This is a big week for sports. Many people might be waiting eagerly for Wednesday, the final day of the League Phase in the Champions League, which will decide which teams qualify and which teams get eliminated. However, the sporting event of the week will take place in two countries separated by 1,200 miles: Croatia and Norway, hosts of the 2025 World Handball Championship.
The competition started two weeks ago, with a third country as host, Denmark. But for the final round, starting tomorrow January 28, the remaining nations will play their games in Zagreb and Oslo: quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
After the main round, that saw some favourites eliminated including host nation Norway, Sweden, Spain or the Netherlands, eight teams remain. Well, technically 16: the eight worst teams, ranked between 24 and 32, will also play the President's Cup, for the 25th, 27th, 29th and 31st place: Guinea, Cuba, Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Japan, Poland and United States will fight for the "consolation" prize on January 28.
The World Handball Championship's broadcast rights differ from countries:
Now, onto the good stuff: the quarterfinals. They are taking place between Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Remember that times listed are Central European Time, so it's one hour less if you tune from the UK:
Tuesday, January 28, in Zagreb:
Wednesday, January 29, in Oslo:
Semi-finals will take place on January 31 and 31. The finals (for the first and the third place) will all take place on Sunday, February 2.