Team Handball, also called Olympic or European Handball, is a game played between two teams of 7 players who will pass or dribble a ball and will try to score more goals than the opponent by shooting the ball at the opponent's goal.
team handball
A game consists of two 30-minute halves with an intermission, and players wear no protective equipment. The ball is moved by passing, dribbling, or hitting it with any part of the body above the knee. In handball, only the goalkeeper may kick the ball. Running more than three steps with the ball and holding it longer than three seconds is illegal.
Attacking players must take their shots at goal from outside an arc marked on the playing surface, within which only the defending goalkeeper may play. Free throws (usually passes to a teammate) are awarded for minor violations of rules and taken from the spot of the violation or from a line a short distance outside the goal area, or circle. Penalty throws at goal are awarded for more serious infractions and are taken from a penalty mark just outside the circle and directly in front of the goal.
The ball used in both is 58–60 cm (about 23–24 inches) in circumference and weighs 425–475 grams (15–17 ounces); women and younger players use a smaller ball. For this seven-player game, the court is 40 metres (131.2 feet) long and 20 metres (65.6 feet) wide, the goal is 2 metres (6.5 feet) high and 3 metres (9.8 feet) wide, and the goal-area line is 6 metres (19.7 feet) from the center of the goal.
Team Handball is played all over the world and is starting to take America by storm. It was the second most ticketed sport at the Rio 2016 Olympics and it promises to be a favorite of the public at Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.