Team handball rules, explained

What is team handball?

Team handball is a fast, high-scoring team sport played indoors, in which two sides try to throw a ball into the opponents' goal using their hands. If you're used to American “handball” — the wall-and-ball game played one-on-one against a court wall — this is a different sport entirely: team handball (sometimes called Olympic handball) is a 7-a-side game with a goal and a goalkeeper, closer in spirit to a mix of basketball and soccer than to the American game.

It is an Olympic sport and one of the most widely played indoor team sports in Europe, prized for its pace and its high volume of goals.

Players and squad size

Each side has 7 players on court at any time: 6 court players and 1 goalkeeper. A team can name a squad of up to 14 players, and substitutions are free and unlimited — players change through a substitution zone at any point in the game, without stopping play.

The court and lines

• Court: 40 metres long × 20 metres wide.
• Goal area (the 6-metre line): only the goalkeeper may stand inside it — court players cannot step or land inside the line.
• 9-metre line (dashed): the free-throw line.
• 7-metre line: the mark for the 7-metre penalty throw — handball's equivalent of a penalty kick.

Playing time

A senior match is played in two 30-minute halves, with a 10-minute half-time break. Youth categories play shorter halves. If a knockout match is level after full time, it goes to extra time (two 5-minute periods) and, if still level, a shoot-out from the 7-metre line.

The basic rules: 3 steps and 3 seconds

• 3 steps: you may take a maximum of three steps while holding the ball without dribbling it.
• 3 seconds: you may hold the ball while standing still for a maximum of three seconds.
• Dribbling: as in basketball, you can bounce the ball to move with it — but you cannot dribble, stop, and dribble again (a “double dribble”).
• Goal area: court players cannot stand inside the 6-metre line, though a player may jump, shoot, and land inside it as long as the ball is released before landing.

Fouls and progressive punishment

Referees work through an escalating scale of punishment:

• Warning (yellow card): a caution for a foul. Each player can receive at most one.
• 2-minute suspension: the player leaves the court and their team plays a player short for two minutes.
• Disqualification (red card): shown after a player's third 2-minute suspension, or for a serious foul. The player takes no further part in the match.
• 7-metre throw: awarded when a foul stops a clear scoring chance.

A brief history of team handball

Modern team handball took shape in northern Europe in the early 20th century, above all in Denmark, Germany and Sweden. It began as field handball (11-a-side, played outdoors) before evolving into the indoor 7-a-side game played today. It became an Olympic sport for men in 1972 and for women in 1976, and remains one of the most widely played team sports in Europe.

Basic techniques and fundamentals

The core technical skills every beginner learns:

• Grip: how to hold and control the ball with one hand.
• Passing and catching: the foundation of team play.
• Shooting: finishing on goal — standing, jumping, or falling shots.
• Dribbling: bouncing the ball to advance up the court.
• Feinting: body movement used to beat a defender.