
| Chairman of AHF MC | Dr. Katsuhiko Sakuma
|
| Chairman of AHF CPP | Mitra Noorigollehjareh
|
| Chairman of AHF MKC | Mohammad Jaber Al-Mulla
|
| Chairman of AHF UDC |  Ismoiljon Matkhalikov
|
| Chairman of AHF CYSH |  Mohammed Al-Araje
|
Commissions[]
Following are the AHF Commission members for the term 2017 — 2021.
| Commission | Chairman | Members |
|---|---|---|
| AHF Commission of Organizing and Competition (COC) | Fadhel Al-Nemer |
COC Members
|
| AHF Playing Rules and Referees Commission (PRC) | Saleh bin Ashour |
PRC Members
|
| AHF Commission of Coaching and Methods (CCM) | Prof. Dr. Chung Hyung Kyun |
CCM Members
|
| AHF Medical Commission (MC) | Dr. Katsuhiko Sakuma |
MC Members
|
| AHF Promotion and Public Relations Commission (CPP) | Mitra Noorigollehjareh |
CPP Members
|
| AHF Marketing Commission (MKC) | Mohammad Jaber Al-Mulla |
MKC Members
|
| AHF Under Development Countries Commission (UDC) | Ismoiljon Matkhalikov |
UDC Members
|
| AHF Commission of Youth and School Handball (CYSH) | Mohammed Al-Araje |
CYSH Members
|
| AHF Arbitration Commission (AC) | NA |
AC Members
|
| AHF Experts Commission (EC) | NA |
EC Members
|
| AHF Women's Commission (WC) | NA |
WC Members
|
| AHF Beach Handball Working Group (BHWG) | NA |
BHWG Members
|
Tournaments[]
AHF[]
- Asian Men's Handball Championship
- Asian Women's Handball Championship
- Asian Men's Junior Handball Championship
- Asian Women's Junior Handball Championship
- Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship
- Asian Women's Youth Handball Championship
- Asian Games
Club[]
Beach[]
- Asian Beach Handball Championship
- Asian Youth Beach Handball Championship
- Asian Beach Games
Zones[]
West Asia
- West Asian Women's Handball Championship
- West Asian Games
South Asia
Southeast Asia
East Asia
Current champions[]
| Category | Men's | Women's |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Handball Championship | Qatar (2022) (5)
|
South Korea (2018) (14*)
|
| Asian Games | Qatar (2018) (2)
|
South Korea (2018) (7*)
|
| Junior Handball Championship | South Korea (2018) (3)
|
South Korea (2019) (15*)
|
| Asian Youth Games | (2013) (1*)
|
(2013) (1*)
|
| Youth Handball Championship | (2018) (2)
|
(2019) (8*)
|
| Beach Handball Championship | Qatar () (5*)
|
China () (1)
|
| Asian Beach Games | Qatar (2016) (3*)
|
 Vietnam (2016) (1)
|
| Youth Beach Handball Championship | (2016) (1*)
|
China (2016) (1*)
|
| Club Handball Championship | Al-Arabi SC (2019) (1)
|
(2019) (2*)
|
(Titles) (*) Record titles
Disputes[]
A dispute arises between the International Handball Federation (IHF) and the AHF following a controversial decision to replace referees of opening match of Asian Men's Handball Qualification Tournament for the 2008 Summer Olympics between Kuwait and South Korea played on 1 September 2007 in Toyota (Japan). AHF replaced experienced and IHF nominated German referees Lemme and Ulrich with Jordanian referees Al-Shoubaki and Hirzallah, neither of whom stood on the list of IHF-qualified referees having “IHF Status”, meaning that they had not completed the Global Referees Training Programme (GRTP), a program established by the IHF for the development of IHF-level referees. The Jordanian referee pair completely destroyed the South Korean team with more than 20 wrong decisions only in first half of the match which favoured the Kuwaiti team. IHF COC Chairman Aleksandr Kozhukhov (Russia) who was appointed by IHF as supervisor for the event and member of AHF Technical Committee Khalaf Al-Enezi (Kuwait) intervened into the matter at half-time of the match and asked the referees to be fair but the South Korean team nevertheless could not get the result in their own favour losing the match by 28–20.
