Egypt awarded 2021 World Men's Handball Championships as Poland and Sweden secure 2023 event

Egypt and a joint bid from Poland and Sweden were announced as hosts of the 2021 and 2023 World Championships ©IHF

Egypt has been awarded the right to stage the 2021 World Men’s Handball Championships while Poland and Sweden will jointly host the 2023 edition of the event, the International Handball Federation (IHF) has announced.

The decisions were made at a meeting of the IHF Council in Sochi, Russia ahead of the body’s Ordinary and Extraordinary Congress.

The African nation, which last played host to the tournament in 1999, beat off fierce competition from Hungary to land the 2021 event, and their bid had the backing of Mansourou Aremou, President of the African Handball Confederation.

It will mark the first time the IHF’s flagship annual event has come to Africa in 16 years, with the IHF pointing to the strong social media presence in the country as one of the factors as there are 22 million active Facebook users in the nation.

Poland and four-times winners Sweden meanwhile were given the 2023 Men’s World Championships after presenting a bid which promised to take the sport to the next level, according to the IHF.

The Scandinavian nation, perennial silver medallists at the Olympic Games having finished second on four separate occasions, recently staged the 2011 competition, which was won by France thanks to a dramatic extra-time victory over Denmark.

“Both bids focused on providing an exceptional experience for athletes and handball fans, including those who will be unable to attend the event through particular attention to live streaming, social media and utilising the latest technology at the time of the respective championships,” a statement from the IHF read.

Egypt last hosted the IHF Men's World Championships in 1999 ©Getty Images

The IHF, led by Egyptian Hassan Mostafa, was due to award the hosting rights for all four competitions on the fringes of its Congress in Budapest from June 4 to 7, which was postponed until this month due to visa issues.

A total of 63 National Federations to obtain an entry visa for Hungary due to the fact that their countries do not have a Hungarian diplomatic representation.

This year's Men's World Handball Championship concluded in Qatar in February, and was won by France, while the women's event will take place 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.