Asian Handball Federation

Asian Handball Federation
AHF
SportHandball
Other sports
Official websitewww.asianhandball.org
History
Year of formation26 August 1974; 50 years ago (1974-08-26)
at Tehran, Imperial State of Iran Iran
Demographics
Membership size44 Members
Affiliations
International federationInternational Handball Federation (IHF)
IHF member since1974
Other affiliation(s)
Governance
PresidentJapan Yoshihide Watanabe (acting)
1st Vice-President
  • Japan Yoshihide Watanabe
Secretariat
Address
  • South Surrah, Al-Salam Area, Block 7, Street No. 705, Villa 508
Country Kuwait
Secretary GeneralPakistan Muhammad Shafiq
Official Language(s)English (Official)
Arabic (Also used for correspondences)
Number of staff8
Finance
SponsorsAl Kass Sports Channels
SK Group
Gerflor
Molten Corporation
Regions

The Asian Handball Federation (AHF) is the governing body of handball and beach handball in Asia. It has 44 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent, but excludes the transcontinental countries with territory in both Europe and Asia – Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation and Turkey – which are instead members of European Handball Federation (EHF). Three other states located along the western fringe of Asia – Cyprus, Armenia and Israel – are also EHF members. Hong Kong and Macau, although not independent countries (both are special regions of China), are also members of the AHF.

One of IHF's six continental confederations, the AHF was formed officially on 26 August 1974 in Tehran (Imperial State of Iran), on the sidelines of the 7th Asian Games 1974. The AHF headquarters is located in Kuwait City (Kuwait). Its current president is Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah from Kuwait, who is a member of House of Al Sabah, the ruling family of Kuwait.

History

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The Asian Handball Federation (AHF) is in one way absolutely unique: During its history to date it has had only two presidents, and they were father and son.

When in 1976 the federation was officially founded and Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was elected as president, the sheikh had already contributed significantly to efforts around the sport. In 1974, during the 7th Asian Games in Tehran (Iran), he applied as head of the Kuwaiti delegation at the executive committee for the inclusion of handball into the sports programme and the foundation of a continental handball federation. Handball was at that point already widely spread in Asia. The leaders of the Asian Games accepted handball as an official sport and asked the sheikh to act as interim president and to prepare the statutes of the federation. In this task he was supported by the Secretary General Syed Abul Hassan (Pakistan).[1]

Presidents

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S. No. Name Tenure
1. Kuwait Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah 26 August 1974 – 2 August 1990[1]
Acting Bahrain Mohammed Ali Abul 2 August 1990 – 1991
2. Kuwait Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah 1991 – 5 November 2021[2]
Acting Japan Yoshihide Watanabe 5 November 2021 – present

^1 Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah died on 2 August 1990 during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait while defending Dasman Palace. Mohammed Ali Abul served as acting president until the war finished in 1991.
^2 Sheikh Ahmed stepped down from AHF presidency following a guilty verdict against him in a Swiss forgery trial. Therefore, 1st Vice-President Yoshihide Watanabe was appointed as acting president till further orders.

Secretaries general

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S. No. Name Tenure
1. Pakistan Syad Abul Hassan 26 August 1974 – 26 November 2000
2. India Dr. Roshan Lal Anand 26 November 2000 – 25 October 2013
3. Pakistan Muhammad Shafiq 25 October 2013 – present

Executive committee

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The following is the AHF Executive Committee for 2017 – 2021.

Designation Name
President Vacant
1st Vice-President Japan Yoshihide Watanabe
Secretary General Pakistan Muhammad Shafiq
Treasurer Kuwait Bader Mohammad Al-Theyab
Member Qatar Ahmed Mohamed Abdulrab Al-Shaabi

Council

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The following is the AHF Council for the term 2021 — 2025.

