Faroe Islands’ Master Plan project off to strong start

In a show of support and community that captivated the European handball world, thousands of Faroese travelled to the Men’s EHF EURO 2024 in Germany and to watch the women’s side in their preliminary round campaign in Basel. The reward was witnessing both teams earning one point that felt like much more, thanks to draws against the two EHF EURO 2020 bronze medallists: Norway in the men’s case and Croatia in the women’s. They were significant results for the debutants and just part of how the Faroe Islands have made their mark outside their own borders in recent years.

But while the national teams may be more recently established on the international scene, handball is of course not anything new in the country. The Handball Federation of the Faroe Islands (HSF) is just now being rewarded for the work to develop its national teams to the top level, and the Master Plan project brings more attention to other areas that will take the federation several steps further.

Key facts

• October 2024 marked the official beginning of the project, with the agreement with the EHF signed in December on the fringe of the 16th Extraordinary EHF Congress in Vienna; September 2027 will mark the conclusion
• the core focus is grassroots development in conjunction with education
• the grassroots concept is specifically concentrated on kindergarten and school handball
• educational initiatives are concentrated on youth coach development and ensuring standards are met through the joining of the EHF RINCK Convention, as well as referees in the form of recruitment, support and the provision of licensed courses
• so far, 11 schools and kindergartens have been integrated in the activities; 525 participants have been reached, whether school-age students, kindergarten children, coaches or referees; five coaches have been involved; and three HSF staff members have contributed to the Master Plan work

Creation of the concept

When almost 10 per cent of a country’s population travels abroad to support the national team, as was the case at the Men’s EHF EURO 2024, you know the sport is in a good position on some level. With its national teams on the right track and the individual development of talent in good stead, the HSF is focused on the other end of the scale.

“From the very beginning, we wanted to focus on areas that could make a real difference in growing handball across the Faroe Islands,” says HSF director Andrass Thomsen.

“We looked at where the sport needed the most support — especially in terms of getting more children involved at a younger age, strengthening the development pathway for coaches and referees, and reaching out to schools in areas where handball was not well represented. These areas became our starting points.”

Key objectives of the Master Plan include:

• bringing handball to areas of the country where the sport is not at all or not as established,
• introducing handball to children from an early age, and
• continuing to foster the development of young handball players through the improvement of coaching and the quality of training sessions

Aside from inciting interest in handball and developing skills across as much of the population as possible at a young age, school handball is the key path the HSF has chosen to reach new areas of the country. For the even younger Faroese, mini handball programmes for children under the age of five are to be implemented in all clubs.

In terms of the quality of training sessions, and also to ensure the efficient and effective coordination of activities, the HSF has appointed a Youth Handball Coordinator who is already active across different strands of the project, supporting coaches, clubs and activities.

On an educational level, the HSF has introduced coach and referee courses in accordance with international standards and existing programmes. The HSF’s joining of the RINCK Convention, which is an agreement signed by 43 handball federations across Europe aimed at coordinating and mutually recognising standard guidelines and certificates for coach education, was made formal in December 2024. Through that, the HSF underlined the importance of Level 1 and 3 coaching courses.

Regarding referees, the HSF identified recruitment and training of younger referees by way of licensed courses as a key initiative. Then, the HSF aims to provide those recruits with the necessary support and guidance to excel as match officials.

Majority of KPIs for first six months surpassed

With the project activities quite readily accessible to the HSF in terms of implementation, the start has been smooth. Key performance indicators (KPIs) were set for the first six to 12 months, and all but one have already been achieved — and most surpassed.

Regarding the one KPI not met, the preparation of materials for mini handball coach workshops was more demanding than expected. Therefore, the first workshops will be held at the start of the new season.

On top of the extensive activities implemented, there has been considerable interest in the project from local media, thereby helping to raise further awareness of handball across the country.

“We’re really pleased with the progress so far. Participation has been high, and we’ve exceeded expectations in some areas — like school sessions and referee training. But most importantly, we now have a clearer picture of where we can go next,” says Thomsen.

“In the coming phase, we’ll be focusing on implementing the final parts of the first plan — like the mini-handball coach workshop — and scaling up our efforts to ensure long-term impact. That includes providing ongoing support to clubs, helping coaches grow, and making sure handball continues to reach new areas and new age groups. The foundation is in place — now it’s about building on it.”

Photos © Andrei Antal