Blogs

The World Economic Forum, which brings together more than 3,000 politicians, business leaders, economists, professional experts and journalists every year to articulate the world’s biggest challenges, highlighted a few months ago misinformation as the greatest risk factor for human beings and nations around the globe. Misinformation – i.e. incorrect, erroneous or incomplete messages, which at … Read more

The joy of seeing each other is mutual, when a few weeks ago I met Allan Bentsen at his office in the House of Sports: the “epicenter” of sports in the cathedral city of Roskilde. The face has become more furrowed and the hair has become shorter on the 55-year-old sports director, but the Funen … Read more

The question was asked with sharpness and precision by Professor Madeleine Orr, at Play the Game 2024 in Trondheim at the beginning of February. Madeleine Orr, who is a Ph.D. and researcher at the University of Toronto, has in the past decade dealt extensively with the connection between sport, nature and climate change. And her … Read more

International sport has undergone explosive development in recent decades, especially in relation to financial turnover and capital interests in European club football. The vast majority of football fans, both in Denmark and throughout the world, will immediately consider this very positive. In my opinion, however, this development is on its way to destroying international sport … Read more

On Thursday at 6.00 p.m. several hundred Faroese will be spectators in the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin and tens of thousands on the island kingdom in the middle of the Atlantic will follow the Faroe Islands’ first match at Men’s EHF EURO 2024 with glowing interest. The match against Slovenia is the Faroe Islands’ debut … Read more

Denmark’s bronze medal at the 26’th IHF Women’s World Championship put an end to the sporting year 2023: A very satisfactory year for Danish elite sports, where good results in many sports create optimism ahead of the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris. However, there is cause for serious concern in two sports – rowing … Read more

The identity and self-understanding of all peoples and nations is historically determined. This also applies to Italy – “lo Stivale” in Southern Europe – which was first formed as an independent nation in 1861. From the fall of the Roman Empire in the 6th century until the unification of modern Italy, there were wars, conflicts … Read more

Greek mythology contains a lot of knowledge. The story of the hero Odysseus, who entrusts his young son Telemachos to Mentor – an older, reliable and wise man from the island of Ithaca – when Odysseus sets off for the Trojan War. Mentor’s task is to form and advise the young Telemachus while his father … Read more

Late in the afternoon, I chat with Giovanni in a cozy cafe close to Piazza Maggiore in the “heart” of Bologna – the capital of the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Giovanni – an elderly well-dressed man who has lived all his life in Bologna – quickly and passionately convinces me that Bologna is something very … Read more

Both the Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF) and Team Denmark are very dependent on the quality of the political and administrative leadership of the individual federations. Regardless of whether it is about medals for Denmark, talent development, recruitment of children, dropouts among youth, development of new activities or good facilities, a close and well-functioning collaboration … Read more

New book about sports with lots of facts, subjective analyzes and significant attitudes There are books about sports which should absolutely be published, because with this we can become wiser about ourselves, the communities and the society of which we are a part. And there are books about sports that should never have been published … Read more

A number of the Confederation of Danish Sports’ federations – i.a. The Danish Handball Federation (DHF), the Danish Ice Hockey Federation (DIU), the Danish Basketball Federation, Floorball Denmark and Volleyball Denmark – have during the past year entered into cooperation agreements with the international, commercial company “Sportway” for live streaming of children’s and youth matches … Read more

“The sun rises and the sun sets, but Broendby IF is here tomorrow too”. Thus stated the legendary mayor Kjeld Rasmussen, when the heart club at the Western part of CPH was very close to financial collapse at the beginning of 1990 in connection with the club’s failed attempt to take over the Danish “Interbank”. … Read more

Friday 27 July 2012 was a magical night at the Olympic Stadium in East London, where British humor created one of the most surprising moments in modern Olympic history. The opening ceremony consisted of a number of formal rituals; the athletes’ entry, speeches, swearing-in and lighting of the Olympic flame, but it was Queen Elizabeth … Read more

