Most popular Summer Sport in Norway and one of the three most popular sports in countries such as Germany, Sweden and Denmark, Handball is a phenomenon which is starting to grow in Brazil. Still with little space in the country’s Media, for instance, when compared to Football, Volleyball or Auto Racing, Handball is the most practised sport in Brazilian public schools. What does it take for it to get more Media attention?

According to Morten Soubak, from Denmark, who has been living in Brazil for eight years and since 2009 coaches the Brazilian Women’s National Team, the difficulty in promoting a sport in a continental-sized country and that follows Football as some kind of religion is huge. There is the lack of investments, of a great idol and of a National Championship that will keep the country’s main athletes playing in National territory.

“In Brazil, the majority of athletes start playing Handball at school. It is very interesting. Children study together, take part in competitions together. We have few clubs in the country, so we have to find other means of keeping boys and girls interested in the sport for a longer time. It is totally different in Denmark. There is no much sport in schools; everything is done in clubs. But it is difficult to compare the situation in Brazil, a continental-sized country, with the one in Denmark, which is the size of the State of Rio de Janeiro. This difference is a challenge that we need to face”, he said.

The Danish coach, just like Jordi Ribera, from Spain, who coaches the Brazilian Men’s National Team, travels around Brazil prospecting new talents for Brazilian Handball. Soubak says his greatest fear is losing athletes with a future in the sport, what generally happens when the boy or girl reaches legal age. But, despite the difficulties, he sees a promising future for Handball in the country.

“We need a calendar that contemplates year round Championships. It is not enough to only have Brazilian Youth School Games (called Brazilian School Olympics until 2012), a huge competition, when, during the rest of the year, the athletes do not play. It is necessary for the Handball Federations and Confederations to take action”, he commented. “I know coaches and P. E. teachers from various Brazilian schools. I believe it is important to keep this contact, to discuss certain aspects of the game, to know about the girls’ lives and their daily routine in the sport in order to follow each athlete’s and each team’s development. What I usually say is: if you persist in your work, one day you will have the chance to shine”, he said.

Morten Soubak gives instructions to the Brazilian team in London 2012. Brazil beat Montenegro 27-25. (Photo: Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

2012: An Unprecedented Campaign

Elected second best coach in 2012 by the International Handball Federation (IHF), Soubak coached the Brazilian Women’s National Team at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Brazil had an unprecedented campaign, by ending first of the group in the qualifying phase. However, in the quarterfinals, the team, which included Alexandra Nascimento, Dani Piedade, Duda Amorim and Chana, the goalkeeper, managed to be six goals (15 x9) ahead of Norway, the current Olympic twice-champions, but were defeated in the fight for the unprecedented medal.

It is worth remembering that, before Norway’s twice championship, Denmark had won three consecutive Olympic titles in Women’s Handball – from Atlanta 1996 until Athens 2004. In Men’s Handball, the Scandinavian countries are also usually fighting for the podium. Sweden won four silver medals in the last six Olympic Games editions and Denmark, the world’s current vice-champions , were defeated by Spain at the finals that took place in January, in Barcelona.

In 2011, Brazil hosted the World’s Women’s Handball Championship for the first time. The organisers counted 574 accredited journalists that transmitted the competition to 135 TV channels from the whole world. Norway was the country that sent the greatest number of professionals to cover the event (36) and Denmark was second, with 32. Well-loved in their home country, Norway Women’s Team is capable of getting a fifth of the country’s population in front of the TV set. According to the Danish broadcaster TV2, about 900 thousand Norwegians – the country has around 4.9 million inhabitants – watched the team’s victory over Iceland, in São Paulo.

In Germany, Handball only behind Football and Auto Racing in popularity. In Sweden and Denmark, it comes second, behind Football and before Ice Hockey. It is Norway’s main Summer Sport, only behind Biathlon and Hockey, both Winter Sports.