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| Have Qatar got the potential to upset the European sides and add to their continental successes of 2014? (QatarHandball2015.com) |
The men's World Handball Championships start this Thursday in Qatar and the host nation look the most capable outside bet to end Europe's total domination of this competition.
All 23 previous world titles have gone to European teams since the Championships began in 1938. Spain are the reigning champions having made the most of home advantage two years ago, but France - current European and Olympic champions - go into the tournament as favourites.
While much has been made of Qatar's suitability to hold the FIFA 2022 World Cup, handball is a sport in which their reputation and trophy cabinet are growing in equal measure.
Under Valero Rivera López - who coached Spain to their world title triumph two years ago - they won both the Asian Championships and Asian Games in 2014.
The hosts are ranked fifth favourites behind France, Spain, Denmark and Croatia - and will need to maintain the same sort of free-scoring form that took them to continental success last year to stand a chance of matching these lofty expectations.
For Qatar, a home tournament gives them ample opportunity to record their best ever performance at a World Championships - they've made the knockout rounds once before - and failure to qualify from the group stages this time is unthinkable.
The 24 team tournament consists of four groups of six, with the top four from each group qualifying to a straight knockout format. After being paired with Spain, Slovenia, Belarus, Brazil and Chile, the Qataris stand a good chance of securing a winnable tie in the last 16.
Home advantage is well proven to be a true phenomenon in sport and handball is no exception. Germany, Sweden, France and Spain have all won titles on their own turf, while Tunisia have only ever got anywhere near the semi finals once - when they hosted the tournament back in 2005 - eventually finishing fourth.
Realistically, Qatar will find it difficult to topple the real big boys, even in Lusail or Doha. That they are being spoken about in the same breath as these teams however is testament to their massive improvement in recent years. It will also be an interesting side note to see how Rivera López sets Qatar up to face his old team Spain, who still include many of his title winning team within their squad.
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| Artist's impression of the new 15,300 seater Lusail Multipurpose Hall (QatarHandball2015.com) |
The bid to host this tournament four years ago was well received by fellow International Handball Federation members and they beat other bids from the French, Poland and Norway to secure another entry in the ever-growing scrapbook of sporting events held in the Gulf state. The purpose-built, 15,300 capacity Lusail Multipurpose Hall is the focal point for this tournament and will see the first action of the Championships' between the hosts and Brazil on Thursday.
The Championships remain frustratingly Europe-centric however, with the next edition in two years in France followed by the 2019 tournament which will be jointly held by Denmark and Germany. Both France and Germany have hosted the tournament since the turn of the century.
In this respect, handball runs the risk of lagging behind fellow Olympic sports, which are trying to grow outside of their traditional heartlands and develop bigger fanbases worldwide - see the Judo World Championships being held in Astana, Kazakhstan later this year.
Moving back to Qatar, their marked improvement means hopes of a first Olympic qualification for Rio 2016 are rising. Momentum appears to be on their side and a creditable showing in the forthcoming competition could act as a springboard to reaching this goal.
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