The announcement was made in a brief statement as the 2013 women's World Championships came to an end in Belgrade with 22-20 victory for Brazil over hosts Serbia.

The International Handball Federation (IHF) said that Al Jazeera had also secured the television production rights to the four Championships.

It has been reported last month that Al Jazeera had bid CHF100m (£68 million/$110 million/€81 million) for the rights to the Championships.

Brazil won this year's women's World Handball Championships in Belgrade, beating hosts Serbia 22-20 in the final ©Getty Images

The 2015 and 2017 men's World Championships are due to be held in Qatar and France, while the women's events are set to take place in Denmark and Germany. 

The German-based Ufa Sports agency had been World Championships rights-holder for the 2011 and 2013 World Championships in a deal reportedly worth about CHF60 million (£41 million/$67 million/€49 million).

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]