IHF Player Eligibility Code 2025
The International Handball Federation's Player Eligibility Code, in force from 21 December 2025.
| Adoption | 21 December 2025 — International Handball Federation |
| Structure | Chapter III of the International Handball Federation's Regulations |
| Status | Current edition — replaces the edition of 12 November 2020 |
What the Player Eligibility Code determines
This document is Chapter III of the IHF Regulations and answers who is entitled to play, at what level and for which team: amateur or professional status, registration, the conditions for playing in a national team, change of sporting nationality and the release of national players. Alongside this, it classifies national federations into three categories — top, developed and emerging — and it is that classification which opens the way to certain exceptional applications.
Key changes in this editionChanges from the edition of 12 November 2020
- Nationality acquired before the age of 21 does not count as a change of sporting nationalityA player who has acquired the nationality (passport) of a country before reaching the age of 21 does not fall under the heading of "change of sporting nationality" within the meaning of article 6.3.1. The practical effect is that such a player does not count towards the limit of two players per national team who have changed sporting nationality.
- Promotion of the Iranian women's federation to the developed categoryIn Annex 3, the Iranian federation has been moved in the women's section from the emerging category to the developed category; in the men's section it remains on the list of emerging federations in Asia.
- Recalculation of the federation rankingsThe classification has been updated on the basis of the two most recent editions of the World Championships — including the 2023 and 2025 men's World Championships and the 2021 and 2023 women's World Championships — and the points table has changed with effect from the 2021 competitions; this includes one point for places 25 to 32 at the President's Cup, which previously carried no points. The Executive Committee has also been given the power to move a federation from one category to another.
- Route of appeal to the IHF Court of ArbitrationOnce the internal stages have been exhausted, the final IHF decision may be appealed to the IHF Court of Arbitration (IHCA) in Basel and under its rules of procedure; previously this route led to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
- Extension of scope to players with an intellectual disabilityIn addition to indoor, beach and wheelchair handball, the Code also governs players with an intellectual disability. Registration must be carried out separately for each form of handball, and a player who plays in two or more forms must be registered separately in each.
- Extension of the exception for emerging federationsThe case-by-case authorisation of the Executive Committee for a player to play in the national team of an emerging federation now also extends to federations belonging to the New Markets project in Annex 2.
- Addition of the EHF EURO Cup to the list of recognised competitionsAnnex 1, which contains the list of recognised official competitions, now also includes the EHF EURO Cup.
Who this document matters to
In cases concerning play in a national team, this Code is the first document that must be read. The new rule on nationality acquired before the age of 21 may alter the position of players who were previously subject to the limit of two, and the updated classification in Annex 3 determines which federation may make use of the exceptions under article 6.3.3.
Each case is governed by the edition of this Code that was in force at the time of the events; for that reason, earlier editions are kept available on this page.