Handball
Handball rules: teams, time, goals and the goal area
A practical introduction to standard indoor handball under the current IHF Rules: players on court, match time, scoring, goalkeeper role and the goal area.
Seven players on court
No more than seven players from a team may be on the court at the same time. Normally this is six court players and one goalkeeper; a team may also play with seven court players and no goalkeeper. A match roster may contain up to 16 players.
Two 30-minute halves
For teams with players aged 16 and above, normal playing time is two halves of 30 minutes. The half-time break is normally 10 minutes. Youth durations and competition tie-break procedures are separate rules.
How a goal is scored
A goal counts when the entire ball has completely crossed the goal line, provided the attacking team committed no violation before or during the throw. Each valid goal adds one to the score, and the team with more goals wins.
Goalkeeper and goal area
Only the goalkeeper may enter the goal area as a player. A court player touching the goal-area line or stepping into the area can trigger a goalkeeper throw, free throw or 7-metre throw depending on possession, advantage and whether a clear scoring chance was destroyed. This guide covers indoor handball; beach handball is a separate ruleset.