It’s been a couple of months since I took up the BHA Chair role on a permanent basis. We had a great start to the year with the GB v Kosovo match in Derby. It was an amazing crowd and atmosphere. Thanks to all of the England Handball Association staff and volunteers who were involved in the build up and on the day.
It had a huge impact and there was a lot of positive feedback from the European Handball community, and I also did a podcast with the US site Teamhandballnews.com. Thanks to all of the supporters who were there on the day. We had players from the England academies and the members of the British Handball past and present Facebook group. Some of whom played for GB back in the 1970’s. It was great to have our old friends as well as some new fans. It was a challenge to put on the first GB Men’s senior match since the Olympics in 2012 but it was a fantastic event after all that time.
We now move on to the next exciting event which is the Women’s IHF Trophy Intercontinental phase in Uzbekistan. The players and staff are already there. This follows on from the teams victory in the European phase in Kosovo last year which in itself for a great result. We are looking forward to see how they perform with a chance to go to the Women’s U20 World Championships for the winner of the event. We are being supported by the European Handball Federation Masterplan which is providing support for coach development and the female pathway. We are also supported by the International Handball Federation New Markets programme which provides support for the talent pathway. The players have progressed well over the past few years with many of them involved at the Elite Performance Academy at Loughborough College. Wishing them all the best with their matches in Uzbekistan.
Finally, thanks to all the players families in all of the teams for supporting them both financially and with their time. I think we all know that Handball in Britain doesn’t have as much money as we would like and it needs a lot of support from the players families. Thank you for the continued support. Also, thank you to our stakeholders who provide support for British Handball: UK Sport, European Handball Federation and the International Handball Federation. For the support we receive from the Scottish and England Handball Associations. And finally our kit suppliers Kempa UK/RJM Sports.
