🤾Rules Handball

Handball is an indoor team sport in which two teams of seven players use their hands to throw a ball into the opponent's goal. Fast and physical, it is played on a 40 x 20 metre court featuring a goal area that outfield players may not enter. It blends speed, passing, jumping and shooting.

Score more goals than the opponent by throwing the ball into their net while preventing them from scoring in yours.

• •The ball is played with the hands; you may not touch it with the foot or the leg below the knee.
• •You may take a maximum of three steps while holding the ball, then you must dribble, pass or shoot.
• •Holding the ball for more than three seconds without acting is not allowed.
• •Only the goalkeeper may stand inside the goal area (the 6-metre zone); outfield players shoot by jumping over it and releasing the ball before landing.
• •Front contact to obstruct an opponent is tolerated, but holding, pushing or hitting is penalised.
• •A team has 7 players on court (6 outfield + 1 goalkeeper) with unlimited substitutions.

Each ball that fully enters the goal counts as 1 point (1 goal). A goal is valid once the ball has completely crossed the goal line between the posts in a legal action. There are no multi-point shots: every goal counts as 1, regardless of distance.

Standard playing time (age 16 and over) is two halves of 30 minutes, separated by a roughly 10-minute break. For younger categories the duration is shorter (often 2 x 25 or 2 x 20 minutes depending on the federation). If a winner is required after a draw, overtime and then a 7-metre throw shootout may be used.

The team that has scored the most goals at the end of regulation time wins the match. A match may end in a draw, unless the competition rules require a winner (overtime, then 7-metre throws).