(ATR) The men’s handball world championships get underway Thursday. Host Sweden will take on Chile in the opening match.
It should be an easy win for the Swedes, ranked fifth in the world. Chile are 64th, with only five teams ranked lower. Pool play begins in earnest on Thursday.
France are the defending champions. Croatia staged the 2009 edition, with Spain hosting the championships in 2013. Brazil is scheduled to host the women’s world championships in December.
In total, 24 teams qualified for the championships.
Matches take place until Jan. 30. Finals begin Jan. 28 with the gold being awarded on the final day.
Ten venues in 10 cities will stage games. Organizers claim the tournament is the largest event in Scandinavia in 2011.
Handball is a popular sport in Sweden, with the tournament set to draw large crowds. After tickets for matches quickly sold out, multiple times organizers released several thousand more tickets, which were also claimed by eager fans.
Matches will be shown by Swedish broadcaster TV4. Access to streams of matches is available for 10 euros at www.livehandball.tv
Swedish "pop music sensation" ARASH wrote the official song of the championships; "Glorious". Watch the YouTube video by clicking here.
American Football in the Olympics?
The International Federation of American Football is pushing hard in its effort to join the Olympic program.
On Wednesday, the IFAF announced it had hired TSE Consulting to plan a strategy tojoin the Olympics.
According to a statement from TSE, the strategic plan it develops will "increase the recognition of IFAF worldwide and further align it with other international governing bodies".
First, IFAF will conduct research on IFAF and American football’s perception among international sport leaders.
IFAF President, Tommy Wiking said: "Our key goals are to host successful competitions, to gain IOC recognized sport status and to continue football development throughout our 59 member countries and beyond."
To join the Olympic program, IFAF must become a recognized federation by the IOC. It made the first step in that process in 2005 when it became a member of SportAccord, the umbrella organization for international sport federations.
The earliest American football could join the Olympic program would be 2020. However, that is unlikely to happen as the process to become a recognized federation is a long one. Founded in 1998, IFAF is supported and recognized by the USA's National Football League.
Beijing Silver Medal Stolen
Merrill Moses’ silver medal from the Beijing Olympics has been stolen. Moses was the goalie for the U.S. men’s water polo team.
Thieves broke into his parents’ home in Manteca, Calif., on Dec. 28, while they were on vacation. In addition to the medal, they also took Moses’ ring and watch, gifts from the U.S. Olympic Committee for his performance.
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Written by Ed Hula III.
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