The U24 Men’s National Handball Team are off to Bulgaria where they will take part in the 4 th edition
of the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship which starts this Tuesday in Varna, Bulgaria. This
will be the first edition of the competition since 2019, with the one in 2021 being cancelled due to
the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Twelve national teams from five continents will
feature in the Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna, with hosts Bulgaria aiming to clinch their first
trophy after ending in third place at the previous edition. Only Great Britain and Malta will return to
the competition for the fourth time. Guatemala will be taking part in their first major international
competition, while Cuba, the last edition’s runners-up, are also returning to the competition, aiming
to better their result and become the first non-European side to clinch the trophy. Nigeria and India
will be representing the African and Asian continents respectively.
The 12 teams are divided into four groups of three teams each, with the winners of each group
qualifying for the semi-finals.
Group A: Malta, India, Andorra
Group B: Cyprus, Republic of Moldova, Australia
Group C: Great Britain, Cuba, Guatemala
Group D: Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Nigeria
National Coach Diogo Castro will be selecting the team for Tuesday’s first match against Andorra
from the following list of 20 players.
GOALKEEPERS: Matthew Fenech (La Salle HC); Jefferson Borg (Swieqi Phoenix HC); Clinton Mifsud
(Swieqi Phoenix HC)
LINE PLAYERS: Anthony Mifsud (La Salle HC); Julian Seguna (La Salle HC); Jaydon Mizzi (Kavallieri HC)
BACKS: Andrea Fenech Cesareo (Aloysians HC); Gianluca Vassallo Ciliberti (Aloysians HC); Neil
Gruppetta (La Salle HC); Lizio Buhagiar (La Salle HC); Liam Harrison (Kavallieri HC); Matthias
Azzopardi (Swieqi Phoenix HC); Isaac Vella (Swieqi Phoenix HC); Jacques Seifert (Swieqi Phoenix HC);
Matthias Galea (Swieqi Phoenix HC)
WINGERS: Jean Paul Abela (Aloysians HC); Alan Portelli (La Salle); Jeremy John Scicluna (La Salle HC);
Jordi Stafrace (La Salle HC); Benjamin Spiteri (Swieqi Phoenix HC)
TECHNICAL STAFF: Diogo Castro (Head Coach); Matthew Mamo (Assistant Coach); Joseph Tanti
(Assistant Coach); Daryl Azzopardi (Physiotherapist); Bernardette Vassallo (Analyst); Ichem Hocini
(Team Manager)
The final will take place on Sunday 30 April in Varna, with the winners of the two semi-finals
competing for the big trophy.