Holmenkollen – the ski jump hill and ski stadium in northwest Oslo – has a special place in the hearts of many Norwegians. The same has the 32-year-old Marte Olsbu Røiseland, who in recent years has been the world’s most successful female biathlete. On Sunday late in the afternoon, the likable biathlete’s fantastic career will … Read more

“I’m just not passionate about life as an elite athlete anymore. It requires a lot of dedication and I have always wanted to be the best in the world, but if you don’t give one hundred percent and are passionate about it, it won’t happen. It’s also a lot of pressure you put on yourself … Read more

The daytime temperature in Ruhpolding – a village with 6,500 inhabitants 75 km south-east of Munich – has been 10-16 degrees in recent weeks. And at night there have been no sub-zero temperatures, so all precipitation has fallen as rain and not snow. The last snowfall in the area was more than 3 weeks ago. … Read more

The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar is the last international sporting event of the year. And with Denmark’s worst World Cup result ever, it is now possible to evaluate the Danish athletes’ and team’s results in the past 12 months. The Sports Confederation of Denmark, Team Denmark and the media will probably highlight a … Read more

The interaction between brain and body is strangely and in elite sports it is crucial. This realization became clear to me more than four decades ago when I met Lars-Eric Uneståhl from Örebro University, who was a supervisor on a seminar for table tennis coaches, where I was among the participants. Pioneer with visions and … Read more

“Delaney – No, Dolberg – No. We have never played as badly as this season as long as I have been a fan of Sevilla FC. And I have been since I was 8 years old. The team lacks skilled players like Poulsen. But I will always have my club in my heart – no … Read more

Everything has an expiry date – including life and the individual chapters in life. This fact also applies to the world stars of sports. For that reason, 41-year-old Roger Federer’s official farewell match in international top tennis a few days ago became an event with lots of emotions, both on and off the court. It … Read more

A few weeks ago, I met at a reception at DOKK1 in Aarhus one of the “sports heroes” from my childhood: Niels Fredborg. Immediately, I recognized 75-year-old Fredborg and we had a good conversation about many different topics: financial advice, Saxild Strand – where both Niels and my parents had a summer house for a … Read more

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which will be held in a few months in the authoritarian emir state, is the provisional “highlight” of authoritarian states’ use of international sporting events as a political tool. “Sportswashing” is called the phenomenon by journalists, researchers and politicians – in and outside of the world of sport – but … Read more

There are days that are easy to remember. Among these is Sunday, August 17 – 14 years ago – when the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing were ongoing. Early in the morning, the trip went from the hotel to the Laoshan Velodrome, where the preliminary time trial and quarter-finals of the 4 km team pursuit were to be held.

Capital and competencies, both on and off the pitch, are the two crucial factors in winning championships and medals in professional sport. Analyzes of Danish and international football have shown that in recent decades there is a clear connection between the professional clubs’ sporting results and finances – the ability and willingness to attract and retain skilled players, head coach, sports manager, assistant coaches, health staff and administrative staff.

In a few weeks (June 27-30, 2022), Odense will host Play the Game’s 25th anniversary conference: “Play the Game – is there a cure for sports?”. At the conference, more than 400 journalists, researchers, experts, athletes, managers, politicians, whistleblowers and others from around the world will discuss the “shadow sides” of sport – and there are (still) many of them.

On Friday night, the puck will be thrown in Nokia Arena Tampere for the opening match – Finland vs. Norway – at “2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship”. And now, 16 days of national celebration begin – not only in Helsinki and Tampere, which are the host cities of the World Championship – but throughout Finland, where the national ice hockey team – “The Lions” – is a national pride.

Denmark is currently the world’s strongest handball nation with World Championships title for men’s team in 2019 and 2021 as well as the selection of both two international top players – Sandra Toft and Niklas Landin – and two national coaches – Jesper Jensen and Nicolaj Jacobsen – as the world’s best in 2021.

