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Continental Confederation · Handball · South and Central America

SCAHC — South and Central America 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 its seat as Santiago de Chile and 19 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]
SeatSantiago de Chile, Chile, as the IHF lists it[3]
Members19 member federations, the IHF’s figure (profile page accessed 4 October 2026)[3]
PresidentMarcel Guido Mancilla Bravo, period of office 2024–2027, per the IHF[3]
Senior championshipSouth and Central American Men’s Handball Championship; fourth edition January 2026[6]

What is SCAHC?

The South and Central America Handball Confederation (SCAHC) 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”, and Article 11.2 lists the “South and Central America Handball Confederation” among the six the IHF recognises.[1]

The IHF’s profile of the confederation gives the acronym SCAHC, a seat in Santiago de Chile, 19 member federations and handballsca.tv as its website.[3] Panam Sports documents use the Spanish form, “COSCABAL” (Confederación de Sur y Centro América de Balonmano).[9] The confederation’s own website could not be retrieved, so its legal form and its statutes could not be checked; the description here rests on IHF and Panam Sports documents.

Its counterpart for the north of the continent is NACHC, the North America and the Caribbean Handball Confederation, recognised at the same congress.[2]

What does SCAHC govern or do?

SCAHC writes no rules of the game. The IHF Statutes assign the continental confederations a defined set of tasks. Among the rights and duties the Statutes list for them 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 Statutes also tie the confederations into the IHF’s governance: continental elections are, “whenever possible”, to precede IHF elections; the confederations must invite the IHF President to their congresses; and the IHF can suspend its recognition of a confederation “for just cause”, a step that “entails no direct consequence for the National Federations” of that continent.[1]

In practice, the IHF reports SCAHC events as qualification events for IHF world championships: the 2026 South and Central American Men’s Handball Championship “served as qualification event for the 30th IHF Men’s World Championship”.[7] Anti-doping in handball is the IHF’s; no document retrieved names SCAHC as a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Code in its own right.

When was SCAHC founded and where is it based?

No founding date for SCAHC as a body could be retrieved; its own website could not be fetched and the IHF profile gives none.[3] What can be dated is its recognition. On 3 July 2019 the IHF Extraordinary Congress in Gothenburg, Sweden, voted on a motion to recognise 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]

The motion was presented by Mario García de la Torre and Marcel Mancilla Bravo, described by the IHF as “Presidents of the Constitution Committees of NACHC and SCAHC, respectively”, who “highlighted the many benefits of the division of the continent”.[2] The March 2026 edition of the IHF Statutes lists both Americas confederations by name.[1]

The IHF lists the confederation’s seat as “Santiago de Chile, Chile”, and its president as Marcel Guido Mancilla Bravo for 2024–2027.[3] Whether Santiago is a statutory seat could not be checked against the confederation’s statutes.

How is SCAHC 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 lists the African, Asian, European and Oceania confederations, the “North America and Caribbean Handball Confederation” and the “South and Central America Handball Confederation”.[1] Article 8.1.5 provides that “as a rule, the National Federations shall form Continental Confederations, based on geographical location”, and the IHF’s federations directory groups every member federation under one of the six regional confederations.[1][4] The recognition itself 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] The confederation 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.[9][10] Handball is on the programme of the Lima 2027 Pan American Games, 23 July to 8 August 2027.[11]

What does SCAHC organise?

SCAHC runs a senior men’s continental championship. The South and Central American Men’s Handball Championship was first held in 2020; the IHF called the January 2024 edition, played in Argentina from 16 to 20 January, “the third edition of the competition”, with six teams and the top three qualifying for the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship.[5] The IHF records the earlier editions as Maringá, Brazil, in 2020 (won by Argentina) and Recife, Brazil, in 2022 (won by Brazil), with Brazil also winning in 2024, in Buenos Aires.[6]

The fourth edition ran from 19 to 24 January 2026, with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Peru; the IHF’s preview placed it in Asunción, Paraguay, while the IHF event page lists Santiago, Chile.[6][7] The event page gives the final order as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Peru, the first four qualifying for the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship in Germany.[7]

Club competition is also SCAHC’s: the IHF named it as organiser of the 2023 South and Central American Men’s Club Handball Championship in São Paulo (30 May to 3 June), whose winner went to the “IHF Men’s Super Globe”.[8] For the Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games, Panam Sports listed a COSCABAL men’s qualifier in Managua (29 October to 2 November 2024) and a women’s qualifier in Asunción in March 2025, each for three places.[10]

Who are its members?

The IHF gives SCAHC 19 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.[4] The confederation’s own membership list could not be retrieved.

Under the IHF Statutes, membership follows geography “as a rule”, with “the IHF and the Continental Confederations concerned” to “together adjudicate in exceptional cases”, and a confederation must include “at least ten Member Federations”.[1]

Nations entered in SCAHC’s recent senior men’s championships show its reach: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay and Costa Rica in 2024, and Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Peru in 2026, Peru making its debut.[5][6] Its qualifier for the 2025 Junior Pan American Games was staged in Managua, Nicaragua, which places Central American federations inside the zone as well.[10]

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 — South and Central America Handball Confederation, confederation profile (seat, president, members, website). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  4. IHF — Federations directory (member federations by regional confederation). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  5. IHF — “Tough battles expected at the 2024 South and Central American Men’s Handball Championship”, 15 January 2024. Accessed 2026-10-04.
  6. IHF — “Rivalries renewed as 2026 South and Central American Men’s Handball Championship throws off”, 19 January 2026. Accessed 2026-10-04.
  7. IHF — 2026 South and Central American Men’s Handball Championship, event page (final standings). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  8. IHF — “San Fernando become first Argentinian team in 26 years to win the South and Central American Men’s Club Handball Championship”, 6 June 2023. Accessed 2026-10-04.
  9. Panam Sports — Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, Sports Qualification System manual (handball). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  10. Panam Sports — Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games, Manual de Sistemas de Clasificación (balonmano). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  11. Panam Sports — Lima 2027 Pan American Games (dates and sports programme). Accessed 2026-10-04.