Regards

Dr Hassan Moustafa
President of the International Handball Federation

Dear Handball Friends,

On behalf of the International Handball Federation, it is with great joy that I welcome the beach handball family and fans around the world to the 10thIHF Women’s and Men’sBeach Handball World Championships and the 2nd Men’s and Women’s Youth (U18)Beach Handball World Championships.
I would like to begin by conveying my sincerest gratitude to the Organising Committee, the host city mayor, volunteers, fans and sponsors. These Beach Handball World Championships would not be possible without your hard work, dedication and passion.
With the last edition of the Beach Handball World Championshiphaving to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all looking forward to see global handball action on the sand again – and after their women’s team won gold in 2018, at the last edition, it is with pleasure to witness Greece organising the flagship event.
After securing their first-ever medal in both the men’s and women’s competitions, Greece will be highly motivated to show the world not only their sporting but also organisational skills and I am certain that they will set up a unforgettableeventfeaturing the world’s best beach handball teamsin Heraklion.
This will also be the first IHF Men’s and Women’s Youth Beach Handball World Championships since 2017, when Spain won the inaugural men’s competition, while Hungary beat the Netherlands in the final of the women’s competition – all of whom we will see again this year as the event promises thrilling matches and inspiring beach handball moments.
We look forward to a wonderful championship in the spirit of fair play and clean sport. We wish all the players, teams and coaches good luck. May the best team win.

Eleftherios Avgenakis
Deputy Minister Of Sports

I welcome the athletes in Heraklion, Crete, in our city that it becomes a reference point for the spectacular sport of Beach Handball with two competitions, the Men’s – Women’s Beach Handball World Championships and Youth Men’s – Youth Women’s that will be held June 14-26.
This is a historic moment for our country, which for the first time hosts two so high level beach games competitions.
Extroversion is a strategic choice of our Government. Our motivation is Greece to return again to the position it deserves in the global scene as a cradle of Culture and Sports, two concepts indissolubly linked with common references and values.
It is extremely important that Beach Handball restarts from Greece and Heraklion, two years after the pandemic and the effects we all know it had on sports.
In Greece it chose to make its dynamic return also the World Championship of Youth Men’s Handball in 2023, competitions that are strong proof of the rapid development of the sport in the country, both in handball and on the beach.
The newly built sports facilities of the four stadiums on the beach of Karteros, the largest and most modern in Greece for beach sports, are expected to provide the best possible match hospitality and contribute in the perfection and in the optimal promotion of the competitions.
We are working intensively to create additional facilities, in view of Coastal Mediterranean Games "Heraklion 2023", where Beach Handball will be again one of the key sports in the rich program of this great competition.
At the same time, we are convinced that the participation of more than 1,200 athletes, coaches, executives from 64 countries, is a great opportunity for the promotion of the sport of Beach Handball in Greek society and for the motivation of more and more young people to systematically engage in this spectacular sport.
Our belief and policy is that world-class competitions constitute the lever for the development of sports tourism, which brings multiple benefits to strengthen the development of the local community and the national economy.
I am sure that all of you will enjoy the famous Cretan hospitality in the beautiful parts of Heraklion and the competitions will offer the public an exciting spectacle.
Welcome to Crete, Heraklion and good luck to all teams.

Konstantinos Gkantis
President of the Hellenic Handball Federation

Dear Handball Friends
With great pleasure, the Hellenic Handball Federation, undertook the organization of the 2022 Beach Handball World Championships and chose Heraklion to host the best athletes in the world.
With the full support of the Deputy Minister of Sports Lefteris Avgenakis and the support of the Region of Crete and the Municipality of Heraklion, the largest event in the history of the sport becomes a reality.
At a time when the universe is being tested in various ways, sports always have the right answers, through its values.
Beach Handball grows, impresses in all lengths and breadths of the earth and acquires fanatic spectators and supporters. We are glad to be part of this rapid growth.
We welcome you to the hospitable Cretan land with its great history and strong traditions, so that we can all enjoy high level matches together, under the sun, on the sand and by the Mediterranean Sea.

Konstantinos Violitzis
Chairman of the Organizing Committee

Welcome to Heraklion,
At the crossroad of history and cultures, in a brand new impressive sports facility, we prepared to host a special sports festival
The purpose of the Organizing Committee is to provide the athletes and those who will be next to them, the best possible conditions, so that we can enjoy exciting and unforgettable games.
The Men's, Women's and Youth World Championships compose a huge event in volume and at the same time demonstrate the progress of Beach Handball, thanks to the efforts of the International Federation.
We wish you a good stay and promise you a life experience in Heraklion.

Stelios Aggeloudis
First Vice President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee
Regular representative of HHF

Athletes of the world, dear members of the athletic family
The Beach Handball World Championships bring together to the hospitable Crete athletes from all over the world, at a time when the world sports community seeks to return to normal.
The ideals of sport are a constant and intertemporal answer to questions faced by modern man. I'm sure it will be proved in this great event, through the fair play, the healthy competition among the National teams and the Sporting Spirit.
The Hellenic Olympic Committee is closely monitoring the rapid rise presented by Beach Handball in recent years. Personally, I am convinced that in a few years the sport will win the place it deserves in the program of Summer Olympic Games.
We are looking forward with impatience to great matches that will show up even more the dynamics and beauty of the sport.
Good luck to all.

Stavros Arnaoutakis
Regional Governor of Crete

Crete is ready to welcome the athletes, the organizers and all of the participants in the Beach Handball World Championships 2022. It is about great sporting events, which for the first time will be held on our island.
As the Region of Crete, we congratulate all the sports entities that participate in the preparation of the games and especially the Hellenic Handball Federation. The successful conduct of the Games will constitute an important opportunity to promote Crete abroad, as well as together we send the message that Crete is established as a sports destination in pan-European and global level.
In the teams of athletes, Men, Women, Youth Men and Youth Women, coaches, companions and all Handball friends who will arrive on the island, we wish you a good and pleasant stay.
The Beach Handball World Championships 2022, with the participation of athletes from 64 countries and 5 continents are expected to gather the lights of the world sports and highlight both the value and the uniqueness of the specific sport, as well as the ability of Crete to host special sport events.
Good luck to everyone.

Vassilis Lamprinos
Mayor of Heraklion

The World Beach Handball Championships for Youth Men - Women and Men - Women, constitute one more very important competition that we have the joy and the honor of hosting in Heraklion.
In this case, actually, the games will be held in facilities by the sea, which were recently created and will be used also the summer of 2023 at the big celebration of sports, the Coastal Mediterranean Games that will also be held in our city, as well as in neighboring Municipalities of Malevizi and Hersonissos.
Heraklion is now evolving into a leading sports center in the Mediterranean. In Municipality of Heraklion, always in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports, the Region of Crete and all the responsible entities we will continue to the specific direction, because we believe that the benefits for the local community are many and indisputable.
I want to thank the International Federation and the Hellenic Handball Federation for the selection of our city as the seat of these two great events as well as all those who have worked and are working for the perfect conduct them.
I welcome to Heraklion the athletes from all over the world, who will take part in the matches and I wish them good luck.
And I call on the people of Heraklion to combine the practical with the pleasurable watching high level sports, with a dip in the sea.