The last two competitions at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing became visible evidence of the Nordic countries’ sporting success at the Games. First, the Norwegian cross-country queen Therese Johaug won 30 km freestyle and a few minutes later, Finland’s national pride – “The Lions“ – became Olympic champions in ice hockey after a deserved 2-1 victory over the defending Olympic champions from Russia.

Biathlon is a fascinating sport that is among the most popular at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The sport consists of the ski discipline cross-country skiing and precision shooting with a rifle. The combination of many different skills of biathletes – endurance, speed, strategy, precision and concentration – includes dramas such as changing leads between athletes and 10-15 biathletes as potential medal winners.

There are moments in one’s life that can be quickly and easily drawn out on the retina. Among such moments in my life are several from the Paralympic Games: Peter Rosenmeier’s 3-1 final victory in set against German Daniel Arnold at Beijing University Gymnasium with enthusiastic 5,000 spectators at PL 2008 in Beijing, Annika Lykke Dalskov’s two bronze medals in dressage at Greenwich Park and Jackie Christiansen’s superb 18.16-meter shot put – almost 4 meters longer than the nearest competitors – at Queen Elizabeth Stadium with more than 70,000 spectators at the PL 2012 in London.

There is not necessarily a logical connection between the number of members and a federation’s sporting results. Danish ice hockey is an excellent example of these facts. The Danish Ice Hockey Union (DIU) has only registered a little more than 6,000 members in 17 clubs.

Athletics has always – as a global sport, commercially and as topic in the medias – been the “crown jewel” of the Olympic Games. Legends like Paavo Nurmi, Emil Zatopek, Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, Bob Beamon, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Carl Lewis, Sergie Bubka and Usain Bolt are not the only former Olympic gold medalists in athletics.

“Strikers win matches, but a strong defense wins championships”. This is what one of Italy’s greatest coaching legends – Arrigo Sacchi – stated after he was hired as head coach of A.C. Milan in the summer of 1987. Until Sacchi was hired by A.C. Milan had by far the majority of Serie A clubs and … Read more

All emotions are at the highest level by players, coaches, managers and fans when arch-rivals from F.C. Internazionale and A.C. Milan on Sunday night match up at the Stadio Guiseppe Meazza in Milan. The local derby between two of Italy’s most traditional and winning football clubs is the highlight of the year for all Milanese, … Read more

Badminton is one of the few sports where Denmark has continuously been among the world’s best nations for decades. The unique position was confirmed last week at the World Mixed Team Championships – the Sudirman Cup – in Finland, where Denmark was the only European nation that qualified to the quarterfinals, where it turned into … Read more

Did you know that European football clubs such as FC Barcelona, ​​Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain have more than doubled their financial turnover over the past ten years, so that their annual turnover today amounts to 6-8 billions .… pr. club. Did you know that the Spanish top club FC Real Madrid and the multinational … Read more

“It is the story that the right circumstances and the right people in the right place can create lasting results.” Thus, one of the 37 contributors – professor and head of research unit Jan Hartvigsen – writes in the anniversary book: “From physical exercises to sports and biomechanics – 50 years with the body in … Read more

The final medals at the XXXII Olympic Games have been distributed and 11,326 athletes from 206 nations are now returning home with victories, defeats, tears of joy and disappointment, new friendships, shattered dreams, hopes in new Olympic experiences in 3 years in Paris, a life without training and competitions and much, much more. For the … Read more

On Sunday, July 25, it is exactly 10 years since I had one of my greatest experiences as a spectator at an international sporting event: the 14th World Aquatics Championships, which was held in Shanghai, China. The mood among the 18,000 spectators – almost all Chinese – in the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center was very … Read more

In a few weeks, the Olympic flame will be lit at the “National Stadium” in Tokyo. Due to the global pandemic, the XXXII Olympic Games will be a very special event, as the vast majority of Japanese want the 2020 Tokyo Olympics either postponed or completely canceled. In addition, no spectators without Japan will have … Read more

