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Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players (six outcourt players and a goalie) pass a ball with their hands to hurl it into the other team’s goal. A normal match comprises of two 30-minute quarters, with the side scoring the most goals winning.

Handball is played on a 40-by-20-metre (131-by-66-foot) court with a goal in the centre of either end. Only the defending goalkeeper is permitted inside the 6-meter (20-foot) zone, and goals must be scored by throwing the ball from outside the zone or “diving” into it. The sport is mostly played inside, although there are outdoor variations such as field handball, Czech handball (which was once more popular), and beach handball. The game is fast-paced and high-scoring: professional teams now average between 20 and 35 goals each game, while lower totals were not unusual until recently. Hat tricks are possible for players. Body contact is permissible between defenders and attackers who are attempting to prevent the attackers from nearing the goal. Players may wear soft protection bands, pads, and mouth guards, although they are not required to do so.

The game was standardised in Denmark around the end of the nineteenth century. The present set of regulations was published in Berlin on October 29, 1917, which is considered the birth date of the sport, and has undergone numerous modifications since then. In the same year, Germany hosted the first official handball match. These regulations were used during the inaugural international games for men in 1925 and women in 1930. Men’s handball was originally played as an outdoor sport at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, then as an indoor event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, and has remained an Olympic sport ever since. At the 1976 Summer Olympics, women’s team handball was added.

The International Handball Federation (IHF) was founded in 1946 and has 197 member federations as of 2016. Since 1938, European countries have won all but one medal in the men’s world championships, indicating that the sport is most popular in Europe. Only two non-European countries have won the women’s world championships: South Korea and Brazil. East Asia, North Africa, and portions of South America are all big fans of the game.

Handball-like games were popular in Ancient Greece, as shown by amphorae and stone sculptures. Despite the lack of precise textual references, there are several accounts of ball games in which players toss the ball to one another; this is sometimes done to evade interception by an opposing team member. These games were frequently performed and functioned as a kind of exercise as well as a social occasion.

There is evidence of ancient Roman women playing expulsim ludere, a type of handball. There are reports of handball-like games among the Inuit in Greenland and mediaeval France in the Middle Ages. Similar games such as hndbold from Denmark, házená from the Czech Republic, handbol from Ukraine, and torball from Germany existed by the 19th century.

The modern team handball game was formalised in northern Europe around the nineteenth century, especially in Denmark, Germany, Norway, and Sweden. Holger Nielsen, a Danish gym teacher, lieutenant, and Olympic medallist from Ordrup grammar school north of Copenhagen, created the first documented team handball regulations in 1906. Max Heiser, Karl Schelenz, and Erich Konigh of Berlin, Germany, wrote the present set of regulations on October 29, 1917; this day is thus considered the “birthday” of the sport. On December 2, 1917, the first official handball match was held in Berlin. After 1919, Karl Schelenz revised the regulations. The first international games were played under these rules in 1925 between men from Germany and Austria, then in 1930 between women from Germany and Austria.

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