As the bidding process enters its final stages, the sport's world governing body announced that Hungary, Switzerland, Slovakia, Poland, Sweden and France have all submitted expressions of interest for staging both the 2021 and 2023 men's flagship tournament, while Egypt is interested in the 2021 men's event, and Norway and South Korea in the 2023 edition.

Meanwhile, France looks set to host the 2021 Women's World Handball Championship, as it is the only nation bidding for the competition, with Norway, South Korea and France all hoping to stage the 2023 edition.

All nine national federations now have until March 13 to confirm they comply with the basic terms and conditions of the IHF, while the event and bidding concepts must be submitted by May 1 this year.

The 2015 Men's World Handball Championship concluded in Qatar earlier this month with France claiming the title ©Getty Images


All the candidates will then have the chance to present their bids at the IHF headquarters in Basel on May 8 this year.

The IHF Council will award the hosting rights for all four competitions on the fringes of its Congress in Budapest from June 4 to 7.

This year's Men's World Handball Championship concluded in Qatar earlier this month, while the women's event is set to be staged in Denmark from December 5 to 20.

France and Germany will then host the Men's and Women's World Championships, respectively, in 2017, before the men's showpiece tournament travels to Denmark and Germany and the women's to Japan for the 2019 editions.

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