On Friday night, the UEFA EURO 2020 opening match will be played at the Stadio Olympico in Rome, where the hosts from Italy will meet Turkey. The expectations for the Italian national football team – “Gli Azzurri” – are, as always, ahead of international championships, especially in Italy. The reason is that the football-loving nation … Read more

“Sport is sport and politics is politics. It may be that it is a bit old-fashioned, but there are also some things that are worth sticking to. It must be the sports organizations’ own task to decide their attitudes to political issues”. This statement, which was made a few months ago by Minister of Culture … Read more

On Saturday afternoon, FC Bayern Munich can win the German championship in football with an away win over Mainz 05 for the 9’th year in a row. Only two players have been part of the team in all 9 seasons; the goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer as well as club legend Thomas Müller, who is … Read more

Denmark’s second largest team sport – handball – is in a transition phase, where clubs with core values ​​such as voluntariness, inclusion, diversity and social community are under strong commercial pressure. Among Denmark’s absolutely strongest handball clubs with these core values ​​is Skanderborg Handball, which is now changing both club color and logo. The reason … Read more

This week, the first European qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2022 will be played in Qatar, which without comparison is the most controversial international sporting event since the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany. At present, only Qatar as World Cup host have secured a place among the 32 nations that in the period … Read more

Over the past decade, international club football has developed into a giant entertainment industry, with capital-rich investors across countries and continents radically changing the clubs’ ownership structure. One of the world’s largest football clubs – Manchester United – with an annual turnover of more than DKK 5 billion – is today owned by a number … Read more

“Dreams are often the most beautiful in life, and he who can not dream, and whose spirit does not look into the distant, he will not achieve anything great either.” This was stated by the German philosopher, politician and Chancellor Gustav Stresemann, who in 1923 received the Nobel Peace Prize. The statement accurately describes the … Read more

Next week, over half a million Norwegians will follow the live TV broadcasts from the IBU World Championships 2021 in biathlon, which will be held in Pokljuka in Slovenien. This is not least due to the fact that both the female and male biathletes from Norway have been very dominated in this season’s World Cups, … Read more

A research project on the mental health and well-being of Danish elite athletes, which has just been published in the scientific journal “Psychology of Sport & Exercise” (No. 52 – 2021) shows that Danish elite athletes have the same mental health and well-being as the population as a whole. The research project also shows that … Read more

The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 has affected every person’s behavior and everyday life, both locally, nationally and globally. For several weeks and months, girls and boys have had training, matches and competitions in football, swimming and gymnastics canceled. And international sporting events, such as the 2020 Olympic Games and the 2020 European Championships in football, … Read more

“The main explanations for our performance success are a systematic game concept, the ability to develop the individual players and the crew treatment at a very high level. We cannot afford to buy world stars like the big clubs as Juventus F.C., A.C. Milan, F.C. Inter, A.S. Roma or S.S. Lazio, but instead find potential … Read more

Most Italians have a particular passion for art, design, fashion, gastronomy, wine and … football. For generations of Italians, this has given precisely the beauty and meaning of life: “La bella momenti della vita”, as the life-revelers of the boot country say with enthusiasm and glow in the voices. During these weeks I also enjoy … Read more

Next week, the first round of the UEFA Champions League group stage of the 2020-2021 season will be played. And for the first time since the autumn of 2013 with a Danish club – FC Midtjylland – among the 32 clubs, which are divided into 8 groups. 47 clubs from 40 nations in Europe did … Read more

On Saturday afternoon, there is a top match in the world’s best football league: Crystal Palace F.C. vs. Everton F.C. from Liverpool at Selhurst Park in the south-east of London. There are very few who had predicted a top match between these two clubs after the first two rounds and there are certainly even fewer … Read more

Sport has, both before and after the collapse of communism in the early 1990s, had a very special status and role in Russia. This is not least due to President Vlademir Putin’s strong personal passion for sport, which he has used as an essential weapon to strengthen himself and his political project of a united … Read more

