Rwanda Handball team head coach Hafedh Zouabi has described the country’s draw in the 2026 African Men's Handball Championship as challenging but remains confident that the team will be ready for the battle. Rwanda was drawn in Group A alongside Algeria, Zambia and Nigeria during Friday’s draw ceremony held in Kigali, the city that will host the tournament from January 21-31, 2026 The hosts will play the opening match of the tournament against Zambia on January 21, 2026. “The draw is challenging and we have to fight and look how we can reach the next round. This is international handball and we need to fight against elite teams” Zouabi said, reacting on Rwanda’s draw. “We have to look at how we can get good results and the target will be to move out of the group stages. It is always hard to talk about chances but what I will do is to build a strong team which will reach the knockouts round,” he added. The Tunisian coach has been coaching the national team since his appointment in October. He said the players are responding well to the sessions and assured that they will be ready for the tournament. The team has been preparing quite well and I am hoping for the best from the players. The team is quite young, and there is optimism about our chances of posting a much improved performance,” he added. Times Sport understands that Rwanda could select two new players currently plying their trade outside the country. This is the second time Rwanda will be playing in the Men's Handball African Cup after Egypt in 2024. The Pharaohs, who were on home soil, won the tournament for the ninth time, while Rwanda finished 14th out of 16 countries. The top five ranked teams in the tournament will qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Tags: Rwanda, Handball, Hafedh Zouabi , African Men's Handball Championship
