Editing Handball (section)

{{short description|Team sport with two teams of seven players each}}
{{other uses}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox sport
| name       = Handball
| equipment  = Ball and goals
| venue      = Indoor court 
| image      = SAP Arena Handball ausverkauft.jpg
| imagesize  = 300
| caption    = A handball game in progress at [[SAP Arena]] in [[Mannheim]], [[Germany]].
| union      = [[International Handball Federation|IHF]]
| nickname   =
| first      = {{start date and age|1917|12|2|df=y}} in Berlin, Germany.<ref name=EHFPazen />
| registered = > 27 million (2016)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/athlete365/es/noticias/8-things-you-didnt-know-about-handball/|title=8 Things You Didn't Know About Handball|date=10 June 2016|website=Olympics|publisher=[[International Olympic Committee|IOC]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719152012/https://www.olympic.org/athlete365/es/noticias/8-things-you-didnt-know-about-handball/|archive-date=19 July 2018|url-status=live|access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref>
| contact    = Yes
| team       = 7 per side (including goalkeeper)
| mgender    = Separate competitions
| category   = [[Team sport]], [[ball sport]]
| obsolete   =
| olympic    = Part of Summer Olympic programme in 1936.<br />Demonstrated at the 1952 Summer Olympics.<br />Returned to the Summer Olympic programme in 1972.
| paralympic =
| IWGA       = Beach handball: [[2001 World Games|2001]]–present (invitational sport before 2013)
| region     = Worldwide; but most popular in Europe
}}
[[File:Highlights Day 1 - 22nd World University Handball Championship 2014 - Guimares - Fisu.webm|thumb|Handball game highlights video]]

'''Handball''' (also known as '''team handball''', '''European handball''', '''Olympic handball'''<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/team-handball |title=Team Handball |author=Barbara Schrodt |date=6 October 2011 |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |publisher=Historica-Dominion Institute}}</ref> or '''indoor handball''') is a [[team sport]] in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a [[Handball goalkeeper|goalkeeper]]) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the goal of the opposing team. A standard match consists of two periods of 30 minutes, and the team that scores more goals wins.

Modern handball is played on a court of {{convert|40|by|20|m|ft}}, with a goal in the middle of each end. The goals are surrounded by a {{Convert|6|metre|adj=on}} zone where only the defending goalkeeper is allowed; goals must be scored by throwing the ball from outside the zone or while "diving" into it. The sport is usually played indoors, but outdoor variants exist in the forms of [[field handball]], [[Czech handball]] (which were more common in the past) and [[beach handball]]. The game is fast and high-scoring: professional teams now typically score between 20 and 35 goals each, though lower scores were not uncommon until a few decades ago. Body contact is permitted for the defenders trying to stop the attackers from approaching the goal. No protective equipment is mandated, but players may wear soft protective bands, pads and mouth guards.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.handbal.nl/userfiles/Scheidsrechters/170801_Clarifications_equipment_IHF.pdf |title=IHF Rules of the Game: Regulations on Protective Equipment and Accessories |publisher=Nederlands Handbal Verbond |access-date=3 January 2019 |archive-date=3 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103210418/https://www.handbal.nl/userfiles/Scheidsrechters/170801_Clarifications_equipment_IHF.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The modern set of rules was published in 1917 by [[Karl Schelenz]], Max Heiser, and Erich Konigh,<ref name="Laver Landreau Seil Popovic 2018 p. xxv">{{cite book |last1=Laver |first1=L. |last2=Landreau |first2=P. |last3=Seil |first3=R. |last4=Popovic |first4=N. |title=Handball Sports Medicine: Basic Science, Injury Management and Return to Sport | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V3haDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR25 |publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg |year=2018 |page=xxv |access-date=14 May 2022 |isbn=978-3-662-55892-8}}</ref> on 29 October in [[Berlin]], which is seen as the date of birth of the sport.<ref name=EHFPazen>{{cite web |last=Pazen |first=Björn |date=31 October 2017|title=Handball in Germany celebrates 100th anniversary|url=http://www.eurohandball.com/article/029539/Handball+in+Germany+celebrates+100th+anniversary|access-date=5 March 2020|publisher=[[European Handball Federation]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190303014743/https://www.eurohandball.com/article/029539/Handball+in+Germany+celebrates+100th+anniversary|archive-date=3 March 2019}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/handball-will-the-winter-fairytale-last/a-47219129|title=Handball: Will the winter fairytale last?|last=Nestler|first=Stefan|date=24 January 2019|website=DW.com|language=en-GB|access-date=5 March 2020}}</ref> The rules have had several revisions since. The first official handball match was played in 1917 in Germany.<ref name=EHFPazen /> Karl Schelenz modified the rules in 1919.<ref name="Laver Landreau Seil Popovic 2018 p. xxv"/> The first international games were played (under these rules) with men in 1925 (between Germany and Belgium) and with women in 1930 (between Germany and Austria).<ref name="Laver Landreau Seil Popovic 2018 p. 26">{{cite book |last1=Laver |first1=L. |last2=Landreau |first2=P. |last3=Seil |first3=R. |last4=Popovic |first4=N. |title=Handball Sports Medicine: Basic Science, Injury Management and Return to Sport |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V3haDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR26 |publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg |year=2018 |pages=25–26 |access-date=14 May 2022 |isbn=978-3-662-55892-8}}</ref>

Men's handball was first played at the Olympics in the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] in Berlin outdoors, and the next time at the [[1972 Summer Olympics]] in [[Munich]] indoors; handball has been an Olympic sport since then. Women's handball was added at the [[1976 Summer Olympics]].<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://montrealgazette.com/sports/montreal-olympics-photo-flashback-more-women-competed-thanks-to-three-new-events |title=Montreal Olympics photo flashback: More women competed thanks to three new events &#124; Montreal Gazette |date=24 May 2018 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524075011/https://montrealgazette.com/sports/montreal-olympics-photo-flashback-more-women-competed-thanks-to-three-new-events |archive-date=24 May 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[International Handball Federation]] was formed in 1946 and, {{as of|2016|lc=1}}, has 197 member federations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.ihf.info/TheIHF/MemberFederations/tabid/161/Default.aspx |title=Member Federations |publisher=International Handball Federation}}</ref> The sport is most popular in Europe, and European countries have won all medals but one in the [[IHF World Men's Handball Championship|men's world championships]] since 1938. In the [[IHF World Women's Handball Championship|women's world championships]], only two non-European countries have won the title: South Korea and Brazil. The game also enjoys popularity in [[East Asia]], [[North Africa]] and parts of [[South America]].

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