# Pan-American Team Handball Federation

The Pan-American Team Handball Federation (PATHF) has been the continental governing body for handball, beach handball, wheelchair handball and snow handball in Americas since 23 May 1977. PATHF includes North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. PATHF's primary functions is to organize competitions for national teams and clubs, and to conduct Men's World Handball Championship and Women's World Handball Championship qualifying tournaments.
On 14 January 2018, during the IHF Council meeting, PATHF was suspended by International Handball Federation and was divided into two continental confederations namely the North America and the Caribbean Handball Confederation and the South and Central America Handball Confederation. The IHF Council decision was taken on the facts that there are no signs of development in the level of handball and beach handball in the North American, Central American and the Caribbean countries. There was some development in South American level but that was also not comparable to the other continents like Europe, Asia and Africa. No team from Americas had ever reached to the semifinal stage of the IHF World Men's Handball Championship and the IHF Men's Junior World Championship till date. The PATHF appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and it annulled IHF's decision. At the Extraordinary IHF Congress 2019 the IHF statues were revised to add the new federations.

## History

PATHF was founded on 23 May 1977, which made it one of the five continental confederations affiliated with International Handball Federation. Argentina, Chile, Canada, Mexico and the United States of America were founding members. The first executive committee was composed of President Dr. Peter Buehning Sr. (USA), Vice-President Mr. Juan Mainzhausen (Argentina), Secretary General Mr. Walter Schwedhelm (Mexico), and Treasurer Mr. Francis Geulen (Canada). Current PATHF President is Mr. Mario Moccia from Argentina.

## PATHF Presidents

| No. | Name | Country | Tenure |
| 1 | Peter Buehning Sr. | United States | 1977–1980 |
| 2 | Walter Schwedhelm | Mexico | 1980–1984 |
| 3 | Andy Meszey | Canada | 1984–1987 |
| 4 | Peter Buehning Sr. | United States | 1987–1996 |
| 5 | Rubén Gómez | Uruguay | 1996 (interim) |
| 6 | Manoel Luiz Oliveira | Brazil | 1996–2012 |
| 7 | Mario Moccia | Argentina | 2012 – 11 June 2019 |
| | Júlio Noveri (Interim President) | Uruguay | 11 June 2019 – 3 July 2019 |
^1 Mario Moccia resigned on 11 June 2019, Júlio Noveri took over as Interim President.
^2 PATHF was succeeded by NACHC and SCAHC as per the decision of Extraordinary IHF Congress held at Gothenburg (Sweden) on 3 July 2019.

## PATHF Council

The PATHF Council was an institution of the Pan-American Team Handball Federation. It was the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of PATHF Congress. It also had a subsidiary i.e. PATHF Executive Committee, which takes decisions during the intervals of Council Meetings. PATHF Executive Committee was formed of the President, 1st Vice-President, 2nd Vice-President, Secretary General and Treasurer. Following was the last PATHF Council elected for the years 2016 – 2020 before PATHF's dissolution on 14 January 2018 by the International Handball Federation.
| Designation | Name | Country |
| President | Mario Moccia | Argentina |
| 1st Vice-President | Júlio Noveri | Uruguay |
| 2nd Vice-President | Rafael Sepúlveda Montalvo | Puerto Rico |
| Secretary General | Héctor Fernández Bogdanic | Chile |
| Treasurer | Carlos Ferrea | Argentina |
| IHF Continental Representative | Mario García de la Torre | Mexico |
| South America Vice-President | Gerardo Paniagua | Paraguay |
| Central America Vice-President | Dr. Carlos Morales Sosa | Guatemala |
| Caribbean Vice-President | Néstor Milete Echevarría | Puerto Rico |
| North America Vice-President | Bryan Hayes | Canada |
| Chairman of the Competition Commission | Carlos González Aldea | Cuba |
| Chairman of the Referees Commission | Sálvio Sedrez | Brazil |

## PATHF Commissions

| Commission | Chairman | Country |
| PATHF Commission of Organizing and Competitions | Carlos González Aldea | Cuba |
| PATHF Playing Rules and Referee Commission | Sálvio Sedrez | Brazil |
| PATHF Commission for Development | Rafael Sepúlveda Montalvo | Puerto Rico |
| PATHF Commission of Coaching and Methods | Mike Cavanaugh | United States |
| PATHF Medical Commission | Llew Harper | Barbados |
| PATHF Marketing Commission | Gabriel Klein | Argentina |
| PATHF Discipline Tribunal | Daniel Cánepa | Argentina |
| PATHF Appeals Tribunal | Héctor Alvarado Véliz | El Salvador |
| PATHF Juridical Commission | Rafael Sepúlveda Montalvo | Puerto Rico |
| PATHF Beach Handball Commission | Luiz Filipe Galvão | Brazil |
| PATHF Wheelchair Handball Commission | Germán Bonnemezón | Argentina |

## Affiliated members
### North America and the Caribbean

* Barbados
* Canada
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Greenland
* Haiti
* Mexico
* Puerto Rico
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States of America

### Central America

* Costa Rica
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Honduras
* Nicaragua
* Panama

### South America

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

### Non-Members

Following is the list of national handball federations who are affiliated to the International Handball Federation but are not granted affiliation by the PATHF.
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Bahamas
* British Virgin Islands
* Cayman Islands
* Dominica
* Grenada
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Saint Lucia
* Belize
* Guyana

#### Regional Member

* French Guiana (France)
* Guadeloupe (France)
* Martinique (France)

## Current champions

| | Men's | Women's |
| Senior Handball | Brazil (2016) (3) | Brazil (2017) (10*) |
| Pan American Games | Brazil (2015) (3) | Brazil (2015) (5*) |
| Junior Handball | Brazil (2017) (6) | Brazil (2016) (8*) |
| Youth Handball | Argentina (2017) (8*) | Brazil (2016) (11*) |
| IHF Trophy (Continental Phase) | United States (2017) | Martinique (2017) |
| Beach Handball | United States (2016) (1) | Uruguay (2016) (2) |
| Youth Beach Handball | Brazil (2017) (1*) | Argentina (2017) (1*) |
| Club Handball | EC Pinheiros (2017) (2) | EC Pinheiros (2017) (1) |
(Titles) (*) Record titles

## Sponsors

* Qatar Airways