Veselin Vujović Parts Ways with Qatar: “I Deserved a Better Offer After Winning a Medal”
Veselin Vujović will not lead Qatar at the 2027 IHF World Championship in Germany! According to Balkan-Handball.com, the legendary coach has failed to reach an agreement on extending his contract with the national team, which he recently guided to a silver medal at the Asian Games in Japan.
The experienced coach, who led Slovenia to a historic bronze medal at the 2017 World Championship, returned to the Qatar bench last spring, replacing Valero Rivera. Vujović had previously coached Qatar at the 2025 World Championship in Croatia, but his second spell in charge has now come to an end.
Speaking exclusively to Balkan-Handball.com, Vujović confirmed his departure and explained the reasons behind his decision.
“It’s true, we haven’t reached an agreement to continue our cooperation. I didn’t receive a fair offer after winning a medal at the Asian Games, where I had the oldest team in the world. I believed I deserved a contract until May and the Olympic qualification tournament for Los Angeles, but they only offered me a deal until the end of the World Championship in January.
The group in Kiel is extremely difficult, with Sweden, Norway and Greece. It’s better to leave now than after three defeats at the tournament,” Vujović told Balkan-Handball.com.
Throughout his coaching career, Vujović has been in charge of the national teams of Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Iran and Qatar. His first major international tournament as a national team coach was the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
During his time with Qatar, Vujović won three medals. In addition to the recent silver medal at the Asian Games in Japan, he guided Qatar to silver at the Gulf Games and bronze at the Islamic Solidarity Games.
