# 2019 IKF World Korfball Championship

The 11th IKF World Korfball Championship was held in August 2019 in Durban, South Africa and won by the Netherlands. The International Korfball Federation awarded the hosting rights for the tournament to South Africa on 7 November 2015, ahead of the bid by New Zealand.
In October 2016, the number of teams participating was increased from 16 to 20. The four extra places were awarded to the Americas (1), Africa (1) and Asia & Oceania (2). The Americas are now allotted 2 spots, Africa 2 spots, Europe 10 spots, and Asia and Oceania 6 spots (with a minimum of 1 for Oceania). Due to withdrawals, in the end there will only be 1 team participating from the Americas and Africa (each), leading to 11 for Europe and 7 for Asia & Oceania.
This tournament also acted as the qualification tournament for the World Games 2022, with eight teams qualifying for the World Games. The IKF aimed to have teams from up to four continents present at the World Games, therefore the top eight finishing nations qualified, with the exception that when a team finished in the top eleven as the highest finishing team from a top four continent not already having a qualifier, then this team would have qualified instead of the last placed team from an already qualified continent. This de facto meant that the top five finishers were always certain of qualification, while the outcome for the teams in places six through eight depended on the continent of origin of teams up to place eleven. Additionally, Catalonia was ineligible for qualification as the World Games are contested by national instead of regional teams.

## Teams
### Qualification

In February 2019, the IKF announced that both Dominican Republic and Zimbabwe withdrew from the tournament despite both having qualified for the first time ever. First reserve of the Americas ( Brazil) was unable to step in and ultimately the first reserves of Europe ( Slovakia) and Asia ( Macau) were invited and accepted the invitation.
| Team | Date of qualification | Method of qualification | Finals appearance | Previous appearance | IKF Ranking |
| Australia | 2 August 2018 | 2018 Asia-Oceania Korfball Championship 3rd place | 10th | 2015 | 10 |
| Belgium | 15 October 2018 | 2018 IKF European Korfball A-Championship top-8 finish | 11th | 2015 | 03 |
| Catalonia | 15 October 2018 | 2018 IKF European Korfball A-Championship top-8 finish | 09th | 2015 | 12 |
| China | 1 August 2018 | 2018 Asia-Oceania Korfball Championship runners-up | 04th | 2015 | 04 |
| Chinese Taipei | 31 July 2018 | 2018 Asia-Oceania Korfball Championship winners | 09th | 2015 | 02 |
| Czech Republic | 16 October 2018 | 2018 IKF European Korfball A-Championship top-8 finish | 06th | 2015 | 07 |
| England | 15 October 2018 | 2018 IKF European Korfball A-Championship top-8 finish | 11th | 2015 | 06 |
| Germany | 14 October 2018 | 2018 IKF European Korfball A-Championship top-8 finish | 11th | 2015 | 05 |
| Hong Kong | 1 August 2018 | 2018 Asia-Oceania Korfball Championship 4th place | 03rd | 2015 | 11 |
| Hungary | 16 October 2018 | 2018 IKF European Korfball A-Championship top-8 finish | 04th | 2015 | 09 |
| Ireland | 18 October 2018 | 2018 IKF European Korfball B-Championship top-2 finish | 01st | – | 20 |
| Japan | 3 August 2018 | 2018 Asia-Oceania Korfball Championship 5th place | 02nd | 1999 | 24 |
| Macau | 14 February 2019 | Invited | 01st | – | 30 |
| Netherlands | 14 October 2018 | 2018 IKF European Korfball A-Championship top-8 finish | 11th | 2015 | 01 |
| New Zealand | 3 August 2018 | 2018 Asia-Oceania Korfball Championship 6th place | 01st | – | 16 |
| Poland | 18 October 2018 | 2018 IKF European Korfball B-Championship top-2 finish | 06th | 2015 | 13 |
| Portugal | 15 October 2018 | 2018 IKF European Korfball A-Championship top-8 finish | 09th | 2015 | 08 |
| Slovakia | 14 February 2019 | Invited | 03rd | 2003 | 17 |
| South Africa | 7 November 2015 | Host country | 07th | 2015 | 15 |
| Suriname | 3 March 2018 | 2018 Pan-American Korfball Championship champions | 01st | – | 21 |
* ^ includes participations of Great Britain until 2003.
* ^ includes participations of Germany from 1978 to 1987.

