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“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 matter how many matches we win or lose”. Laura, a faithful and loyal member of one of Sevilla FC’s fan groups – “Peña Sevillista Tito Poulsen” – accurately expresses her views on the Spanish club’s current performances, both in LaLiga and the Champions League, when I meet her outside the stadium a few hours before kick-off between Real Club Deportivo Mallorca and Sevilla Fútbol Club in LaLiga – one of the world’s best football leagues. The friendly, middle-aged woman is a huge fan of Christian Poulsen, who played for Sevilla FC for two seasons more than 15 years ago. Christian Poulsen, who is today an assistant national coach and achieved 92 international matches, won the Europa League and Copa del Rey with Sevilla FC. On the other hand, Laura does not believe that the two current Danish national team players – Thomas Delaney and Kasper Dolberg – are of great benefit to her club. Sevilla FC’s new head coach Jorge Sampaoli, who has been national coach for Argentina, apparently also finds it difficult to spot Delaney and Dolberg’s qualities, as neither of them gets a single minute on the pitch in Sevilla FC’s 0-1 away win on a nice long shot by Serbian international player Nemanja Gudelj.

Sevilla FC – Big club in crisis

Founded in 1890, Sevilla FC has been represented in Spain’s best football tier for a total of 78 seasons and only 13 seasons in the second tier since the first national championship was held in the 1928-1929 season. The club’s only national championship goes all the way back to the 1945-1946 season, but especially in the last two decades, Sevilla FC has achieved impressive results, both nationally and internationally. In the last 20 seasons, the club has always been placed in the top-10 in LaLiga and twice (2006-2007 and 2009-2010) the club has won the Spanish cup – Copa del Rey. In addition, Sevilla FC have won the UEFA Europa League 6 times in just 17 seasons, which is unmatched by any other European club. Currently, Sevilla FC occupies a distinguished position as No. 17 on UEFA’s official club ranking – ahead of clubs such as F.C. Porto, S.L. Benfica, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Sevilla FC’s away win against a very defensive Mallorca team was only their second win of the season in 9 games, placing the club in a modest 13th place in LaLiga. The team has particular difficulty in creating scoring chances and profiles such as Ivan Rakitic, Papu Gomez, Isco and Erik Lamela seem far from the strength of yesterday. The club’s results in this season’s Champions League have been very poor, i.a. two big defeats (0-4 and 1-4) at home against Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund. If Sevilla FC fails to conquer 3rd place in the group – ahead of FC Copenhagen – it will undoubtedly be one of the club’s biggest international failures.

RCD Mallorca – Golden period followed by sporting and financial decline

RCD Mallorca, which was founded in 1916, does not have the same results and status, either in Spanish or international football, as Sevilla FC. The club achieved the best sporting results in the late 1990s and the beginning of the new millennium, when the club was No. 3 in La Liga in both 1998-1999 and 2000-2001 and won the Spanish Cup – Copa del Rey – in season 2002-2003. Among the team’s biggest profiles was Samuel Eto’o from Cameroon, who subsequently became one of the world’s best strikers for FC Barcelona, ​​Inter FC and Chelsea FC. The Serbian international player Jovan Stankovic and Miguel Angel Nadal – uncle of the tennis player Rafael Nadal – were important players for RCD Mallorca in that period.

In the past 15 years, RCD Mallorca has had a particularly turbulent period, both sportingly and financially. Both players and head coaches have been replaced after a few months, among them Michael Laudrup who in 2010-2011 managed a single season as head coach for the club.

In the 2012-2013 season, the club was relegated to the second-best tier and at the start of 2016, due to financial problems, the club was very close to relegation to the third-best tier. However, the club was saved at the finish line, with American investors buying the majority of the shares for 20 million euros. It was only in the 2019-2020 season that the club returned after 6 seasons in the second best tier. Last season RCD Mallorca was also very close to relegation and this season the club has unfortunately maintained a very defensive style of play. For that reason, it is usually about avoiding losing – instead of trying to win.

LaLiga – Huge difference between top and bottom teams, both sporting and financial

LaLiga has been among the world’s best football leagues for decades, but always with a big difference between the 20 clubs. Real Madrid FC with 35 and FC Barcelona with 26 national championships have been by far the most dominant clubs who have also dominated European club football. Since the UEFA Champions League was established in the early 1990s, Real Madrid FC has won the title 8 times, while FC Barcelona has won the biggest club trophy 5 times. By comparison, no other European club, either from England, Germany or Italy, has won the UEFA Champions League more than 3 times.

