Handball Update: IHF President Laments Cuban Absence in Greenland

(ATR) International Handball Federation (IHF) lamented the absence of Cuba at the Pan American Tournament that is taking place in Nuuk, Greenland.

"It is very regrettable that Cuba has not been able to obtain its visas despite having the full support of the Organizing Committee and other parties," said the president of the IHF, Hassan Moustafa, in an exclusive statement to Around The Rings.

Moustafa emphasized that "we certainly would have liked" to see Cuba in the Men's Continental Championship.

The President of IHF recalled that 10 other American teams "managed to meet all the entry requirements" after the host was confirmed as host on February 8, 2018. "

Moustafa said that from that moment the classified countries had "more than four months until the start of the competition" to complete the visa process.

The tournament, which began June 16, awards three places for the World Championship in Germany and Denmark in January 2019. Top teams will also qualify for the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima.

But Cuba, one of the 12 teams supposed to compete in Greenland, did not make the charter flight from Panama. The flight was arranged to allow travel directly to Greenland, avoiding a stop in Europe.

An Argentine radio program specializing in handball first reported the news.

"Handball de Primera" also reported that the Cuban team had been fully funded by the International Handball Federation to compete at the Pan American Championship.

The radio broadcast reported that Cuban referees who did try to make the flight in Panama returned to Cuba. They did not have travel papers required by a stop of the charter in Canada.

The Cubans apparently had visas to enter Greenland, but it was too late to apply for the Canadian travel permit.

Spectators in Greenland (IHF)The Cuban federation says once it realized it had problems in Canada, efforts were made to reach Greenland via Europe but "these actions were not successful".

Relations are strained between the Pan Am confederation and the IHF over splitting of the Americas into two regions. The decisión of the IHF has been appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Pan Am confederation has been removed from the IHF website. In its place are the Confederation of North America and the Caribbean and the Confederation of South and Central America.

It is unknown whether the IHF will sanction Cuba from missing the Greenland tournament or set another way for Cuba to qualify for subsequent championships.

Cuba has not attended a World Championship since 2009.

South American media confirmed that the IHF had helped in the transfer to Havana of nine Cuban players hired in professional leagues in Spain, France and Portugal.

Since the 1990s, Cuba had agreed to allow the country’s best handball players in European leagues, but most of them deserted Cuba.

Unable to travel to Greenland, the Cuban team will continue their preparation in Havana for the Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia, starting on July 19.

Reported by Miguel Hernandez.