### Draw

For the draw, the teams were allocated to four pots based on the IKF World Korfball Ranking of December 2018. Pot 1 contained the best five teams (which were automatically assigned to pools A through E), pot 2 contained the next best five teams, and so on for pots 3 and 4, with the exception of Suriname which was placed into pot 3 instead of 4 as the IKF specified that each continental champion would at least be positioned in pot 3. Finally, it is not allowed to have four European, three Asian or two Oceanian countries in the same pool. In case this happens during the draw, the relevant country will change position with the country drawn after. In case this is not possible, the change will be made with the country that has been drawn before.
The draw took place on 20 April 2019.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| Netherlands (1, CH Europe)  Chinese Taipei (2, CH Asia-Oceania)  Belgium (3)  China (4)  Germany (5) | England (6)  Czech Republic (7)  Portugal (8)  Hungary (9)  Australia (10) | Hong Kong (11)  Catalonia (12)  Poland (13)  South Africa (15, CH Africa)  Suriname (21, CH Pan-America) | New Zealand (16)  Slovakia (17)  Ireland (20)  Japan (24)  Macau (30) |

## Group stage

Competing countries will be divided into five groups of four teams (groups A to E). Teams in each group played one another in a round-robin basis, with the top three teams of each group and the best fourth-placed team advancing to the knockout stage.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Netherlands | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 22 | +77 | 9 | Round of 16 |
| 2 | Czech Republic | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 47 | 48 | −1 | 6 | Round of 16 |
| 3 | Catalonia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 65 | −26 | 3 | Round of 16 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 79 | −50 | 0 | Finals for 17th–20th places |
Netherlands v New Zealand
* 1 August 2019 11:00
| Netherlands | 41 – 5 | New Zealand |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Wing Hung Lee
Czech Republic v Catalonia
* 1 August 2019 12:45
| Czech Republic | 17 – 14 | Catalonia |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Ugurtan Akbulut
Czech Republic v New Zealand
* 2 August 2019 12:00
| Czech Republic | 23 – 11 | New Zealand |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Dan Lin Huang
Netherlands v Catalonia
* 2 August 2019 13:45
| Netherlands | 35 – 10 | Catalonia |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Pardeep Dahiya
Catalonia v New Zealand
* 3 August 2019 12:00
| Catalonia | 15 – 13 | New Zealand |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Steve Jones
Netherlands v Czech Republic
* 3 August 2019 13:45
| Netherlands | 23 – 7 | Czech Republic |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Miguel Wensma

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Chinese Taipei | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 37 | +55 | 9 | Round of 16 |
| 2 | Poland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 67 | −23 | 6 | Round of 16 |
| 3 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 71 | −16 | 3 | Round of 16 |
| 4 | Ireland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 47 | 63 | −16 | 0 | Round of 16 |
Chinese Taipei v Ireland
* 1 August 2019 10:00
| Chinese Taipei | 27 – 14 | Ireland |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Peter Van Der Terp
Australia v Poland
* 1 August 2019 11:45
| Australia | 19 – 21 | Poland |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Carlos Faria
Australia v Ireland
* 2 August 2019 12:00
| Australia | 22 – 20 | Ireland |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Lukas Pazourek
Chinese Taipei v Poland
* 2 August 2019 13:45
| Chinese Taipei | 35 – 9 | Poland |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Tina Van Grimberge
Chinese Taipei v Australia
* 3 August 2019 12:00
| Chinese Taipei | 30 - 14 | Australia |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Pardeep Dahiya
Poland v Ireland
* 3 August 2019 13:45
| Poland | 14 – 13 | Ireland |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Lukas Filip

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Belgium | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 32 | +67 | 9 | Round of 16 |
| 2 | England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 67 | 54 | +13 | 6 | Round of 16 |
| 3 | Slovakia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 74 | −34 | 3 | Round of 16 |
| 4 | Hong Kong | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 86 | −46 | 0 | Finals for 17th–20th places |
Belgium v Slovakia
* 1 August 2019 14:30
| Belgium | 34 – 12 | Slovakia |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Steve Jones
England v Hong Kong
* 1 August 2019 20:00
| England | 30 – 17 | Hong Kong |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Lukas Pazourek
England v Slovakia
* 2 August 2019 15:30
| England | 24 – 10 | Slovakia |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Luke Rosie
Belgium v Hong Kong
* 2 August 2019 17:15
| Belgium | 38 – 7 | Hong Kong |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Ugurtan Akbulut
Belgium v England
* 3 August 2019 19:00
| Belgium | 27 – 13 | England |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Carlos Faria
Hong Kong v Slovakia
* 3 August 2019 19:00
| Hong Kong | 16 – 18 | Slovakia |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Peter Van Der Terp

