The 1978 World Men's Handball Championship

The 1978 World Men's Handball Championship was the ninth team handball World Championship. It was held in Denmark. West Germany won the championship.

The World Championship in team handball for men has been organized by the International Handball Federation since 1938.

The first World Championship took place in Germany in 1938, involving four teams from Europe. Throughout their history, the World Championships has been dominated by European teams, any medals have yet to be won by non-Europeans.
Over the years, the organization of the World Championships has changed. Initially, there were group games in both the preliminary and main rounds, but more recently a knockout system has been applied after the preliminary round.

Handball is a combination of Basketball, Soccer and Netball.   It is played indoors on a court about the size of two basketball courts.  At the each end of the court is a net which is 9 feet wide by 6 1/2 feet high.  The object of the game is simply to score more goals than the other team.

The ball is usually moved around the court by passing.  However, the ball can be dribbled, but like in basketball you cannot double-dribble. You can dribble for as long as you want (though you risk getting the ball taken away). You can only take at most three steps after catching a pass.  You cannot hold the ball for more than three seconds without passing it.  If a player is fouled he is allowed a free zone 9 feet wide to restart play.  Each team has 12 members, two of which are goalkeepers.  7 team members play and substitutions can be made at any time.  There is a halfway line on the court.  There is also a safety area that extends about 20 feet around the goal.  A player is not allowed to be in this area.  Shooters may leap into this area if they shoot before they land.

Thank you Merja.