The International Amateur Handball Federation (IAHF) was the administrative and controlling body for handball and field handball. IAHF was responsible for the organisation of handball's major international tournaments, notably the World Men's Handball Championship, which commenced in 1938, and the World Men's Outdoor Handball Championship, which commenced in 1938. The organisation was dissolved after World War II.
History On 13 September 1925 the first international field handball game between Germany and Austria happened. Because of this event, uniform rules and an international association were desired.
In 1926, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF, now known as World Athletics) created a commission to govern all ball games played with the hands, such as field-handball, court-handball, volleyball and basketball. In the same year the first international field handball rules were created in The Hague.
Two years later during the 1928 Summer Olympics the IAAF invited national representatives to create an independent federation. Representatives from 11 countries founded the International Amateur Handball Federation on 4 August 1928 in Amsterdam. The later IOC president Avery Brundage and Lauri Pihkala how invented Pesäpallo were founding members.
The International Olympic Committee recognized handball as Olympic sport in 1933. Three years later during the 1936 Summer Olympics field handball had its first and last appearance at the Summer Olympics. At this point IAHF had 23 members.
In 1938 the first Outdoor and Indoor World Men's Handball Championship were organised by the IAHF.
In 1946 the successor the International Handball Federation was founded by Denmark and Sweden and the IAHF was dissvolved during the first IHF congress between 10 and 13 July 1946. Because the IAHF was under strong influence of Germany the members dissvolved the IAHF and found the IHF.
Basketball
In 1934, oversight of basketball was transferred to the Fédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBB, now abbreviated FIBA).
Volleyball The first (failed) attempt to create an independent volleyball federation at the 1934 IAHF congress in Stockholm. During a friendly match between the Czech and French national teams on 26 August 1946 the two nations and Poland created a document to create an international federation. The following year 14 nations founded the FIVB in Paris between 18 and 20 April.
Presidents Name Country Start End Comment1.Franz-Paul Lang19281931President of Deutschen Sportbehörde für AthletikinterimKarl Ritter von Halt19311934IOC member2.193419383.Richard Herrmann19381941Head of the Handball and Basketball department of NSRL4.unknown
Members Following counties were member of the IAHF as of the 4th IAHF-Congress: CountrySinceUntil Federation Argentine Basketball Confederation Austrian Handball FederationBetween – Brazilian Sports Confederation Amateur Athletic Union of Canada Ceskoslovensky Svaz Hazené Danish Athletics Federation Union Egyptienne des Sociétés Sportives Estonia Estonia Handball AssociationBetween – French Athletics Federation (1930)French Handball Federation of Metz (1936) German Athletics Association (1930)NSRL (1936)Between – Hellenic Amateur Athletic Association Fédération Haïtienne de Ballon à la Main Amateur Hungarian Handball Federation Irish Amateur Handball Association Japan Association of Athletics Federations Luxembourg Athletics Federation Netherlands Handball Association Polski Zwiazek Gier Sportowych Associacao Lisbonense de Hand-Ball Romanian Athletics Federation (1930)Romanian Handball Federation (1936) Swedish Athletics Association (1930)Swedish Handball Federation (1936) Swiss Gymnastics Federation (1929–1939)Schweizerischer Handballausschuss (1939–1946) Amateur Athletic Union of the United States Centro Athletico «Gimnasia y Deportes»Between –
References