Goalball World Championships

The inaugural world championships were held in Vöcklamarkt, Austria. Final ranked men's teams were: Germany, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Belgium, Israel, Canada, United States of America, South Africa, Great Britain.[2]

The 1982 Goalball World Championships was held at Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America. Final ranked teams were:[2]

Men: United States of America, The Netherlands, Egypt, Canada, Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Yugoslavia, Israel, France, Mexico.

Women: United States of America, Denmark, Canada, The Netherlands, Austria, Mexico.

The 1986 Goalball World Championships was held at Roermond, The Netherlands. Final ranked teams were:[2]

Men: Yugoslavia, Israel, Egypt, United States of America, Italy, Hungary, Austria, Finland, Bulgaria, Belgium, Canada, Poland, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Great Britain, Australia, France.

Women: United States of America, Denmark, The Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Belgium, Egypt.

The 1990 Goalball World Championships was held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Final ranked teams were:[2]

Men: Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, Israel, United States of America, Canada, Finland, The Netherlands, USSR, Great Britain, Hungary, Australia.

Women: Denmark, United States of America, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Canada, South Korea.

The 1994 Goalball World Championships was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America. Final ranked teams were:[2]

Men: Finland, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Canada, Czech Republic, The Netherlands, United States of America, Israel, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Mexico.

Women: Finland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, The Netherlands, Spain, United States of America, Mexico.

The 1998 Goalball World Championships was held in Madrid, Spain. Final ranked teams were:[2]

Men: Slovenia, Spain, Lithuania, Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Finland, United States of America, Australia, South Africa, Italy, Iran, Kuwait, Egypt, Algeria, Mexico.

Women: Finland, Sweden, United States of America, Great Britain, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Canada, Australia, Argentina.

The 2002 Goalball World Championships was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The new long ball penalty rule was played (the ball must bounce once in each of the neutral areas), but quickly dismissed and the penalty reverted to the previous rule (the ball must bounce at least once in one or both of the neutral areas). There were fourteen men's and ten women's teams. The pools were:

Men:

Pool A: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain.

Pool B: Brazil, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Lithuania, Sweden, United States of America.

Women:

Pool A: Canada, Denmark, The Netherland, South Korea, United States of America.

Pool B: Brazil, Germany, Japan, Spain, Sweden.

Final ranked teams were:[2]

Men: Sweden, Lithuania, Slovenia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Canada, Brazil, Australia, United States of America, Algeria, South Korea, Japan.

Women: United States of America, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Brazil, Japan, South Korea.

The 2006 Goalball World Championships was held in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States of America. Hall 1 was in the main basketball court of the University of South Carolina Upstate, while Hall 2 was at the nearby Lone Oak Elementary School. Most athletes stayed in the residences of the university.

The teams were:[2]

Men: Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iran, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, United States of America.

Women: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, United States of America.

The 2010 Goalball World Championships was held in Sheffield, England, from 20 to 25 June 2010.[3] The tournament was held in both halls of the English Institute of Sport. Officials and many athletes stayed at the Novotel Hotel in the Sheffield City Centre. Sponsorship and many volunteers were provided by Cadbury and other corporations. The organising committee used the Twitter account 'worldgoalball'.

There were sixteen men's and twelve women's teams. The pools were:[2]

Men

Pool A: Algeria, Belgium (12th), Canada, China, Germany, Great Britain, Iran, United States of America.

Pool B: Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Hungary (11th), Lithuania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

Women

Pool X: Australia, Canada, Greece (12th), Israel, Sweden, United States of America.

Pool Y: China, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain (11th), Japan, Russia.

The 2014 Goalball World Championships was held in Espoo, Finland, from 30 June to 5 July 2014.[4] A webcam was also used to broadcast the games at the tournament.

The pools were:[2]

Men

Pool A: Algeria, Spain, Iran, Germany, Finland, Czech Republic, Ukraine, United States of America

Pool B: Belgium, Brazil, Egypt, Japan, Canada, China, Lithuania, Turkey.

Women

Pool X: Japan, Germany, Finland, Turkey, United States of America, Russia

Pool Y: Brazil, Iran, Israel, China, Sweden, Ukraine.

Finalists of the women's division of the 2018 IBSA Goalball World Championships in Malmö, Sweden. Shows gold medal Russia (mid), silver medal Turkey (right), and start of bronze medal Brazil (left).

The 2018 Goalball World Championships were held at Malmö, Sweden, for Sunday 3 to Friday 8 June 2018, with 16 men's teams and 12 women's teams. The international subcommittee has determined the 2014–2017 Rules about the world championships will apply in 2018. The 2018–2021 Rules states there will be 16 men's and 16 women's teams, which may be the format for the 2022 championships.

Held at the Baltiska Hallen sports and entertainment centre, Hall 2 was at the Baltiska träningshallen. The warm-up court was across the road from the main halls.[5] The pools are:

Men:

Pool A: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, China, Lithuania, Sweden, Turkey.

