NBB sponsors Asian junior handball in Bahrain

TDT | Manama                                                 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has announced its sponsorship of the 17th Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship, which will be held in Bahrain from Friday until July 24. Bahrain Handball Association (BHA) president and Asian Handball Federation (AHF) vice-president Ali Issa stressed the importance of NBB’s support for the success of the competition.

He praised the efforts of the NBB board in supporting the sports sector in Bahrain and contributing to its advancement. NBB marketing and partnerships manager Mohammed Al Qassimi confirmed that the sponsorship comes within NBB’s policy in sponsoring sports in Bahrain and its constant keenness to provide all means to support the youth of the country.

He expressed his hope that the backing will play a major role in the competition’s success and help achieve the desired goals and honourable results for the Kingdom. For his part, tournament director Majdi Mirza praised the fruitful initiatives taken by NBB in serving the sports sector in Bahrain.

The continental tournament is set to feature eight of Asia’s best national teams, with participants aged 20 years old and younger. Bahrain are in Group B alongside Japan, India and Pakistan. Group A consists of South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait. Matches are set to be held at the Khalifa Sports City arena in Isa Town.

The upcoming junior competition will also act as a qualification event for the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, with the top four teams directly qualifying for the global showcase, to be held next year and co-hosted by Germany and Greece. The juniors’ event was supposed to be held in 2020, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bahrain were the bronze-medallists in the tournament’s previous edition in 2018.