Elite sports have a very low priority by the politicians of the Danish Parlament (Folketing) and the government ministers, except when they are guests at the Confederation of Danish Sports (DIF) during the Olympic Games or prizes are to be awarded at annual TV galla shows where Denmark’s best athletes are honored. During the coming … Read more

Did you know that love affairs between young athletes and between them and older men who took care of their upbringing were part of daily life in ancient schools, that gladiatorial battles in the Roman Empire between armed men and against animals were extremely bloody and often fatal, that the Danish health apostle and sportsman … Read more

In late March 2020, after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japan’s government decided to postpone the XXXII Olympic Games, which should have been held during the period July 24 – August 9, 2020. And, probably until the summer of 2021, there will continue to be great uncertainty about … Read more

When you walk through a storm Hold your head up high And don’t be afraid of the dark At the end of a storm There’s a golden sky And the sweet silver song of a lark Walk on through the wind Walk on through the rain Though your dreams be tossed and blown Walk on, … Read more

Next week, the Danish Super League in football resumes after almost 3 months of break due to corunavirus. Unfortunately without spectators at the stadiums – but better late than never and better with second best solution than no solution. However, the best thing about playing the remaining two rounds of the basic tournement, the “Top-6-play” … Read more

The league clubs in Danish football, handball and ice hockey are facing some very intensive financial challenges in these weeks. Admittedly, the professional clubs are covered by the two state “aid packages” on salary compensation and compensation for canceled matches, which partially cover the clubs’ costs for salary, rents, insurance and much more. In addition, … Read more

New book on OD, Danish gymnastics, academies, politics and cultural history on the occasion of the 100’th anniversary of Academy of Physical Education, Ollerup. No state, organization, private company or school can be established or developed by individuals, regardless of their knowledge, capabilities, passion or ability to act. But personal leadership is nevertheless one of … Read more

These are special experiences that bring memories to life – both inside and outside the world of sports. One of my special experience is the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with London as a fantastic host city. It is no coincidence that London has hosted the world’s biggest sporting event for three times. For centuries, … Read more

Aarhus Gymnastics Club of 1880, GF or “The whites of Fredensvang”: Dear child has many names. This is also the case with AGF from Aarhus: The city’s football pride with 5 Danish Championships and 9 Cup titles, which is a Danish record. AGF is also the club in Denmark that has played the most seasons … Read more

A few days ago, “Investegation of the conditions for elite athletes in the Danish Swimming Federation” (February 6, 2020) prepared by the Chamber of Lawyers was published. The investegation was carried out on the basis of the documentary program of the Danish Broadcasting Company (DR) “Swimming stars – Under the surface”, which was sent in … Read more

“Talk nicely”, “Behave well” and “Do your best”. Born in the 1950’s, raised as a child in the 1960’s and adolencent in the 1970’s, expressions like these have always had value and meaning to me. But the words for today’s children and adolencents have different values ​​and meanings than for my generation. Every generation, every … Read more

The 2019 World Championships in Handball became two very different experiences, for players, coaches, managers, journalists and spectators. In the first month of the year, the Danish men’s team for the first time ever won the World Championship in handball. On home court, the men’s team throughout the World Championship – not least in the … Read more

A few months ago, Team Denmark published a press release stating “… that Team Denmark and the Sports Conferation of Denmark (DIF) at a common board meeting decided to lift the vision of building a national elite sports center in Copenhagen to a comprehensive solution involving the whole country” and beyond ” … that Team … Read more

The United States has been the world’s best sports nation since the turn of the Millennium, especially because of the great dominance of the Summer Olympic disciplines. The United States’ dominance in international elite sport was most recently confirmed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where athletes and teams from the United States won a total … Read more

The revision of the Act on Elite sport in 2004 contained two new tasks for Team Denmark. The aims of the institution are to develop Danish elite sport in a socially responsible way. Firstly, the so-called 15-year rule was abolished, which meant that Team Denmark also had the opportunity to take responsibility for recruiting and … Read more

