Dreams of reaching the first 32-team Women’s World Championship in 2021 will be brought into sharp focus for 17 nations on 8 July as the draw for Qualification Europe Phase 1 takes place.

10 places in the next phase are up for grabs, two from each of the five groups in phase 1, which will be drawn on Wednesday at 15:00 hrs on the Home of Handball Facebook page and YouTube channel.

The qualification phase 1 matches will be played in two groups of four teams and three groups of three teams.

Seeding to the four pots is based on the Women’s National Team Ranking valid for the Women’s EHF EURO 2020.

POT 1: Austria, Belarus, Slovakia, Turkey, North Macedonia
POT 2: Ukraine, Italy, Switzerland, Iceland, Portugal
POT 3: Lithuania, Faroe Islands, Kosovo, Israel, Finland
POT 4: Greece, Luxembourg

STEP 1: 2 teams of pot 4 drawn to row 4, groups 1-2
STEP 2: 5 teams of pot 3 drawn to row 3, groups 1-5
STEP 3: 5 teams of pot 2 drawn to row 2, groups 1-5
STEP 4: 5 teams of pot 1 drawn to row 1, groups 1 -5
STEP 5: draw organising right

The groups will be played in a tournament format in one venue on 27–29 November or 4–6 December 2020. The top two teams from each group qualify for the Phase 2 play-off matches, which will be played between 16 and 21 April 2021, also featuring 10 teams from the Women’s EHF EURO 2020, which have not yet qualified for the 2021 World Championship.

Besides reigning champions the Netherlands and hosts Spain, there are 14 places up for grabs from Europe. The four best-ranked teams at the Women’s EHF EURO 2020 will qualify directly for the World Championship, leaving 10 remaining places for this qualification route.