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | China | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 52 | +40 | 8 | Round of 16 |
| 2 | Suriname | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 77 | 37 | +40 | 7 | Round of 16 |
| 3 | Hungary | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 72 | 55 | +17 | 3 | Round of 16 |
| 4 | Macau | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 111 | −97 | 0 | Finals for 17th–20th places |
China v Macau
* 1 August 2019 13:30
| China | 42 – 8 | Macau |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Pardeep Dahiya
Hungary v Suriname
* 1 August 2019 18:15
| Hungary | 12 – 24 | Suriname |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Lukas Filip
Hungary v Macau
* 2 August 2019 17:15
| Hungary | 36 – 2 | Macau |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Carlos Faria
China v Suriname
* 2 August 2019 19:00
| China | 21 – 20 | Suriname |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Miguel Wensma
Suriname v Macau
* 3 August 2019 15:30
| Suriname | 33 – 4 | Macau |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Dan Lin Huang
China v Hungary
* 3 August 2019 17:15
| China | 29 – 24 | Hungary |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Ugurtan Akbulut

### Group E

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Portugal | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 22 | +61 | 9 | Round of 16 |
| 2 | Germany | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 76 | 32 | +44 | 6 | Round of 16 |
| 3 | Japan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 80 | −41 | 3 | Round of 16 |
| 4 | South Africa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 84 | −64 | 0 | Finals for 17th–20th places |
South Africa v Portugal
* 1 August 2019 17:30
| South Africa | 4 – 36 | Portugal |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Dan Lin Huang
Germany v Japan
* 1 August 2019 19:15
| Germany | 37 – 12 | Japan |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Luke Rosie
Portugal v Japan
* 2 August 2019 15:30
| Portugal | 33 – 8 | Japan |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Peter Van Der Terp
South Africa v Germany
* 2 August 2019 19:00
| South Africa | 6 – 29 | Germany |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Steve Jones
Germany v Portugal
* 3 August 2019 15:30
| Germany | 10 – 14 | Portugal |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Tina Van Grimberge
South Africa v Japan
* 3 August 2019 17:15
| South Africa | 10 – 19 | Japan |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Wing Hung Lee

### Ranking of fourth-placed teams

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | B | Ireland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 47 | 63 | −16 | 0 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | C | Hong Kong | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 86 | −46 | 0 | Finals for 17th–20th places |
| 3 | A | New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 25 | 78 | −53 | 0 | Finals for 17th–20th places |
| 4 | E | South Africa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 84 | −64 | 0 | Finals for 17th–20th places |
| 5 | D | Macau | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 111 | −97 | 0 | Finals for 17th–20th places |

## Knockout stage
### Round of 16

Netherlands v Ireland
* 5 August 2019 15:30
| Netherlands | 34 - 7 | Ireland |
| | Report | |
* Westville Campus Hall 2, Durban Referee: Dan Lin Huang
Poland v Germany
* 5 August 2019 15:30
| Poland | 9 - 22 | Germany |
| | Report | |
* Westville Campus Hall 1, Durban Referee: Lukas Pazourek
China v Slovakia
* 5 August 2019 17:15
| China | 31 - 9 | Slovakia |
| | Report | |
* Westville Campus Hall 2, Durban Referee: Tina Van Grimberge
Portugal v Catalonia
* 5 August 2019 19:00
| Portugal | 15 - 11 | Catalonia |
| | Report | |
* Westville Campus Hall 1, Durban Referee: Luke Rosie
Chinese Taipei v Japan
* 5 August 2019 13:45
| Chinese Taipei | 42 - 22 | Japan |
| | Report | |
* Westville Campus Hall 2, Durban Referee: Ugurtan Akbulut
England v Suriname
* 5 August 2019 17:15
| England | 18 - 22 | Suriname |
| | Report | |
* Westville Campus Hall 1, Durban Referee: Lukas Filip
Belgium v Hungary
* 5 August 2019 13:45
| Belgium | 26 - 7 | Hungary |
| | Report$ | |
* Westville Campus Hall 1, Durban Referee: Wing Hung Lee
Czech Republic v Australia
* 5 August 2019 19:00
| Czech Republic | 27 - 15 | Australia |
| | Report | |
* Westville Campus Hall 2, Durban Referee: Steve Jones

### Quarter-finals

| Fifth place | Fifth place | Fifth place | Consolation semifinals | Consolation semifinals | Consolation semifinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | | | | Netherlands | Netherlands | 25 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Germany | 9 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Germany | Germany | 18 | | | | Netherlands | Netherlands | 27 | | | | |
| | | | Portugal | Portugal | 15 | | | | | China | China | 12 | | | |
| | | | | | | China | 25 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Portugal | Portugal | | | 21 | | | | | | | |
| Germany | Germany | 16 | | | | | | | | Netherlands | Netherlands | | | | 31 |
| Suriname | Suriname | 8 | | | | | | | | Netherlands | | | | | Belgium | Belgium | 18 |
| | | | | | | Chinese Taipei | Chinese Taipei | 20 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Suriname | 18 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Seventh place | Seventh place | Seventh place | Suriname | Suriname | 18 | | | | Chinese Taipei | Chinese Taipei | 19 | Third place | Third place | Third place | | |
| | | | Czech Republic | Czech Republic | 5 | | | | | Belgium | Belgium | 20 | | | | | |
| Portugal | Portugal | 16 | | | | Belgium | Belgium | | | 27 | | | | China | China | 16 |
| Czech Republic | Czech Republic | 17 | | | | Czech Republic | Czech Republic | 10 | | | | | | | Chinese Taipei | Chinese Taipei | 25 |