One of the greatest favorites in the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championship is 23-year-old Karsten Warholm, who was born and raised in Ulsteinvik – a village with 6,000 inhabitants on the West Coast of Norway. There are several reasons for Warholm’s favorite role in the 400-meter hurdle, for example he became World Champion two years … Read more

Danish athletes and teams have won a total of 45 medals at the last 5 Olympic Games, which have been held since the Millennium. Top scorer among the medal winners is rowing, which has won a total of 9 Olympic medals (3 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze medals) closely followed by sailing with 8 … Read more

In two weeks the TOTAL BWF Badminton World Championships 2019 will take place in Switzerland and Denmark have “only” Top 8-seeded players in two categories: Anders Antonsen in men’s singles and Kim Astrup and Anders Skårup in men’s doubles – the lowest number of seedings since the first BWF Badminton World Championships were held in … Read more

Next week I moved back to the capital of Jutland after 38 years “away from home”. The reason I left Aarhus in the summer of 1981 was that I was “forced to do so” to complete my master’s degree in Political Science and Physical Education. At that time, only P.E. was offered at the University … Read more

There is only one year to Tokyo in the days of July 24 – August 9 will host the 2020 Olympics. The populous and proud empire was also in 1964 host of the first Olympic Games held in Asia. In addition, Japan has previously been very successful in organizing the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo … Read more

2019 IIHF World Championship 2019 was a great success for Finland, which during the tournament defeated Sweden in the quartar final, Russia in the semi final and in the WC final the big favorites from Canada with 3 – 1. On the Finnish team, which primarily consisted of players from the Finnish league, there was … Read more

Two weeks ago, I was very surprised that Team Denmark submitted “Statement to the Minister of Culture about the DR documentary: Swimming stars – below the surface” without prior contact or dialogue with the undersigned, who was the CEO of Team Denmark during the period 1’st of September 2006 – 17’th of December 2014. Very … Read more

Denmark is one of the few countries in the World where the parliament – the “Folketing”, which pass all legislation and which controls how the government manages the legislation – has passed an Act on Elite sport. It was the most visionary Minister of Culture, Niels Matthiasen, who had the office in 1971-73 and 1975-80, … Read more

Of course, the bottom line of any account is important, but the revenues and expenses can also be very interesting. And sometimes the most important information is the notes of the account with small founts. This was the case when the two largest sports organizations in Denmark – The Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF) and … Read more

In recent weeks, the World Championships 2019 in alpine skiing, Nordic disciplines – cross-country skiing, ski jumping and combined – and biathlon showed once again that Norway is the World’s best winter sports nation. Norway won a total of 38 WC medals (20 gold, 9 silver and 9 bronze medals) in 45 disciplines, including 44 … Read more

Cycling – especially track cycling – is both historically and currently one of Denmark’s best sports. Denmark is among the ten best cycling nations in the world despite modest 5,300 license riders under the age of 18 and only three tracks in Ballerup (Copenhagen), Odense and Aarhus. The majority of the 26 Olympic medals, which … Read more

Finland has a strong historical tradition for elite sports. Since the Olympic debut in 1908, the proud sports nation has won a total of 303 medals at the Summer Olympics, ranking Finland with a modest population of 5.5 million inhabitants as the most winning nation per inhabitants of all 28 Summer Olympics – in front … Read more

The 2019 World Championship in men’s team handball starts in next week and Denmark is the host nation for the second time in history. The hostess is shared with Germany, but except for the opening match against Chile played in Copenhagen and the two semifinals played in Hamburg, all Denmark’s matches are played in Herning. … Read more

The Danish national team in women’s team handball ended with a modest 8’th place at the European Championships in France in the sports year 2018. It’s now 14 years since Denmark has won a medal at EC in women’s team handball and the way back to the world’s top four for the women’s team in … Read more