Today, LaLiga is the sixth largest professional sports league in terms of financial revenue, surpassed only by the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball League (NBA), Premier League (PL) and National Hockey League (NHL). The reason is, that the matches in LaLiga are televised directly to many Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America. However, it is also no secret that many Spanish football clubs are often in financial trouble due to crazy transfers and player salaries. It is estimated that FC Barcelona today has a total debt of more than 1,5 billion euro and that the big club has been “forced” to sell their TV rights to avoid bankruptcy.

Not a single word about Delaney, Dolberg and FC Copenhagen

On the way out of the stadium, I meet Laura again, who spontaneously exclaims: “Gudelj – Si. Poulsen – Si. On Tuesday, the match against Valencia FC at home at Estadio Ramôn Sánchez-Pizjuán must be a win. And then I’m going to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu next Sunday. Real Madrid FC are a very strong team, but I will always have Sevilla FC in my heart”. She does not mention Dolberg, Delaney and FCK with a single word before we say goodbye.

You can get further information on the following websites:

Sevilla FC – https://sevillafc.es/en

RCD Mallorca – https://www.rcdmallorca.es/en

LaLiga – https://www.laliga.com/en-ES

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 wasn’t just Federer, who has won a total of 20 Grand Slam titles, been No. 1 on the ATP’s World rankings for 310 weeks, named “World Sportsman of the Year” as many as 5 times and earned more than 10 billion DKK in prize money and personal sponsorships – throughout his more than 20-year career. Federer’s biggest rival and good friend throughout his career – Rafael Nadal from Spain – was also very affected and let his emotions at Federer’s farewell to international top tennis.

It’s “only” tennis

A few days after Roger Federer’s farewell matches, the likeable Swiss said the following to the New York Times (28’th of September 2022): “Of course I was very touched when “Rafa” said to me: “I will do everything to be there with you when you playing your last international tennis match – even though my wife is pregnant”. His words and actions showed how much we mean to each other and how much respect we have for each other. It would just be a beautiful, amazing story for us, for tennis and for sports. And maybe we could also show how we can compete in a strong rivalry. But also show that it is “only” tennis. “Rafa” and I have always had very tough matches, but always fair. We have also shown that you can come out on the other side and still have a strong personal friendship. I will never forget what “Rafa” did for me in London”.

Rafael Nadal – The pride of Mallorca

Rafael Nadal was born and raised in Manacor on Mallorca. His parents were wealthy and very passionate about sports, just like the rest of his family. One of his uncles – Miguel Ángel Nadal – was a professional footballer who played for RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona and 62 caps for Spain. However, it was another uncle – Toni Nadal – who quickly discovered “Rafa’s” unique talent of ballgames, both in football and tennis. When “Rafa” was 12 years old, football was rejected and all time was then spent on tennis, both nationally and internationally. Nadal’s international career started in 2002, where he was already among the world’s 50 best players as a 16-year-old. And three years later he – still as a teenager – won the first Grand Slam title at the French Open. Subsequently, the 36-year-old left-hander has won a total of 22 Grand Slam titles – more than any other tennis player in the world. And like Roger Federer, Nadal has won all four Grand Slams: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. The French Open in particular has been Rafael Nadal’s favorite tournament, which he has won no fewer than 14 times – most recently in June 2022 with a final victory over Casper Ruud from Norway. In addition, Nadal has won Olympic gold both in singles (Beijing 2008) and in doubles with compatriot Marc Lopes (Rio de Janeiro 2016) as well as the World Championship for national teams (Davis Cup) a total of 6 times for Spain.

Federer vs. Nadal – matches between two different playing styles

From their first match in 2004 until today, the two tennis legends have met a total of 40 times, of which no less than 9 matches have been Grand Slam finals. It can be difficult to single out some matches over others, but most tennis experts agree that the Wimbledon final in 2008, which lasted almost 5 hours before Nadal was able to win the last ball for 9-7 in 5 sets, is one of the most exciting and well-played tennis matches in history. Over the years, the matches between the two legends have also been a battle between two different playing styles: Federer as the “all-round player”, who masters both offensive and defensive play with elegant footwork and mental calmness against Nadal’s aggressive playing style with unique topspin in the forehand, fast footwork and a strong will to fight.

Rafael Nadal Academy – an impressive sports center

Yesterday I visited the “Rafael Nadal Academy”, which is located outside Manacor in Mallorca. The sports center, which was opened in 2016, contains a total of 26 tennis courts – both indoor and outdoor courts – Olympic-standard swimming pool, soccer field, medical clinic with doctors, physiotherapists, physical trainers and other professional experts. The center also includes a hotel, restaurant, bars and wellness with a spa, where both top athletes and talents can relax after training. Nadal still lives with his family in Manacor and he often invites young tennis talents, both from Spain and other countries, to training camps at the sports center. Among these is the 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who a few weeks ago won the US Open and who is currently is No. 1 in the world ranking – just ahead of his role model: Rafael Nadal.