Designation Name
President Kuwait Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
1st Vice-President Japan Yoshihide Watanabe
Vice-President Qatar Ahmad Mohammed Abdulrab Al-Shaabi
Bahrain Ali Mohamed Isa Eshaqi
Jordan Dr. Sari Hamdan Ghanima
China Ms. Wang Tao
Secretary General Pakistan Muhammad Shafiq
Treasurer Kuwait Bader Mohammad Al-Theyab
Council Member Oman Ameen Al-Barwani
South Korea Choi Jung-suck
United Arab Emirates Mohammed Julfar
Thailand Sombat Kuruphan
Iran Alireza Pakdel
Female Council Member Kazakhstan Gulnara Turlykhanova
Chairman of AHF COC Saudi Arabia Fadhel Al-Nemer
Chairman of AHF PRC United Arab Emirates Saleh bin Ashour
Chairman of AHF CCM South Korea Prof. Dr. Chung Hyung-kyun
Chairman of AHF MC Japan Dr. Katsuhiko Sakuma
Chairman of AHF CPP Iran Mitra Noorigollehjareh
Chairman of AHF MKC Qatar Mohammad Jaber Al-Mulla
Chairman of AHF UDC Uzbekistan Ismoiljon Matkhalikov
Chairman of AHF CYSH Iraq Mohammed Al-Araje

Commissions

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The following are the AHF Commission members for the term 2017 — 2021.

Commission Chairman Members
AHF Commission of Organizing and Competition (COC) Saudi Arabia Fadhel Al-Nemer
COC Members
  • Oman Issa Abdullah Al-Jabri
  • Lebanon Ahmad Darwich
  • Kuwait Faisal Baqer
  • India Dr. Anandeshwar Panday
  • Japan Noboru Goto
  • China Qiao Cheng
  • South Korea Ms. Hong Jeong-ho
AHF Playing Rules and Referees Commission (PRC) United Arab Emirates Saleh bin Ashour
PRC Members
  • Kuwait Khalaf Al-Enezi
  • Syria Zuhir Samha
  • Jordan Dr. Zain Al-Abedin Bani Hani
  • China Wu Ruiting
  • Japan Minoru Nakada
  • Thailand Dr. Chatchai Sangsukeelux
AHF Commission of Coaching and Methods (CCM) South Korea Prof. Dr. Chung Hyung Kyun
CCM Members
  • Iran Alireza Habibi
  • Syria Amjad Karwani
  • Bahrain Dr. Nabeel Taha Al-Shehab
  • Jordan Dr. Taiysir Mansi
  • Iraq Dhafer Sahib Mohammed
AHF Medical Commission (MC) Japan Dr. Katsuhiko Sakuma
MC Members
  • Iran Dr. Mohammad Saeid Rajaei
  • Bahrain Dr. Hussein Al-Haddad
AHF Promotion and Public Relations Commission (CPP) Iran Mitra Noorigollehjareh
CPP Members
  • Lebanon Helmi Cheaib
  • Bahrain Husain Al-Asfoor
  • Oman Othman Al-Qasmi
  • Yemen Ameen Al-Muddaeai
  • TBA
  • Qatar Matar Al-Zarraa
  • Iraq Kareem Abdullah Al-Rammahi
AHF Marketing Commission (MKC) Qatar Mohammad Jaber Al-Mulla
MKC Members
  • Kazakhstan Daulet Turlykhanov
  • Lebanon Tamim Sulaiman
  • Iraq Abed Naji Oudah
  • Saudi Arabia Dr. Nasser Saab Al-Shammari
  • United Arab Emirates Nasir Al-Hammadi
  • Indonesia Ms. Vivin Cahyani
AHF Under Development Countries Commission (UDC) Uzbekistan Ismoiljon Matkhalikov
UDC Members
  • Yemen Hamza Saleh Hamza
  • State of Palestine Jamal Abuyousef
  • Jordan Ms. Nour Obeidat
  • Nepal Tej Bahadur Gurung
  • Sri Lanka Francis Gihan Dalpethado
  • Uzbekistan Ms. Mavjuda Matkhalikova
  • North Korea Kim Kwang-su
AHF Commission of Youth and School Handball (CYSH) Iraq Mohammed Al-Araje
CYSH Members
  • Oman Moosa Al-Bulushi
  • Philippines Ms. Joanna Franquelli
  • Kuwait Ms. Samha Salem Al-Ajmi
  • Oman Ms. Abeer Ali Al-Zadjali
  • Indonesia Mustafa Masyhur
  • China Ms. Yang Li
AHF Arbitration Commission (AC)
NA
AC Members
  • Kuwait Dr. Abdulla Musfir Al-Hayyan
  • Iran Ms. Roya Rahimi
AHF Experts Commission (EC)
NA
EC Members
  • Kuwait Dr. Khalid Al-Sharji
  • Kuwait Abdullah Al-Theyab
  • Saudi Arabia Ali Hassan Al-Aliwat
  • Jordan Nasir Herz Allah
  • South Korea Ms. Oh Seong-ok
  • South Korea Yoon Kyung-shin
  • Jordan Ms. Nasrein Abuhashieh
  • China Li Zhiwen
  • United Arab Emirates Nabeel Bin Ashour
  • Uzbekistan Ulugbek Ikromov
AHF Women's Commission (WC)
NA
WC Members
  • Kazakhstan Mrs. Gulnara Turlykhanova
  • Vietnam Ms. Nguyễn Thị Như Quỳnh
  • Kazakhstan Ms. Valentina Degtyareva
  • Kuwait Ms. Mona Khalil Kamal
  • Kuwait Ms. Dalal Mohammad
AHF Beach Handball Working Group (BHWG)
NA
BHWG Members
  • United Arab Emirates Ismail Salem Mohammad
  • United Arab Emirates Fadhil Ahmed Baqer
  • Pakistan Muhammad Imran
  • Jordan Dr. Mutasem Ahmad Khatatbeh
  • China Ms. Long Peili
  • Thailand Ms. Sirintra Poburipanich

