Handball API

Sports APIs have become an indispensable tool in the digital ecosystem of sports. Their main task is to provide fast, structured, and maximally accurate access to real-time data. This frees companies and developers from the need to manually collect information from websites or broadcasts, thus saving resources and increasing the accuracy of analytics.

This approach is especially valuable in several areas:

• application developers receive a ready-made data source for integration into mobile or web services;

• betting companies use APIs for automatic updates of odds and calculation of match outcomes;

• sports media promptly publish game results, lineups, and statistics;

• analysts and forecasters build models and forecasts based on reliable data without delays.

The market offers various solutions. There are specialized products, such as Handball API, which focuses exclusively on one sport and is suitable for projects with a clear niche. However, universal platforms like API-sport are becoming much more in demand. They cover dozens of disciplines—from football and basketball to esports—and allow scaling projects without being limited to one direction. Thanks to this, API-sport it has gained popularity among a wide range of users—from small startups to large international companies.

What is API-sport?

API-sport is one of the most sought-after platforms in the sports API market. It provides data on football, hockey, tennis, basketball, esports, and many other sports. Live results, archives, complete match statistics, team lineups, and individual player metrics are available.

The popularity of the service is explained by the combination of high update speed and extensive tournament coverage. Unlike specialized solutions like Handball API, here there is the possibility to integrate data across multiple directions at once, which makes API-sport a universal tool.

Handball API

The Handball API is primarily focused on odds for betting, match results, team lineups, and player statistics. It is also possible to obtain data on transfers and team forms. However, the coverage is limited to handball, which is not always convenient for companies working with different disciplines.

Supported sports

As the name suggests, this service is focused on handball. In contrast, API-sport covers dozens of areas: from football and hockey to esports and virtual games.

Technologies and formats

Both APIs use modern approaches to data transmission: REST and WebSocket. The formats are standard — JSON and XML. However, API-sport wins due to its stable infrastructure and fast support for large requests.

How to access the API?

To start working with any sports API, the first step is to register on the provider’s website. After creating a personal account, the developer receives a personal API key, which is used for request authorization and data protection. This is how both the Handball API and API-sport operate, but there is a significant difference:

• The Handball API most often limits itself to standard registration and basic access settings. The billing options are minimal, and the choice of packages is often fixed.

• API-sport, In contrast, it is oriented towards different categories of users — from startups and small websites to large betting platforms. Here, you can choose a tariff depending on the number of requests, update speed, and the required set of disciplines. This flexibility favorably distinguishes API-sport from more narrowly focused services.

Thus, official access to API-sport provides more options for scaling and adapting to different projects.

10. RapidAPI, SportRadar, and other platforms provide access to BetsAPI and Livescore API through their channels. This is convenient for developers who need ready-made integrations and reliable SLAs.

Sometimes developers prefer to obtain data not directly, but through aggregators like RapidAPI, SportRadar, or other reseller services. Both the Handball API and API-sport can be found on these platforms, which is convenient for testing or if one does not want to open a separate account.

However, this approach has a nuance: third-party providers often impose additional limits, delay updates, and provide an incomplete set of data. For example, in RapidAPI, data on handball may come with a delay, and some advanced features of API-sport will be unavailable. Therefore, for serious work, it is always preferable to connect directly to API-sport, where speed and data volume are guaranteed.

12. Free plans usually include limited access to historical data and basic statistics. Paid subscriptions unlock:

Any sports API offers basic free access for testing.

• The Handball API in the free package usually provides only minimal information: match scores, sometimes simple statistics. This is only enough to check the integration’s functionality.

• API-sport also limits the free plan, but even in it, you can test live requests, download archived data, and get acquainted with the API without financial investments.

For full-fledged operation, a paid subscription will still be required. Here, API-sport wins: the pricing grid is more flexible and transparent. The user can start with a basic package and gradually move to larger ones as the project grows and the number of requests increases.

17. Number of requests per minute/hour

Any API has limits on the number of requests per unit of time.

• The Handball API’s free plans are heavily restricted: a small number of requests per day and low update frequency. This makes usage practically impossible for serious projects.

• In API-sport, the limits directly depend on the tariff. Free access is designed only for testing, but already in paid packages, hundreds of thousands of requests, high response speed, and stable real-time updates are provided.

The advantage API-sport lies in the fact that the system is scalable and can handle large loads without loss of data quality. This is especially important for betting platforms and sports media, where delays of a few seconds can affect the service’s performance.

API Integration

Connection examples

Python: