The best junior handball players continue their training at the Cerro Pelado High Performance Training Center in Havana.
14ymedio, Andy Lans, Matanzas, 23 March 2025 — After Cuba’s sudden classification for the U21 Handball World Cup, to be held in Poland between June 18 and 29 of this year, sources in the sector tell 14ymedio that national participation in the event could be in danger due to lack of a budget. This has been made known to the group of young men who are preparing in Havana, without further details.
In 2024, the Cubans obtained third place in the IHF Trophy (International Handball Federation) in the category for North America and the Caribbean, which guaranteed them a ticket to the Junior Pan American Games Asunción 2025. But by not accessing the final of the tournament, they were momentarily without the possibility of attending the U21 World Cup. On March 16, the champion of North America and the Caribbean, the United States, repeated the title in the Intercontinental Phase of the IHF Junior Trophy, and therefore, the classification quota to attend Poland 2025 was extended to another country, mainly because of the geographical area in question. In this case, to the bronze, Cuba.
Although the best junior handball players in the category continue their preparation at full speed at the Cerro Pelado High Performance Training Center in Havana, “they should” consider the possibility of not attending the World Cup event. Everything indicates that, for the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder), the priority is the Junior Pan American games.
Each Federation must pay 500 Swiss francs for registration in the tournament, in addition to a deposit of 5,000 francs
It would not be the first time that the sports monopoly in Cuba shows off its inability to solve the presence of its delegations in certain competitions. For example, in view of the Intercontinental Qualifier for the 2022 World League, the Women’s Waterpolo Team was notified that “there was no budget for the plane ticket.” However, after a Facebook post by Lisbeth Santana and the echo of several independent media, the money for the trip to Peru appeared as if by magic.
The code of competitions of the International Handball Federation (IHF), in its section of Junior and Youth World Cups, is transparent with respect to the economic demands of these competitions. According to Article 6, each participating federation must pay 500 Swiss francs ($566) for its registration in the tournament three months before the start of the championship, in addition to a deposit of 5,000 francs that the IHF can use to pay fees, fines or financial obligations of the corresponding federation. For their part, the organizers of the event will also charge a sum of accommodation determined by the number of members of the delegation, the days of stay and the exchange rate of the venue. And as if that were not enough, travel and visa expenses will be borne by the national federation in question.
The Cuban Handball Federation plans to “go whole hog” with the incorporation of players hired abroad
14ymedio was also able to learn that the Cuban Handball Federation plans to “go whole hog” with the incorporation of players hired abroad, if Inder gives the go-ahead from a logistical point of view. Taking into account that those eligible by age for the U21 World Cup must be between 16 and 21 years old, the most reliable options for Cuba are:
Freddy Lafontán Álvarez: 19-year-old winger of Vitória SC of the Portuguese First Division. He represented the Four Letters in the Senior World Cup held in Croatia, Denmark and Norway in 2025.
Reylán González and Jorge Abraham Luis: Both work in Artística de Avanca, also from the top Portuguese circuit. Reylán is a 20-year-old winger with a lot of activity in the first team. Jorge Abraham is signed with Porto, but he is on loan. He plays center and is 19 years old.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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