Life and sports career include everything

When the “accounts” of life and the sports career are to be calculated, it is essential that everything is included: Victories and defeats, losses and gains, joys and disappointments, diligence and laziness, realities and emotions, lifelong friendships and superficial acquaintances and much, much more. A few days ago, two of the world’s most professional and richest top athletes – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – showed with an emotional handshake in a short moment that (elite) sport can lead to one of life’s greatest and strongest qualities: A lifelong friendship.

Further information:

Roger Federer’s website: https://www.rogerfederer.com

Rafael Nadal’s website: https://rafaelnadal.com

Rafael Nadal Academy: https://www.rafanadalacademy.com

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 number of years – the difference between living in Copenhagen and Aarhus, golf and of course the experiences at Aarhus Cycle Track in the 1960’s and 1970’s, where the Sprint Grand Prix with the participation of e.g. the elegant Frenchman Daniel Morelon and the “Russian bear” Omari Phakadze as well as the Danish Championship finals in sprint and 1,000 meters time trial between the police officer Peder Pedersen and Niels Fredborg attracted more with 10,000 spectators. It was these experiences that made Niels Fredborg one of Denmark’s best track riders of all time. And which motivated a 12-year-old boy to take part in the “Young People’s Cycle Race” around Lake Brabrand and to spend many evenings by the railings on the Aarhus Cycle Track.

Niels Fredborg – Olympic champion and triple World champion

Niels Fredborg started racing at the Aarhus Cycle Track in 1962, where he won the first Danish Championship in sprint as a 16-year-old. Until his career as a professional track rider ended in 1980, he won a total of 27 Danish championships, participated in 4 Olympic Games (1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976) and became triple world champion (1967, 1968 and 1970) in his favorite discipline 1,000 meters time trial. It was also in the favorite discipline that Fredborg won 3 Olympic medals: silver in 1968, gold in 1972 and bronze in 1976. Especially the Olympic gold medal in Munich, which I followed closely to the family’s new color television, is still sharp in my memories today. After the Olympic silver medal four years earlier in Mexico City, Fredborg was among the favorites for the Olympic gold medal in Munich. And after the 30 riders had completed the time trial, it was clear that the 25-year-old from Aarhus had the fastest time – 1:06.44. Danny Clark of Australia (1:06.87) won silver and Jürgen Schütze of GDR (1:07.02) took the bronze medal. It would later turn out that Fredborg’s gold medal became Denmark’s only medal at the Olympics in 1972. The national competition was won by the Soviet Union with no fewer than 50 gold medals ahead of the USA and the GDR – or East Germany (1949-1990) – the communist state, which strategically used elite sport as political propaganda by scientific training methods and systematic doping.

1972 Olympics – The “cheerful” games and the legacy of Berlin ’36

From the end of the 1940’s until the end of the 1980’s, as a consequence of the collapse of Nazi Germany in World War II, Europe was divided into two spheres of interest: East with the Warsaw Pact and West with NATO as military alliances and especially the establishment of the Berlin Wall in 1961 as a ” anti-fascist protective wall” seriously intensified the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States as military superpowers. The buildup of nuclear weapons by the two superpowers escalated throughout the 1960’s and several times threatened a nuclear war. The Cold War did not only take place by military armrace, but also at international sporting events such as the Olympics. The “cheerful” games – as the Olympics in Munich were called – were for West Germany a welcome opportunity to show the rest of the world that the nation had risen up – democratically, economically and culturally – after Hitler’s National Socialist Third Reich, which used the 1936 Olympics in Berlin for one of the biggest propaganda numbers in world history. A few days after Fredborg’s triumph, however, the Munich Olympics were struck by a terrible tragedy which affected the whole world. And which put extra focus on a conflict which was also a consequence of Nazi Germany’s systematic genocide of 5-6 million Jews in the period 1933-1945.

