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Continental Confederation · Handball · North America and Caribbean

NACHC — North America and the Caribbean Handball Confederation

One of the six continental confederations the IHF Statutes recognise, approved by the IHF Extraordinary Congress in Gothenburg on 3 July 2019; the IHF lists Mexico as its seat and 21 member federations.
✓ Last reviewed: October 2026
Recognised by the IHFIHF Extraordinary Congress, Gothenburg, 3 July 2019, by 145 votes with one abstention[2]
World federationIHF, Statutes edition of 21 March 2026, Art. 11.2[1]
SeatMexico, as the IHF lists it[3]
Members21 member federations, the IHF’s figure (profile page accessed 4 October 2026)[3]
OfficersPresident Mario García de la Torre (2019–2029); Secretary General Fitzroy Clarke (2025–2029), per the IHF[3]
Senior championshipNorth America and the Caribbean Men’s Handball Championship; fifth edition, Bettendorf, Iowa, May 2026[4]

What is NACHC?

The North America and the Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC) is one of the six continental confederations of the International Handball Federation, the world governing body of handball. The IHF Statutes, in the edition of 21 March 2026, define a continental confederation as “a group of National Federations that belong to the same continent or same geographic region, which includes at least ten Member Federations and is recognised by the IHF”; Article 11.2 lists it as the “North America and Caribbean Handball Confederation”.[1] The IHF’s profile of the confederation uses the longer form, “North America and the Caribbean Handball Confederation”, with the acronym NACHC.[3]

The IHF profile gives Mexico as its seat and 21 member federations, and lists no website for the confederation.[3] NACHC’s legal form and statutes could not be retrieved, so the description here rests on IHF and Panam Sports documents.

Its counterpart for the south of the continent is SCAHC, the South and Central America Handball Confederation, recognised at the same congress.[2]

What does NACHC govern or do?

NACHC writes no rules of the game. Its tasks are those the IHF Statutes assign to every continental confederation. Among the rights and duties listed is “Holding their own continental championships and cup competitions”, and another is “Making use of every opportunity to promote handball in their continent (including organisation of training courses, symposia, seminars)”.[1]

The same article ties the confederations into IHF governance: continental elections are, “whenever possible”, to precede IHF elections; confederations must invite the IHF President to their congresses; and the IHF can suspend its recognition of a confederation “for just cause”, which “entails no direct consequence for the National Federations” of that continent.[1]

The confederation’s championships serve the IHF’s world events: the IHF described the 2026 men’s championship as a “qualification event for the 30th IHF Men’s World Championship”, and the winner of the 2023 Nor.Ca. Women’s Handball Championship went on to the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship.[5][6] Anti-doping in handball is the IHF’s; no document retrieved names NACHC as a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Code in its own right.

When was NACHC founded and where is it based?

No founding date for NACHC as a body could be retrieved; the IHF profile gives none.[3] What can be dated is its recognition. On 3 July 2019 the IHF Extraordinary Congress in Gothenburg, Sweden, recognised two new confederations for the Americas; the IHF reported that “with 145 votes for the recognition of the two confederations and one abstention, the motion was accepted”, so that “the North America and Caribbean Handball Confederation and the South and Central American Handball Confederation are now officially recognised, raising the number of IHF Continental Confederations to six”.[2]

Mario García de la Torre and Marcel Mancilla Bravo, described by the IHF as “Presidents of the Constitution Committees of NACHC and SCAHC, respectively”, presented the motion and “highlighted the many benefits of the division of the continent”, citing the “21 qualification events” held since the 2017 IHF Congress, after which “especially for the North American and the Caribbean countries new possibilities have opened up”.[2]

The IHF lists the confederation’s seat simply as “Mexico”, its president as Mario García de la Torre for 2019–2029 and its secretary general as Fitzroy Clarke for 2025–2029.[3] A city and a statutory address could not be established.

How is NACHC recognised?