Pool B: Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, Iran, Japan, United States of America.

Women:

Pool X: Australia, Israel, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Turkey.

Pool Y: Algeria, Brazil, Canada, China, Greece, United States of America.

Final standings were (starting with first place):[6]

Men:

Brazil, Germany, Belgium, Lithuania, USA, Iran, China, Sweden, Japan, Turkey, Algeria, Canada, Argentina, Czech Republic, Australia, Egypt.

Women:

Russia, Turkey, Brazil, Canada, Japan, USA, Algeria, Australia, Greece, China, Israel, Sweden.

The 2022 Goalball World Championships were scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China, to commence Monday, 5 June 2022,[7] although originally set for Sunday 3 to Friday 15 July 2022.[8] Some precursor regional championships were moved due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic: IBSA America moved from 6 to 13 November 2021 to 18 to 22 February 2022,[8][9] and IBSA Asia moved from November 2021 to commence 21 March 2022.[10]

By June 2022, the IBSA Asia Regional Championships were moved from South Korea to the ISA Sport City at Bahrain for July 2022,[11] and the Centro de Desportos e Congressos de Matosinhos, Portugal, to be the location for the World Championships from 7 to 16 December 2022.[12]

Final standings were (starting with first place):[13]

Men:

Brazil, China, Ukraine, Lithuania, Turkey, Japan, Germany, Iran, United States, Belgium, Argentina, Portugal, Canada, Algeria, Egypt, Colombia.

Women:

Turkey, South Korea, Canada, Israel, Japan, United States, Great Britain, Denmark, Brazil, Algeria, Australia, France, Argentina, Egypt, Mexico, Portugal.

Year	Host (final location)		Gold medal game				Bronze medal game
			Gold	Score	Silver		Bronze	Score	Fourth place
1978	(Voecklamarkt)		Germany		Austria		Denmark		Italy
1982	(Indianapolis)		United States		Netherlands		Egypt		Canada
1986	(Roermond)		Yugoslavia		Israel		Egypt		United States
1990	(Calgary)		Germany		Italy		Yugoslavia		Israel
1994	(Colorado Springs)		Finland		Italy		Slovenia		Spain
1998	(Madrid)		Slovenia		Spain		Lithuania		Denmark
2002	(Rio de Janeiro)		Sweden		Lithuania		Slovenia		Denmark
2006	(Spartanburg)		Lithuania		Sweden		United States		Slovenia
2010	(Sheffield)		Lithuania		China		Iran		United States
2014	(Espoo)		Brazil	9–1	Finland		United States	4–2	Lithuania
2018	(Malmö)		Brazil	8–3	Germany		Belgium	9–2	Lithuania
2022	(Matosinhos)		Brazil	6–5	China		Ukraine	6–2	Lithuania

Men's medal count

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Brazil (BRA)	3	0	0	3
2	Lithuania (LTU)	2	1	1	4
3	Germany (GER)	2	1	0	3
4	Finland (FIN)	1	1	0	2
	Sweden (SWE)	1	1	0	2
6	Slovenia (SLO)	1	0	2	3
	United States (USA)	1	0	2	3
8	Yugoslavia (YUG)	1	0	1	2
9	China (CHN)	0	2	0	2
	Italy (ITA)	0	2	0	2
11	Austria (AUT)	0	1	0	1
	Israel (ISR)	0	1	0	1
	Netherlands (NED)	0	1	0	1
	Spain (ESP)	0	1	0	1
15	Egypt (EGY)	0	0	2	2
16	Belgium (BEL)	0	0	1	1
	Denmark (DEN)	0	0	1	1
	Iran (IRI)	0	0	1	1
	Ukraine (UKR)	0	0	1	1
Totals (19 entries)		12	12	12	36

Year	Host (final location)		Gold medal game				Bronze medal game
			Gold	Score	Silver		Bronze	Score	Fourth place
1982	(Indianapolis)		United States		Denmark		Canada		Netherlands
1986	(Roermond)		United States		Denmark		Netherlands		Finland
1990	(Calgary)		Denmark		United States		Finland		Germany
1994	(Colorado Springs)		Finland		Germany		Sweden		Denmark
1998	(Madrid)		Finland		Sweden		United States		Great Britain
2002	(Rio de Janeiro)		United States		Canada		Netherlands		Germany
2006	(Spartanburg)		Canada		China		United States		Denmark
2010	(Sheffield)		China		United States		Sweden		Canada
2014	(Espoo)		United States	3–0	Russia		Turkey	3–0	Japan
2018	(Malmö)		Russia	4–3	Turkey		Brazil	7–2	Canada
2022	(Matosinhos)		Turkey	10–4	South Korea		Israel	4–2	Canada

Women's medal count

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)	4	2	2	8
2	Finland (FIN)	2	0	1	3
3	Denmark (DEN)	1	2	0	3
4	Canada (CAN)	1	1	1	3
	Turkey (TUR)	1	1	1	3
6	China (CHN)	1	1	0	2
	Russia (RUS)	1	1	0	2
8	Sweden (SWE)	0	1	2	3
9	Germany (GER)	0	1	0	1
	South Korea (KOR)	0	1	0	1
11	Netherlands (NED)	0	0	2	2
12	Brazil (BRA)	0	0	1	1
	Israel (ISR)	0	0	1	1
Totals (13 entries)		11	11	11	33

The 2005 Junior World Championships were held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America. There were boys teams (including Canada, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, United States of America), and three national girls teams (Great Britain, South Africa, United States of America).