Tournaments

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AHF

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Club

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Beach

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Zones

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West Asia

South Asia

Southeast Asia

East Asia

Current champions

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Category Men's Women's
Senior Handball Championship  Qatar (2024) (6)  South Korea (2022) (16*)
Asian Games  Qatar (2018) (2)  South Korea (2018) (7*)
Junior Handball Championship  Japan (2022) (1)  India (2022) (1)
Asian Youth Games  Qatar (2013) (1*)  South Korea (2013) (1*)
Youth Handball Championship  South Korea (2022) (3*)  Iran (2022) (1)
Beach Handball Championship  Qatar (2023) (6)  Vietnam (2023) (2)
Asian Beach Games  Qatar (2016) (3*)  Vietnam (2016) (1)
Youth Beach Handball Championship  Iran (2022) (1*)  Thailand (2022) (1*)
Club Handball Championship Bahrain Al-Najma (2028) (5) Kazakhstan Kaysar Club (2019) (2*)

(Titles) (*) Record titles

Disputes

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A dispute arises between the International Handball Federation (IHF) and the AHF following a controversial decision to replace referees of opening match of Asian Men's Handball Qualification Tournament for the 2008 Summer Olympics between Kuwait and South Korea played on 1 September 2007 in Toyota (Japan). AHF replaced experienced and IHF nominated German referees Lemme and Ulrich with Jordanian referees Al-Shoubaki and Hirzallah, neither of whom stood on the list of IHF-qualified referees having "IHF Status", meaning that they had not completed the Global Referees Training Programme (GRTP), a program established by the IHF for the development of IHF-level referees. The Jordanian referee pair completely destroyed the South Korean team with more than 20 wrong decisions only in first half of the match which favoured the Kuwaiti team. IHF COC Chairman Aleksandr Kozhukhov (Russia) who was appointed by IHF as supervisor for the event and member of AHF Technical Committee Khalaf Al-Enezi (Kuwait) intervened into the matter at half-time of the match and asked the referees to be fair but the South Korean team nevertheless could not get the result in their own favour losing the match by 28–20.

Later, on 17 December 2007, in an IHF Council meeting held in Paris (France), IHF decided not to approve the results of the event conduct by AHF and decided to replay both men's and women's events due to biased referee allegations. AHF objected against this decision and warned all the AHF member federations not to participate in the replay organised by IHF. Only South Korea and Japan participated in the IHF replay and South Korea won both men's and women's matches. On February 5, 2008, AHF imposed a fine of $1000 on both the Japan and South Korea and banned them from participating in any event organised by AHF until the fine is paid.[2]

When the matter becomes that complicated, both AHF and IHF mutually decided to took the case to Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for decision. The Kazakhstan Handball Federation and Kuwait Handball Association also want to become a party in the case but CAS refused their appeal. On 20 May 2008, after hearing all the parties, CAS decided to approve the result of IHF men's replay and also approved the AHF organised women's event results.[3]

Members

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First level
Second level
Third level
  • ✝ non-active member

Sponsors

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References

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  1. ^ "AHF History". Asian Handball Federation's Official Website. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Referee Questions for Handball and Badminton". www.aroundtherings.com. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
  3. ^ "Original decision of CAS" (PDF). www.tas-cas.org. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
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