The Kosovo national men's handball team is the national
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
team of
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
, representing the country in international competition. The team is governed by
Handball Federation of Kosovo. The national handball team started competing in international competitions in 2014, following Kosovo's full status recognition from the
International Handball Federation
The International Handball Federation (IHF) is the administrative and controlling body for handball and beach handball. IHF is responsible for the organisation of handball's major international tournaments, notably the IHF World Men's Handball C ...
(IHF).
History
Handball first arrived in Kosovo in the late 1940s, and by 1948 there were several registered clubs starting to compete in informal domestic competitions. By 1951, indoor handball was introduced. Two years later, in 1953,
Handball Federation of Kosovo was founded, under the auspices of the Yugoslav Handball Federation.
In 1979, whilst part of the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo hosted the
1979 Women's Junior World Handball Championship.
Following the breakdown of Yugoslavia and subsequent independence of Kosovo as a nation, Handball Federation of Kosovo began operating independently.
In 2014, six years after Kosovo declared independence, the
European Handball Federation
The European Handball Federation (EHF) is the umbrella organisation for European handball. Founded on 17 November 1991, it is made of 50 member federations and two associated federations (England and Scotland), and is headquartered in Vienna, ...
(EHF) recognised Kosovo as a full member state and immediately the Kosovo national handball team started competing in international competition.
After a difficult start, Kosovo's national team has started to gain notoriety in international competition. After twice winning the bronze medal in the international IHF Trophy for emerging nations, in
Kosovo 2015 on home soil and as well in
Bulgaria 2017 the team is no longer considered an emerging nation. Kosovo after this tournament advanced to the
2nd phase of qualification for EURO 2020.
Following a lengthy campaign in the
2020 European Men's Handball Championship qualification where Kosovo defeated Israel and drew Poland, the team won a direct spot in the second phase of the upcoming 2022 qualification tournament.
Most recently, at the
2021 World Men's Handball Championship – European qualification tournament, Kosovo drew with Italy and defeated Georgia to take the second place, behind Romania, in the qualifying group.
EHF European Championship
*
2018 European Men's Handball Championship - Round 1 (did not qualify)
*
2020 European Men's Handball Championship
The 2020 EHF European Men's Handball Championship was the 14th edition of the tournament and the first to feature 24 national teams. It was co-hosted for the first time in three countries – Austria, Norway and Sweden – from 9 to 26 January 20 ...
- Phase 2 Playoffs (did not Qualify)
*
2022 European Men's Handball Championship
The 2022 EHF European Men's Handball Championship was the 15th edition of the tournament and the second to feature 24 national teams. It was co-hosted in two countries – Hungary and Slovakia – from 13 to 30 January 2022. It was won by Sweden ...
- Phase 2 Playoffs (did not qualify )
*
2024 European Men's Handball Championship - In progress
IHF Handball World Championship
*
2017 World Men's Handball Championship
The 2017 IHF World Men's Handball Championship was the 25th event hosted by the International Handball Federation. The event was held in France from 11 to 29 January 2017.
France, in a clean sweep, defended their title by defeating Norway 33–26 ...
- Round 1 (did not qualify)
*
2019 World Men's Handball Championship - Round 1 (did not qualify)
*
2021 World Men's Handball Championship - Round 1 (did not qualify)
*
2023 World Men's Handball Championship - Round 1 (did not qualify)
IHF Emerging Nations Championship
Team
Current squad
*The squad selected for the
2024 European Men's Handball Championship qualification matches.
*Updated: 22 December 2022
*Head coach: Bujar Qerimi
Coaches
Captains
* Ylber Mjeku (2014–2016)
* Valon Dedaj (2016-)
Individual all-time records
Most matches played
Total number of matches played in official competitions only.
Most goals scored
Total number of goals scored in official competitions only.
Notes and references
Notes
References
External links
*
IHF profile
{{National sports teams of Kosovo
Men's national handball teams
National sports teams of Kosovo