Morocco to host first World Beach Korfball Championship 2021 (event postponed until 2022)

Tournament update (24/06/2021): EVENT POSTPONED UNTIL 2022

Whilst it is realistic to think that it would be possible to play korfball in Morocco in September, the current situation on the ground makes it impossible to allow progress with tournament preparations, and time effectively ran out before a firm decision needed to be made. Therefore, the LOC and IKF have taken the joint decision to postpone the event until 2022. The main issue in Morocco at this time is that the country is still in a state of emergency, and it is not known when this will be released and borders will (fully) open up. It is also unclear if Morocco will allow flights from all continents and to what extent such tickets would be affordable for all subscribed teams. Taken together, this brings too much risk for both the participants and the Local Organisers and therefore the difficult decision to postpone the WBKC has been made. More information about the rescheduling of this event for next year will follow later this year.

Tournament update (07/04/2021)

The IKF World Beach Korfball Championship 2021, scheduled from 30 – 31 July has been postponed. The current corona situation is too unclear to continue with the preparations for the event in July. The IKF EXCO has set the new dates of this event on 10 – 11 September 2021. The location will remain Nador, Morocco. The IKF EXCO is grateful for the flexibility of the host, the Association Marocaine de Korfball, and hopes to welcome all teams on the beautiful beaches of Nador in September. A final decision on the event will be taken in the first week of June.

The first ‘IKF World Beach Korfball Championship’ will be held on 10th and 11th September 2021 in Nador, Morocco.

Subscription is open to all countries around the world (pending a controlled Corona-19 situation).

Tournament’s announcement (23/12/2020) ► https://korfball.sport/?p=24883

The successful continental Beach World Cup events in Europe and Asia over the last few years have demonstrated that there is a real appetite amongst the nations for Beach Korfball. The IKF is now delighted to extend the format to the global stage by organising a World Championship for the first time. In a close bidding race with the Royal Dutch Korfball Association (KNKV), who as always presented a very tempting bid, the IKF Council decided to grant this prestigious event to the Moroccan Association for Korfball (MAK).

Jan Fransoo (IKF President): “As well as the beautiful Summer weather, the excellent facilities, and professional organisation, the positive impact that our mixed-gender sport has in Moroccan society has been particularly key in our decision to award the organisation of the first World Beach Korfball Championship to the city of Nador in Morocco. We are looking forward to working closely with the organisers in making this a great event with a positive impact.”

The award of this event comes months after an agreement that the Moroccan Association for Korfball and the Mediterranean Youth Association have made with the Ministry of National Education to develop korfball in schools. Younes Cherfaoui (MAK president): “We are very proud to be able to organise the IKF World Beach Korfball Championship and to present the beautiful city of Nador to the korfball world. The event comes at the perfect moment to showcase korfball and really use it as an accelerator for the further development of korfball within Morocco.”