The recognising instrument is the IHF’s. Article 11.2 of the IHF Statutes (edition of 21 March 2026) reads “The IHF recognises the following Continental Confederations”, and Article 11.2.1 names six, among them the “North America and Caribbean Handball Confederation”.[1] Article 8.1.5 provides that “as a rule, the National Federations shall form Continental Confederations, based on geographical location. The IHF and the Continental Confederations concerned shall together adjudicate in exceptional cases.”[1] The IHF’s federations directory groups every member federation under one of the six regional confederations.[10] The recognition dates from the Extraordinary Congress of 3 July 2019.[2]

Olympic recognition belongs to the world federation: Article 2 of the Statutes states that “the International Olympic Committee recognises the IHF as the sole representative of international handball”.[1] NACHC holds no IOC recognition of its own.

The continental multi-sport tie runs through Panam Sports. Its qualification manual for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games names “COSCABAL” and “NACHC” for handball, and its manual for the Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games assigns qualifiers to each zone.[7][8] Handball is on the programme of the Lima 2027 Pan American Games, 23 July to 8 August 2027.[9]

What does NACHC organise?

The IHF reports a senior men’s championship for the confederation’s zone. It described the May 2026 edition at the TBK Bank Sports Complex in Bettendorf, Iowa, as the “fifth” North American and Caribbean Men’s Handball Championship, contested by Canada, Greenland, Mexico and the United States, with the winner to “claim the confederation’s direct berth at the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship in Germany”.[4] The IHF event page gives the final order as the United States, Greenland, Mexico and Canada, the United States qualifying.[5]

The championship predates the confederation’s recognition: the IHF records the inaugural edition in Mexico City in 2014, won by Greenland, followed by editions in 2018 (Cuba), 2022 (United States) and 2024 (Cuba).[4] For women, the IHF reported the 2023 Nor.Ca. Women’s Handball Championship in Nuuk, Greenland, as the “fifth edition”, won by Greenland from a field of five.[6]

NACHC also runs qualifiers for continental Games. For the Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games, Panam Sports listed a NACHC men’s qualifier in Mexico City from 3 to 9 December 2024 for three places, a women’s qualifier for three places, and a play-off shared with COSCABAL.[8] The results given here are those the IHF reports on the qualification route to the IHF World Championships; NACHC’s own results archive could not be retrieved.

Who are its members?

The IHF gives NACHC 21 member federations on its profile of the confederation, which carries no date; the figure is given here as read on 4 October 2026.[3] The member list itself sits in the IHF’s federations directory, which groups each national federation under its regional confederation.[10] The confederation’s own membership list could not be retrieved.

Under the IHF Statutes, membership follows geography “as a rule”, and a confederation must include “at least ten Member Federations”.[1] The zone stretches beyond the Caribbean basin: Greenland won the first men’s championship, in Mexico City in 2014.[4]

Nations named in NACHC events reported by the IHF include Canada, Greenland, Mexico and the United States in the 2026 men’s championship, Cuba as men’s champion in 2018 and 2024, and Greenland, Canada, Mexico, Cuba and the United States in the 2023 women’s championship.[4][6]

References

  1. IHF — Statutes, edition of 21 March 2026 (Arts. 2, 8.1.5, 11; continental rights and duties). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  2. IHF — “New Continental Confederations recognised by Extraordinary Congress”, 3 July 2019. Accessed 2026-10-04.
  3. IHF — North America and the Caribbean Handball Confederation, confederation profile (seat, officers, members). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  4. IHF — “History beckons in Bettendorf as USA hosts fifth North American and Caribbean Men’s Handball Championship”, 12 May 2026. Accessed 2026-10-04.
  5. IHF — 2026 North America and the Caribbean Men’s Handball Championship, event page (final standings). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  6. IHF — “Greenland write history to win gold at the 2023 Nor.Ca. Women’s Handball Championship”, 12 June 2023. Accessed 2026-10-04.
  7. Panam Sports — Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, Sports Qualification System manual (handball). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  8. Panam Sports — Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games, Manual de Sistemas de Clasificación (balonmano). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  9. Panam Sports — Lima 2027 Pan American Games (dates and sports programme). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  10. IHF — Federations directory (member federations by regional confederation). Accessed 2026-10-04.