Hispanics will finalize their preparation in Cuenca for the European Championship of Hungary and Slovakia 2022. This is how the headquarters of the next International Men’s Handball Tournament of Spain, which in its 46th edition will visit, from January 6 to 8, the El Sargal Pavilion in Cuenca, one of the emblematic squares of Spanish handball.
This announcement has been made precisely in the Provincial Delegation of the Ministry of Social Welfare of the Cuenca capital, with the presence, together with the president of the Royal Spanish Handball Federation, Francisco V. Blázquez, from the vice president of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, José Luis Martínez Guijarro; of the mayor of Cuenca, Darius Dolz; from the general director of Sports of Castilla-La Mancha, Carlos Yuste; of the Councilor for Sports of Cuenca, Charo Rodriguez; and the ambassador of the Hispanics, David barrufet.
Jordi Ribera’s set, defending the double continental crown obtained consecutively in 2018 and 2020, will work in Cuenca during the second phase of its preparation and will play there its three friendly matches prior to the debut in the international event that will be held from January 13 to 30.
All this thanks to the commitment made between the Royal Spanish Handball Federation, the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, the Cuenca City Council and the Cuenca Provincial Council.
The Spanish team will return 28 years later to Cuenca, and that last precedent also coincides with what is going to take place in just over a week: in 1994, the Hispanics, led by Cruz Ibero, made their debut in the capital of Cuenca, playing the International Tournament of Spain and defeating Egypt, Portugal and Hungary.
Now it will be Japan, Iran and Poland the rivals of a Spain that, after adding two bronze medals in 2021 -World Championship and Olympic Games-, wants to continue giving joy to the Spanish fans at the beginning of 2022. In addition, all the matches of this International Tournament in Spain can be followed through the Teledeporte sports themed channel.
“We will need the encouragement of Cuenca, one of the best hobbies in the country”
The president of the RFEBM, Francisco V. Blázquez, highlighted the city’s connection with handball:
“I had been trying for a long time to get Cuenca to host the Spanish team. I want to thank the willingness of both the Board and the Directorate of Sports as well as the Cuenca City Council and its mayor to make this a reality. It is an important leap, because Cuenca is one of the cities with the most passion for handball, where we have one of the best hobbies in our country. We will need your encouragement for this next European Championship to be able to continue giving joy to Spanish handball. This is the first major tournament that we are going to celebrate after achieving bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, at a time of generational change for Hispanics. All eyes are going to be on our sport.”
Blázquez also underlined the good planning and coordination of the tournament: “After demonstrating the organizational capacity of handball in the Women’s World Championship, it is the turn of the Hispanics. Cuenca will undoubtedly be one more example of that organizational success, especially in this difficult time that we are going through. Beyond sports, I’m sure it will be the safest event possible from a health point of view. ”
For his part, the vice president of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, José Luis Martínez Guijarro, has pointed out the importance of handball to publicize Cuenca:
“As a handball fan, it is a real pleasure to present this tournament in Cuenca. It is a magnificent gift from Kings for the fans of Cuenca, the best in Spain. After 30 years, the city deserved to enjoy Hispanics. From the first moment that the celebration of this championship was considered, we had no doubt that it was a great opportunity for the city and its promotion through sport.”
In addition, the mayor of Cuenca, Darius Dolz, thanked the other institutions for their collaboration and insisted on the incentive that the celebration of the TIE represents for Cuenca:
“For the city of Cuenca, it is an honor that this tournament is held with the current European champion, our national team. The impact of this tournament being held here will be enormous, both on television and on social media, which will be a magnificent showcase for the city.”
Tournament schedule
The competition calendar of this International Men’s Handball Tournament of Spain 2022 will be as follows:
Thursday, January 6
Poland – Iran, at 18:30.
Spain – Japan, at 20:30.
Friday, January 7
Japan – Poland, at 18:30.
Spain – Iran, at 20:30.
Saturday, January 8
Japan – Iran, at 18:30.
Spain – Poland, at 20:30.