• Final boys ranking: United States of America (1st).
• Final girls ranking: United States of America (1st), Great Britain (2nd), South Africa (3rd).

On 14 July 2007, the IBSA World Youth and Student Games 2007 were held.[1] Eight countries attended, eight boys teams (Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Russia, Thailand, United States of America) and four girls teams (Canada, Germany, Russia, United States of America).

• Final boys ranking: Germany (1st), United States of America (2nd), Hungary (3rd), Canada, Lithuania, Russia, Brazil, Thailand.
• Final girls ranking: United States of America (1st), Germany (2nd), Russia (3rd), Canada.

From 16 to 19 July 2009, the IBSA World Youth and Student Championships, in conjunction with the 2009 IBSA Pan American Games, were held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America.[14]

Six countries attended, six boys teams (Bolivia, Canada, Germany, Kuwait, Russia, United States of America), and four girls teams (Canada, Germany, Russia, United States of America).

• Final boys ranking: United States of America (1st), Canada (2nd), Germany (3rd), Russia.
• Final girls ranking: Russia (1st).

From 14 July 2011, the IBSA World Youth and Student Championships and Pan Am Games, also known as the 2011 IBSA World Youth Championships, were held at Colorado College's El Pomar Gymnasium, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America.[15]

Athletes were to be at least twelve years old on 13 July 2011 and not older than nineteen years old on 18 July 2011, and have a visual impairment classification of B1, B2, or B3.[16]

• Final boys ranking: South Korea (1st), Germany (2nd).
• Final girls ranking: Russia (1st).

From 13 July 2013, the IBSA Goalball World Youth Championships were held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America.[1] Ten countries attended, nine boys teams (Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey, United States of America) and seven girls teams (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, South Korea, United States of America).[17]

• Final boys ranking: Japan (1st), United States of America (2nd), Brazil (3rd), Canada (4th).
• Final girls ranking: Russia (1st), Brazil (2nd), United States of America (3rd), Australia (4th).

From 26 July 2015 to 1 August 2013, the 2015 IBSA World Youth Games Goalball Championships were held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America.[1][18] Seven countries attended, six boys teams (Canada, Germany, Hungary, South Korea, Sweden, United States of America) and five girls teams (Canada, China, Germany, South Korea, United States of America).

• Final boys ranking: Germany (1st), Sweden (2nd), United States of America (3rd), Hungary.
• Final girls ranking: Canada (1st), United States of America (2nd), China (3rd), Germany.[19]

From 30 June 2017 to 9 July 2017, the IBSA Goalball World Youth Championships were held in Budaörs, Hungary.[20] Organised by the Hungarian Paralympic Committee together with the Hungarian Handball Federation, athletes were to be no older than 19 as of 31 December 2017, and a visual impairment classification of B1, B2, or B3. Eleven countries attended, ten boys teams (Brazil, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, United States of America), and nine girls teams (Australia, Brazil, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Russia, South Korea, Spain, United States of America).[21]

• Final boys ranking: United States of America (1st), Brazil (2nd), Russia (3rd), Hungary, Poland, Israel, Sweden, South Korea, Germany, Spain.
• Final girls ranking: Australia (1st), Russia (2nd), Brazil (3rd), Germany, United States of America, Israel, South Korea, Hungary, Spain.[22]

From Monday 5 August 2019 to Friday 9 August 2019 as competition days, the eighth IBSA Goalball World Youth Championships were held in Penrith, Sydney, Australia.[23] Organised by the New South Wales Goalball Association together with Goalball Australia and Blind Sports Australia, eight countries are expected to attend, six boys teams (Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Poland, Sweden, Thailand), and six girls teams (Australia, Brazil, Germany, Great Britain, South Korea, Thailand).[24]

• Final boys ranking: Thailand (1st), Brazil (2nd), Sweden (3rd), Poland, South Korea, Australia.
• Final girls ranking: Brazil (1st), Australia (2nd), Great Britain (3rd), South Korea, Germany, Thailand.[25]

The 2021 IBSA Goalball Youth World Championships were scheduled to be held in São Paulo, Brazil, for Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 July 2021.[26][27] Due to a busy 2021 competition year with rescheduled events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced the tournament is to be held on Tuesday 15 to Sunday 20 March 2022.[28] Due to the ongoing global pandemic, the date was moved again to 9 to 6 July 2023.[29]