Team Handball | Game, Rules, Facts....

 Team Handball Game, Rules, Facts.... 

Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, or Olympic handball)is a team sport in which two teams of seven players (six field players and one goalkeeper) pass the ball with their hands to the opposing team, with the goal being scored by throwing. A standard match consists of two halves of 30 minutes, with the team that scores the most goals winning.

Modern handball is played on a 40 x 20 metre playing field with goals in the middle of each side. The goals are surrounded by a six metre wide zone, in which only the defending goalkeeper is allowed to remain. Goals must be scored by throwing the ball from outside the zone or by "diving" into the zone. The sport is usually played indoors, but there are also outdoor variations such as field handball, Czech handball (formerly more common), and beach handball. The game is fast and the scores are high. Today's professional teams usually score between 20 and 35 goals, but until a few decades ago lower scores were not uncommon. Physical contact is allowed for defenders trying to stop an attacker from scoring. No protective equipment is required, but players are permitted to wear soft protective bands, pads, or mouthguards. 

The modern set of rules was published in Berlin in 1917 by Karl Schellenz, Max Heiser, and Erich Köhne on October 29, which is considered the birthday of the sport. Since then, the rules have been revised several times. The first official handball match took place in Germany in 1917.Karl Schellenz revised the rules in 1919.

Regulate 

the rules are found in the IHF rulebook, which was last published in 2015. 

Two teams of seven players each (six field players and one goalkeeper) take to the field and try to score points by putting the ball into the opposing team's goal. When handling the ball, players follow the following restrictions: 

• After receiving the ball, players may pass it, hold it or shoot. 

• Players are not allowed to touch the ball with their feet. The goalkeeper is the only player who may use his feet only inside the goal area. 

• Once a player has the ball, he must dribble it (similar to basketball) or he may take up to three steps without dribbling for up to three seconds. 

• No offensive or defensive player may touch the floor in the goal area (within six meters of the goal), except for the defending goalkeeper. A shot or pass inside the goal area is valid if it is completed before touching the ground. 

The goalkeeper may remain outside the goal area, but may not cross the goal area boundary with the ball in his hands.

The ball may not be returned to the goalkeeper if he is in the goal area. 

Great scoring opportunities are created when attacking players make runs into the goal area. For example, an attacking player may catch a pass while running towards the inside of the goal crease and shoot or pass before hitting the ground. A double play occurs when a diving attacking player passes to another diving teammate. 

Team handball. A game between two teams of seven or eleven players in which an inflated ball is thrown or hit into a goal at one end of a rectangular playing field while preventing the opponents from attacking. It has nothing to do with the two- or four-player games (see handball and fives) in which a small hard ball is hit against one or more walls.  

A match consists of two halves of 30 minutes with a break between them, and players do not wear protective equipment. The ball is moved by passing, dribbling, or hitting with any part of the body above the knees. In handball, only the goalkeeper may kick the ball. It is against the rules to run more than three steps with the ball or to hold it for more than three seconds. 

The attacking players must shoot at goal outside an arc marked on the playing surface, within which only the defending goalkeeper is allowed to play. Free throws (usually a pass to a teammate) are awarded for minor infractions and are taken from the spot of the infraction or from a line slightly outside the goal area or circle. Penalty throws on goal are awarded for more serious infractions and are taken from the penalty spot just outside the circle, directly in front of the goal. 

The two main forms of team handball differ in the number of players and the size of the playing field. The ball used in both cases has a circumference of 58–60 cm (about 23–24 in) and weighs 425–475 grams (15–17 oz). Women and younger players use a smaller ball and it is usually played indoors. The playing field is 40 metres (131.2 ft) long, 20 metres (65.6 ft) wide, with a goal cage 2 metres (6.5 ft). It is 3 metres (9.8 ft) high and 3 metres (9.8 ft) wide, with the goal crease lines 6 metres (19.7 ft) from the centre of the goal. For 11-a-side matches, which are usually played outdoors, the pitch is 90–110 metres (295–360 ft) long, 55–65 metres (180–213 ft) wide, with goals 2.44 metres (8 ft) high and 7.32 metres high. It is 24 metres (metres) wide and the goal circle is 43 feet (13 metres) from the goal.

Handball in its modern form evolved from an earlier game played in Europe in the 1920s, an outdoor version with 11 players that was first played at the 1936 Olympic Games. It was later removed from the Olympic Games programme, but was reinstated as an indoor seven-a-side sport in 1972. Women's handball was declared an Olympic sport in 1976. The World Handball Association is the International Handball Federation.