Handball is a very popular team sport in Qatar. It was introduced to the country in 1968; however, Qatar did not join the International Handball Federation until the 1970s. The Qatar men's national handball team qualified for the IHF World Men's Handball Championship on four separate occasions, and automatically qualified for a fifth as host. Qatar came runners-up to France in the 2015 World Handball Championship held on home soil, however the tournament was marred by various controversies.