What is handball?

Handball is a fast indoor team sport. Two teams pass the ball with their hands and try to throw it into the other team’s goal. It mixes the running of basketball with the shooting of football, and matches are high-scoring: a team often scores 25 goals or more.

The basics

• Teams: each team has up to seven players on court, normally six court players and a goalkeeper.
• The court: 40 metres long and 20 metres wide, with a goal 3 metres wide and 2 metres high at each end.
• Match length: two halves of 30 minutes for players aged 16 and over, two halves of 25 minutes for ages 12 to 16, and two halves of 20 minutes for ages 8 to 12.
• Substitutions: players can come on and off at any time, as often as the team likes.

The main rules

• The goal area: only the goalkeeper may stand inside the 6-metre line. Court players can jump into it to shoot, as long as they let go of the ball before landing.
• Steps and seconds: a player holding the ball can take up to three steps and hold it for up to three seconds, then must pass, shoot or bounce it.
• Contact: defenders may block with their body, but not push, hold or hit.
• 7-metre throw: when a foul stops a clear chance to score, the attacking team gets a shot from 7 metres, one against the goalkeeper.
• Suspensions: serious fouls earn a 2-minute suspension, and the team plays a player short until it ends.
• Passive play: a team that stops trying to attack can be warned, and then lose the ball.

These are simplified from the IHF Rules of the Game, the international rulebook for the sport.

Handball in Malta

Handball in Malta is run by the Malta Handball Association, founded in 1995, which organises the national leagues and cups for senior and youth teams. La Salle Handball Club has played since 1998, and its men’s, women’s and youth teams take part in the association’s competitions.

Try it yourself

Children aged 5 to 16 can start at the La Salle Handball Academy. Teenagers and adults can find out how to join on the play handball page, or come and watch a match first: every game is on the fixtures page.