There are still around seven months to go until the opening match of the IHF Men’s World Championship 2027 on 13 January at Munich’s SAP Garden. Yet the tournament is already beginning to take shape: the line-up of participating teams is nearly complete, and tickets are in high demand. The next major milestone comes on 10 June, when the preliminary round groups will be drawn at the Hofbräuhaus in Munich. You can watch the draw 

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Seeded Teams and Pots Already Confirmed

Following the conclusion of the European qualification play-offs and the North American continental championship in May, 30 of the 32 participating teams have secured their place at the tournament. The remaining two spots will be awarded through wildcards by the International Handball Federation (IHF) in the coming weeks.

Players, coaches and officials from the qualified nations will be watching the draw in Munich closely. Both the preliminary round opponents and the host cities for each team will be determined at the Hofbräuhaus. Eight nations have already been seeded as group heads and therefore know where they will begin their World Championship campaign:

• Group A in Munich: Germany
• Group B in Stuttgart: Italy
• Group C in Munich: Croatia
• Group D in Stuttgart: France
• Group E in Kiel: Sweden
• Group F in Magdeburg: Portugal
• Group G in Kiel: Denmark
• Group H in Magdeburg: Iceland

Each group will then be completed by three additional teams, with one nation drawn from each of the remaining pots.

The draw pots are as follows:

• Pot 1: Denmark, Germany, Croatia, Iceland, Portugal, Sweden, Egypt, Argentina
• Pot 2: France, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Spain, Italy, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia
• Pot 3: Greece, Poland, Brazil, Bahrain, Tunisia, Cape Verde, Chile, USA
• Pot 4: Qatar, Kuwait, Japan, Algeria, Angola, Uruguay, Wild Card 1, Wild Card 2

At the end of the draw, eight groups of four teams will be formed. The top three teams from each group will advance to the Main Round. An overview of the full match schedule can be found here.

Munich Takes Centre Stage at the 2027 World Championship

A glance at the tournament schedule reveals that Munich will be in the spotlight not only on 10 June. The Bavarian capital will play a central role at the start of the tournament as the host city for two preliminary round groups.

Particular attention will be on the opening match of the World Championship on 13 January 2027 at the SAP Garden. Until 18 January, the arena will host all matches from Groups A and C. In addition to reigning World Championship silver medallists Croatia, local fans will also have the opportunity to watch the German national team in action.

Germany’s squad, coached by Alfred Gislason, is already familiar with the state-of-the-art venue. The national team played its first-ever international match at the SAP Garden in November 2025, although the debut ended in a 31:29 defeat against Iceland.

With a capacity of around 11,000 spectators, the SAP Garden is one of Germany’s most modern multi-purpose arenas. It also serves as the home venue of FC Bayern Munich Basketball and EHC Red Bull Munich. In January 2027, however, the arena’s full attention will be devoted to the IHF Men’s World Championship.

Information about a live stream will be available on the IHF's official website. 

Images: Dietrich/Wolf