### Finals for 9th–16th places

| 13th place match | 13th place match | 13th place match | 13th – 16th place play-offs | 13th – 16th place play-offs | 13th – 16th place play-offs | 9th – 16th place play-offs | 9th – 16th place play-offs | 9th – 16th place play-offs | | 9th – 12th place play-offs | 9th – 12th place play-offs | 9th – 12th place play-offs | | | 9th place match | 9th place match | 9th place match |
| | | | | | | Ireland | Ireland | 12 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Poland | 16 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Ireland | Ireland | 14 | | | | Poland | Poland | 14 | | | | |
| | | | Slovakia | Slovakia | 18 | | | | | Catalonia | Catalonia | 15 | | | |
| | | | | | | Slovakia | 8 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Catalonia | Catalonia | | | 25 | | | | | | | |
| Slovakia | Slovakia | 20 | | | | | | | | Catalonia | Catalonia | | | | 15 |
| Australia | Australia | 19 | | | | | | | | Catalonia | | | | | England | England | 19 |
| | | | | | | Japan | Japan | 6 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | England | 25 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 15th place match | 15th place match | 15th place match | Japan | Japan | 13 | | | | England | England | 20 | 11th place match | 11th place match | 11th place match | | |
| | | | Australia | Australia | 21 | | | | | Hungary | Hungary | 18 | | | | | |
| Ireland | Ireland | 18 | | | | Hungary | Hungary | | | 22 | | | | Poland | Poland | 21 |
| Japan | Japan | 19 | | | | Australia | Australia | 15 | | | | | | | Hungary | Hungary | 13 |

### Finals for 17th–20th places
#### Round-robin stage

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Hong Kong | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 37 | +20 | 9 | Ranking match 17th-18th |
| 2 | New Zealand | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 61 | 43 | +18 | 6 | Ranking match 17th-18th |
| 3 | South Africa | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 40 | 53 | −13 | 1 | Ranking match 19th-20th |
| 4 | Macau | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 31 | 56 | −25 | 1 | Ranking match 19th-20th |
South Africa v Hong Kong
* 5 August 2019 12:00
| South Africa | 11 – 16 | Hong Kong |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Miguel Wensma (BEL)
New Zealand v Macau
* 5 August 2019 12:00
| New Zealand | 21 – 8 | Macau |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Peter Van Der Terp (NED)
Hong Kong v Macau
* 6 August 2019 12:00
| Hong Kong | 19 – 7 | Macau |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Lukas Filip (CZE)
South Africa v New Zealand
* 6 August 2019 12:00
| South Africa | 13 – 21 | New Zealand |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Lukas Pazourek (CZE)
New Zealand v Hong Kong
* 7 August 2019 12:00
| New Zealand | 19 – 22 | Hong Kong |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Tina Van Grimberge (BEL)
South Africa v Macau
* 8 August 2019 12:00
| South Africa | 16 – 16 | Macau |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Wing Hung Lee (HKG)

#### 19th-20th place match

South Africa v Macau
* 9 August 2019 12:00
| South Africa | 23 – 9 | Macau |
| | Report | |
* Referee: Pardeep Dahiya (IND)

#### 17th-18th place match

Hong Kong v New Zealand
* 10 August 2019 09:00
| Hong Kong | 21 – 19 | New Zealand |
| | Report | |

## Venue

Two venues are used to host all games this championship. Both are located on the Westville campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

## Final standings

Key :
* Qualified for the 2022 World Games
| Rank | Team |
| | Netherlands |
| | Belgium |
| | Chinese Taipei |
| 4 | China |
| 5 | Germany |
| 6 | Suriname |
| 7 | Czech Republic |
| 8 | Portugal |
| 9 | England |
| 10 | Catalonia |
| 11 | Poland |
| 12 | Hungary |
| 13 | Slovakia |
| 14 | Australia |
| 15 | Japan |
| 16 | Ireland |
| 17 | Hong Kong |
| 18 | New Zealand |
| 19 | South Africa |
| 20 | Macau |