The EHF Beach Handball Champions Cup 2025, taking place from 16 October in Porto Santo (Portugal), brings together 16 teams per gender from 12 European nations, reaffirming its status as the continent’s leading club competition. Its fourth consecutive edition on the Portuguese island highlights the event’s organisational stability while the sport continues to pursue a broader goal: gaining global recognition and, ultimately, a place in the Olympic programme.

Since its creation in 2014, the tournament has travelled through cities such as Las Palmas (Spain) and Catania (Italy) before settling in Porto Santo in 2022. The island’s weather conditions, infrastructure, and institutional partnership with the Portuguese Handball Federation have strengthened its continuity. Yet, its exclusively European scope underlines a structural limitation: the growth of beach handball still depends largely on the continent’s leadership.

A global circuit with Olympic ambitions

International expansion has come through the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour 2025, a worldwide series of national teams promoted by the International Handball Federation -IHF-. This year’s calendar features three stages in Hammamet (Tunisia), Laredo (Spain) and João Pessoa (Brazil). Through this setup, the IHF aims to ensure a presence across three continents and demonstrate that beach handball can grow beyond Europe. All matches are broadcast live and free via the official IHF Competitions YouTube channel, part of the federation’s strategy to strengthen global outreach.

However, participation remains uneven. While the format is international, most national teams are still European (Spain, Croatia, Greece) or African (Tunisia, Egypt). The Americas are represented mainly by Brazil, while nations such as the United States or Argentina have appeared only occasionally. This imbalance raises a question: is expanding event locations enough to make the sport global, or is a broader competitive base still missing?

Audiences and visibility: indicators of digital growth

Official metrics remain limited but show a clear upward trend. Across EHF-organised beach handball events, continental competitions have reached an average of 180,000 unique users per day and peaks of over one million views during match days. More than 70% of viewers are under the age of 35, and 76% of total views come from users who were not previously following the sport’s official accounts — clear evidence of its appeal among younger and new audiences.

The open-access streaming model through digital platforms expands international exposure and accessibility. Moreover, the sport’s continued presence in The World Games, where beach handball has been part of the official programme since 2001, has helped maintain steady visibility on the global stage.

Key challenges on the road to Olympic inclusion

Securing a place in the International Olympic Committee -IOC- programme requires active representation across all continents — a goal that remains unfinished. Although the IHF has incorporated stages in Africa and the Americas within the Global Tour, the club structure remains heavily concentrated in Europe. The EHF Beach Handball Champions Cup continues as a continental competition, while the European Beach Tour (EBT) serves as its qualifying and development circuit. This dual system strengthens the European base but limits the growth of emerging federations in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

The main challenge lies in consolidating a stable calendar that complements indoor handball. While the EHF has managed to keep both disciplines in separate periods of the year, no formal coordination yet exists between their competition structures. Greater alignment could open opportunities for more athletes and raise the international standard. Still, beach handball needs consistent audience metrics, global sponsors, and a broader club network beyond Europe to secure long-term Olympic recognition.