Editing Handball (section)

== Origins and development ==
[[File:Handball pick-a-back Ancient Greece.jpg|thumb|A picture copied from an amphora shows youths playing a version of handball, {{Circa|500 BC}}.]]
Games similar to handball were played in [[Ancient Greece]] and are represented on amphorae and stone carvings. Although detailed textual reference is rare, there are numerous descriptions of ball games being played where players throw the ball to one another; sometimes this is done in order to avoid interception by a player on the opposing team. Such games were played widely and served as both a form of exercise and a social event.<ref>Gardiner, E. Norman, 'Ball play' in ''Athletics of the Ancient World'', Oxford: OUP, 1967, pp.&nbsp;230–238</ref>

There is evidence of ancient Roman women playing a version of handball called {{lang|la|expulsim ludere}}.<ref>John Anthony Cuddon, ''The Macmillan Dictionary of Sports and Games'', p.&nbsp;393, Macmillan, 1980, {{ISBN|0-333-19163-3}}</ref> There are records of handball-like games in medieval [[France]], and among the [[Inuit]] in [[Greenland]], in the [[Middle Ages]]. By the 19th century, there existed similar games of ''håndbold'' from [[Denmark]], ''[[Czech handball|házená]]'' in the [[Czech Republic]], ''handbol'' in [[Ukraine]], and ''[[torball]]'' in [[Germany]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Serinex.NET|first1=SegaAlex in|title=Handball History : HAND-BALL.ORG|url=http://www.hand-ball.org/historia/|website=www.hand-ball.org|access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref>

The team handball game of today was codified at the end of the 19th century in northern [[Europe]]: primarily in [[Denmark]], [[Germany]], [[Norway]], and [[Sweden]]. The first written set of team handball rules was published in 1906 by the Danish gym teacher, [[lieutenant]] and Olympic medalist [[Holger Nielsen]] from [[Ordrup]] grammar school, north of [[Copenhagen]]. The modern set of rules was published by Max Heiser, [[Karl Schelenz]], and Erich Konigh in 1917<ref name="Laver Landreau Seil Popovic 2018 p. xxv" /> on 29 October in [[Berlin]], Germany; this day is therefore seen as the "date of birth" of the sport.<ref name=EHFPazen /><ref name=":1" /> The first official handball match was played on 2 December 1917 in Berlin.<ref name=EHFPazen /> In 1919 the rules were modified by [[Karl Schelenz]].<ref name="Laver Landreau Seil Popovic 2018 p. xxv" /> The first international games were played under these rules, between [[Germany men's national handball team|Germany]] and [[Austria men's national handball team|Austria]] by men in 1925 and between [[Germany women's national handball team|Germany]] and [[Austria women's national handball team|Austria]] by women in 1930.<ref name="Laver Landreau Seil Popovic 2018 p. 26"/>

In 1926, the Congress of [[World Athletics]] (then known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation) nominated a committee to draw up international rules for field handball. The [[International Amateur Handball Federation]] was formed in 1928 and later the [[International Handball Federation]] was formed in 1946.

Men's field handball was played at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] in Berlin. During the next several decades, indoor handball flourished and evolved in the Scandinavian countries. The sport re-emerged onto the world stage as men's team handball for the [[1972 Summer Olympics]] in [[Munich]]. Women's team handball was added at the [[1976 Summer Olympics]] in [[Montreal]].<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.teamusa.org/usa-team-handball/legacy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328220736/http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Team-Handball/Legacy|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 March 2015|title=Legacy|publisher=USA Team Handball|access-date=7 May 2022}}</ref> Due to its popularity in the region, the Eastern European countries that refined the event became the dominant force in the sport when it was reintroduced.

The [[International Handball Federation]] organised the men's world championship in 1938 and every four (sometimes three) years from World War II to 1995. Since the 1995 world championship in Iceland, the competition has been held every two years. The women's world championship has been held since 1957. The IHF also organizes women's and men's junior world championships. By July 2009, the IHF listed 166 member federations – approximately 795,000 teams and 19 million players.