Official Handball Australia page put short statement about IHF’s decision…
Dear Handball friends,
Overnight, Handball Australia has been made aware of the decision of the IHF to replace Australia with Germany for the upcoming 2015 World Championships in Qatar. Please follow the link below for the IHF statement.
Our statement at this time is as follows.
“We are aware of the IHF’s decision and are obviously disappointed. We are still communicating with the IHF and our player group and will make a full statement in the very near future.”
We would like to thank you for your support at this time. Please share this post to support Handball Australia.
Susan Wilson
7. August 2014. at 23:44
In response to the IHF Representative 10. July 2014. at 16:02: If you are indeed a representative of the IHF your comments about Australian players is inappropriate and ill informed. These players love the sport and appreciate their one chance every two years for some high level international competition more than you could ever know. What do you think it is like to train 10 times per week and devote your time and money to a sport that receives no funding, recognition or support in the home country? Do you think it is about ego to dip your hand continually into your own pocket as a student or young worker to pay for training camps and coaches and flights just so that your have the privilege of competing for Oceania at World Champs? Do you really think that it is about ego? Imagine also what it is like for these players to have to step on the court against professionals who play hundreds of internationals, knowing you will probably be beaten but having to make a game of it. Australia has improved thanks largely to the efforts of these same players who volunteer to coach and introduce the sport to schools in their own time so that players are now starting to play at a younger age and will be better equipped to compete when they are adults. The players have paid more than $60,000 out of their own funds in the training towards Qatar, nit because they think they deserve to be there but because after Spain, the IHF did not provide an alternative pathway for international competition to Oceania. June 2014 is too late to make this decision for Qatar 2015 and still no pathway for Oceania has been offered and no development action by the IHF has been seen. All other sports that want to stay in the Olympics and which want to develop the sport worldwide make big efforts and spend lots of money in the developing regions. The IHF instead blames a group of dedicated, hard working, self funded athletes for the failure of Oceania to flourish. If the IHF actually knew anything about Oceania, they would know that nothing will happen without a huge injection of funds and expertise into the countries. In Australia, there are about 1000 registered Handball players – knowing that, you might rethink your opinion that the teams that compete at WC have failed. Actually, the results are pretty spectacular in that context. The volunteers who run Handball in Australia all work ridiculous hours in support of the development of this sport outside their real jobs, without any useful support from the IHF. The IHF has no plans to develop Handball in Oceania. If they did, action would have been taken more than 15 years ago and would have been sustained and we would all be seeing results form their efforts. Do not dare to blame the Australian athletes for this fiasco which is of the IHF’s own making and poor decision making. The athletes have the great misfortune of living in the Oceania region for Handball – they have done nothing wrong.
Very disappointed reader of the IHF representative’s comments.
IHF Representative
17. July 2014. at 15:12
Please see the following link for more detailed information;
http://www.ihf.info/MediaCenter/News/NewsDetails/tabid/130/Default.aspx?ID=2033
Udo Jurgens
14. July 2014. at 14:20
IHF are a disgrace. The IHF representative is shameless in talking about coruption, when their institution is full of it.
They invented overnight criteria for a wild card after ilegaly kicking out Australia.
IHF are a bunch of people without any morale
Obviously not Dr Moustafa
13. July 2014. at 01:06
Just in case anyone is a bit slow, the below post is obviously not Dr Moustafa.
Dr Moustafa
12. July 2014. at 22:58
Dearest Handball Colleagues,
Mein heart is saddened by this unfortunate series of events, which are a consequence of us not recognising the Oceania Handball Federation; our failure to recognise the same degree of integrity, fairness & consistency as seen in the regulatory body.
Accordingly, it has been decided to pass & execute an unprecedented sporting by-law of ‘last minute swapsies’ in replacing Australia with Germany and to strip Australia of its 6 previous wooden spoons. The loss of Australia has caused broadcast rights chaos however thankfully a large German television network has filled the chasm left by unreturned calls to any Australian network.