Later, on 17 December 2007, in an IHF Council meeting held in Paris (France), IHF decided not to approve the results of the event conduct by AHF and decided to replay both men's and women's events due to biased referee allegations. AHF objected against this decision and warned all the AHF member federations not to participate in the replay organised by IHF. Only South Korea and Japan participated in the IHF replay and South Korea won both men's and women's matches. On February 5, 2008, AHF imposed a fine of $1000 on both the Japan and South Korea and banned them from participating in any event organised by AHF until the fine is paid.[2]
When the matter becomes that complicated, both AHF and IHF mutually decided to took the case to Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for decision. The Kazakhstan Handball Federation and Kuwait Handball Association also want to become a party in the case but CAS refused their appeal. On 20 May 2008, after hearing all the parties, CAS decided to approve the result of IHF men's replay and also approved the AHF organised women's event results.[3]
Future events (2022-23)[]
| Event | Dates | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Asian Women's Junior Handball Championship | 7 – 14 March 2022 | Almaty
|
| 2022 Asian Women's Youth Handball Championship | 18 – 27 March 2022 | Almaty
|
| 2022 Asian Beach Handball Championship | 20 – 29 March 2022 | Pattaya
|
| 2022 Asian Youth Beach Handball Championship | 20 – 29 March 2022 | Pattaya
|
| 2021 Southeast Asian Games | 12 – 23 May 2022 | Hanoi
|
| 2020 Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship | 18 – 27 June 2022 | Doha
|
| 2022 Women's Junior World Handball Championship | 22 June – 3 July 2022 |  Slovenia
|
| 2022 World Games | 7 – 17 July 2022 |  Birmingham
|
| 16 – 25 July 2022 | Venue to be decided | |
| 2022 Women's Youth World Handball Championship | 3 – 14 August 2022 |  Georgia
|
| 2022 Islamic Solidarity Games | 9 – 18 August 2022 |  Konya
|
| 2022 Asian Men's Junior Handball Championship | 13 – 22 August 2022 | Venue to be decided |
| 2022 Asian Games | 10 – 25 September 2022 | Hangzhou
|
| 2021 Asian Youth Games | 20 – 28 December 2022 | Shantou
|
| 2022 Youth Beach Handball World Championship | 2022 | Venue to be decided |
| 2023 World Men's Handball Championship | 11 – 29 January 2023 |  Poland /  Sweden
|
| 2023 Southeast Asian Games | 5 – 16 May 2023 |  Phnom Penh
|
| 2023 Asian Beach Games | April / May 2023 | Sanya
|
| 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games | 17 – 24 June 2023 |  Berlin
|
| 2023 Men's Junior World Handball Championship | 20 June – 2 July 2023 | Germany /  Greece
|
| 2023 Men's Youth World Handball Championship | July / August 2023 |  Croatia
|
| 2023 Mediterranean Beach Games | 2 – 9 September 2023 | Heraklion
|
| Jul / Aug / Sep 2023 | Venue to be decided | |
| Jul / Aug / Sep 2023 | Venue to be decided | |
| 2023 World Women's Handball Championship | December 2023 |  Denmark /  Norway / Sweden
|
| 2023 South Asian Games | 2023 | Lahore
|
| 2023 World Beach Games | 2023 | Venue to be decided |
| 2023 Indian Ocean Island Games | 2023 |  Madagascar
|
Members[]
- First level
- Second level
Chinese Taipei
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Lebanon
North Korea
Syria
Thailand
- Third level
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
✝
✝
Hong Kong, China
India
Indonesia
✝
Pakistan
Philippines
Singapore
Uzbekistan
- ✝ means non-active member
Sponsors[]
- Al-Kass Sports Channel
- SK Group
- Molten Corporation
References[]
- ^ "History of AHF". Asian Handball Federation's Official Website. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ "Referee Questions for Handball and Badminton". www.aroundtherings.com. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
- ^ "Original decision of CAS" (PDF). www.tas-cas.org. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
External links[]
- Official website (in English and Arabic)
National
members of the International Handball Federation (IHF) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| African Handball Confederation (CAHB) |  | ||||
| Asian Handball Federation (AHF) | |||||
| European Handball Federation (EHF) | |||||
| North America and Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC) |
| ||||
| Oceania Continent Handball Federation (OCHF) |
| ||||
| South and Central America Handball Confederation (SCAHC) |
| ||||
| Associated Members |
| ||||
ǂ = suspended by the IHF | |||||
International handball | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| International |  | |
| Africa |
| |
| North America and Caribbean |
| |
| South & Central America | ||
| Asia |
| |
| Europe |
| |
| Oceania |
| |
| Defunct |
| |
- Asian Handball Federation
- National members of the International Handball Federation
- Handball governing bodies
- Sports governing bodies in Asia
- Handball in Asia
- Sports organizations established in 1974
- 1974 establishments in Asia