The 2009 World Men's Handball Championship (21st tournament) took place in Croatia from 16 January to 1 February, in the cities of Split, Zadar, Osijek, Varaždin, Poreč, Zagreb and Pula. Croatia was selected from a group of four potential hosts which included the Czech Republic, Greece and Romania. The opening game and ceremony were held in Split, and the final game was played in Zagreb. France won the tournament after defeating Croatia in the final. Poland took the third place after winning over Denmark. Tickets for the tournament went on sale from 15 to 20 November. For the finals, ticket prices started at 700 kuna (c. €95). To promote the tournament, the Croatian National Tourist Board launched a series of presentations in the capitals of 13 participating countries. During the championship internal criticism arose against Hassan Moustafa, President of the IHF. The secretary general of the IHF, Peter Mühlematter, criticized Moustafa and asked for his demission. Moustafa asked to exclude Mühlematter after his criticism. Venues Seven Croatian cities were selected as hosts for the 2009 Championship: Split, Zadar, Osijek, Varaždin, Poreč, Zagreb and Pula. The sites included the new Spaladium Arena in Split and Arena Zagreb, where the final took place. Qualification Qualification occurred through the previous years' continental championships or qualifying tournaments: Host (1 vacancy) World Champion (1 vacancy) 2008 African Men's Handball Championship (3 vacancies) 2008 American Handball Championship (3 vacancies) 2008 Asian Handball Championship (3 vacancies) 2008 European Men's Handball Championship (3 vacancies) 2008 European qualifiers play-off (9 vacancies) 2008 Oceania qualifying tournament (1 vacancy) European qualifiers play-off |} Seeding The draw for the groups of the preliminary round was held on 21 June 2008, in Zagreb. The draw took place at Zagreb's central Ban Jelačić Square and was hosted by Filip Brkić and Kristina Krepela. Squads Each nation had to submit a squad of 16 players. Referees On 12 October 2008, the match officials for the tournament were confirmed. But due to injury, the Swedish referee couple Rickard Canbro and Mikael Claesson had to withdraw from the championship, and was replaced by Danish couple Per Olesen and Lars Ejby Pedersen. Preliminary round All times are local UTC+1. Group A Group B Group C Group D President's Cup Group I Group II Placement games 23rd place game 21st place game 19th place game 17th place game 15th place game 13th place game Main round Group I Group