Furthermore, on behalf of the IHF I welcome the entrance of the (GermanMein) Schaft & appreciate that Australia may not feel these circumstances to be consensual.
Kind regards,
Dr Moustafa
BOLLOCK
11. July 2014. at 09:22
i suppose some australian federation guys took money from IHF to say no words
Andre
10. July 2014. at 23:13
Dear nameless IHF Representative:
Funny to hear you speak of corruption. Tell me your position at IHF and I can tell you exactly the trail of crime to your hands.
WHat did you do to support handball in Oceania?
KH
10. July 2014. at 21:58
What will happen to Australian handball without these heroes.
Kazimir
10. July 2014. at 19:54
I am still in shock! IHF made a decision for AHF after they made it through with NZ! It NEVER should happen….but it does and now, what will be next?
Bring Australia back and Germany out! Or let them play against each other!? Where is the justice in this world?
Kostya S
10. July 2014. at 18:22
I am sure that if Germany won Poland in June, there will not be such a decision to make Hungary (the 8th team in 2013 WC, failed to get a place in Qatar) beneficial. This is a decision completely planned for the Germans at the expense of fairness of the decided rules.
Mike
10. July 2014. at 16:48
As a former player, coach and IHF Lecturer who helped to develop handball in Oceania years ago before Sydney Olympics(Thank you, Alex G., Marie W. and many others for your unbelievable dedication!!!) I am more than disappointed…what a SHAME!!! Where has the sport spirit gone in IHF!?
IHF Representative
10. July 2014. at 16:02
IHF made the right decision. Australia had its chance to prove itself over the past 15 years – they have shown minimal growth in the quality of Handball in Australia. A corrupt board is never going to help promote the sport in a country where the sport is relatively unknown. They go to the world championships and get dominated every game. What’s the point? I agree that they should be given a chance to qualify, but not against low-caliber teams such as NZ. Australia should rightly earn their spot in the world championship, not clown around with egotistical players and sub par results.
John Smith II
10. July 2014. at 12:33
These guys have paid for everything themselves, put in countless hours of hard work ON TOP OF studying/working other jobs. In Australia they don’t get any government assistance and finding sponsors is a hard task. All of these guys play because they love the sport and that’s the bottom line, to shaft them like this is a despicable decision. The experience these guys bring back to teach the younger players at home is invaluable, I wonder how the IHF plans to counteract this.
Michael
10. July 2014. at 11:27
I think this is the best thing for Australian handball
John Smith
10. July 2014. at 10:22
IHF has made this decision in the interest of money. The German men’s team not competing at the WC would have had a large financial impact due to lack of potential advertising in the world largest handball country. BEIN Sports, the new TV rights holder, and IHF have collaborated to remove the qualified team of Australia from the upcoming WC.
Australia is an amateur handball country and the players involved personally paid for airfares and accommodation to attend the qualification tournament and cost to attend training camps in Australia of the past year. Each player has paid thousands of dollars in the past year to prepare for the WC. Who will compensate these players IHF???
Australia may not be a competitive country in the WC but what it lacks for in talent it makes up for in pure passion for a sport that is relatively unknown in this country. This is supposed to be a World Championship, not a European Championship. The IHF official line is that they do not recognise the Oceania Handball Federations but if that is the case how did Australia compete at the last 6 world championships and how is it that both the Mens and Women’s beach handball teams are still going to the beach handball world championship later this month. Shame IHF…shame.
Andre
9. July 2014. at 23:11
IHF is acting like a little FIFA. The decision is based on $$$ not on vision. They have done nothing to develop the game outside Europe and this will only hurt handball.
Sam Paaka
9. July 2014. at 13:31
Disappointed is the word!!! As a former NZ representative (who had the privilege to play against an experienced and a fantastic Australian team), is disappointed on the IHF decision. Australia has my full support.
Kia Tu, Kia Toa!