after world war ii this variant became very popular, and was introduced in the olympics by the time of the tragic 1972 munich games. with time it eventually took over the outdoor variant, which faded into obscurity.

in brazil the sport had its first official organizations in 1979, in rio de janeiro. recently there has been a certain resurgence of the outdoor handball in the shape of the beach handball, a recent italian invention which is attaining increasing worldwide popularity.