Connolly Strasse 31 – Death’s waiting room

In the early morning of September 5, 1972, eight members of the Palestinian group “Black September” – a faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) – broke into the Olympic Village, killed two Israeli athletes and took nine other Israeli athletes as hostage. The terrorist group demanded the release of 236 Palestinians detained in Israel as well as the release of the two German Rote Armee Fraktion terrorists Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof. The Israelis totally refused to negotiate with the terrorists and instead asked the German government for permission to send a special force to Munich, but this proposal was rejected by the German government. I still vividly remember the “live television” from Connolly Strasse 31, which were broadcast to more than 900 million viewers around the world. The 1972 Olympics were the first time that the games’ competitions were broadcast live on TV. For the next 21 hours, the whole world waited with intense tension for the actions of the terrorists, policemen and politicians inside and outside the Olympic Village. The negotiations ended without result, after which the terrorists and hostages were transported to Fürstenfeldbruck Airport to being flown to a country in the Middle East. The rescue operation launched by German police at the airport was a total failure, as all nine Israeli hostages were killed by the terrorists. German police managed to kill five of the terrorists, while three were captured alive. A few days after the tragedy in Munich, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, with the assistance of the Israeli Air Force, chose to attack PLO military facilities and civilian Palestinians in Syria and Lebanon as revenge for the terrorist attack in Munich. And at the same time, the Prime Minister assured that the Israeli security service would in future kill all “Black September terrorists” – regardless of where in the world they were.

“The show must go on” – but everything has (un)changed

The terrorist attack had occurred at the worst imaginable time and in the worst imaginable place – during the world’s biggest “people’s festival” in Munich, which in the late 1920’s and through the 1930’s was Hitler’s favorite “home town”. The International Olympic Committee had to make decisions with far-reaching consequences at lightning speed. During Tuesday 5 September, more and more Olympic competitions were canceled and the Olympics were suspended for 34 hours after the failure at Fürstenfeldbruck Airport – the whole world waited in suspense. The IOC decided to hold a memorial ceremony for the victims, where the IOC president uttered the famous words: “The show must go on” – The rest of the Olympic competitions were held in the following days, but everything was (un)changed.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine, which can be traced back to several centuries of disputes between Jews and Arabs over the “Holy Land”, remains unresolved. The number of terrorist attacks rooted in the conflicts between Jews and Arabs and between Muslims and Christians has expanded in recent decades. And the Municipality of Aarhus has just decided to remove the Aarhus Cycle Track from the map – only a very few jubilant optimists now have hope and faith in a new indoor cycle track in Denmark’s second largest city. Even though Denmark has won Olympic medals in track cycling at the last 4 Olympics.

Literature:

David Clay Large: Munich 1972: Tragedy, Terror, and Triump at the Olympic Games (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012)

Simon Reeve: One Day in September: The Full Story of the 1972 Munich Massacre and the Israeli Revenge Operation “Wrath of God” (Arcade Publishing, 2001)

Kay Schiller & Chris Young: The 1972 Munich Olympics and the Making of Modern Germany (University of California Press, 2010).

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 there is no officially recognized definition of the phenomenon. Amnesty International describes “sportswashing” as an expression of “… that sport is used by states, organizations, companies or individuals to improve reputation and public perception – both nationally and internationally. “Sportswashing” is when sports are used as PR and propaganda by states known for systematic and severe suppression of human rights and to remove the focus of serious social problems and violations of democratic rights”.

“Soft power” is a more accurate term than “sportswashing”

It is more accurate to use the term “soft power” instead of “sportswashing”, as it is not only authoritarian states such as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia or Qatar that use mega-events such as the Olympics, World Championships, Formula 1, golf and tennis tournaments as political tools, both internally in relation to the states’ own populations and externally in relation to the world community. Democratic states such as Germany (FIFA World Cup 2006), the United Kingdom (Olympic Games 2012) and France (Tour de France) have also used sport’s mega-events for staged narratives about these nations’ advantages, qualities and contributions to the world community.

“Soft power” creates new and strong networks and alliances

The theory of “soft power” was developed by the political scientist Joseph Nye, who emphasizes that power and power relations between nations do not only consist of traditional factors such as military or economic power (“hard power”). “Soft power” is used to get what you want through attraction and persuasion in order to achieve recognition of a nation’s culture, political values and foreign policy. At the same time, Joseph Nye emphasizes that a nation achieves its greatest influence by combining “hard power” and “soft power” in a unified strategy, which he calls “smart power”. The theory of “soft power” can largely explain why states – especially authoritarian ones – “invest” gigantic sums in sports mega-events to create new and strong diplomatic networks and alliances.

“Soft power” as a political tool is not a new phenomenon

At Play the Game’s 25th anniversary conference (June 2022), “sportswashing” or states’ use of “soft power” was one of the main themes. Professor Jules Boykoff from Pacific University (USA) emphasized that the phenomenon has a long history with the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin as one of the most significant examples. Hitler’s Nazi Germany deliberately and strategically used the Olympic Games for a propagandistic self-presentation of the Third Reich: a staged party where the host nation presented itself as a peaceful and working nation to the world community. Only three years later, this illusion completely burst and set all of Europe and large parts of Asia on fire.

The United States and the Soviet Union: “Soft power” during the Cold War

The historical dimension of the phenomenon is also highlighted by senior analyst Stanis Elsborg from Play the Game. Elsborg emphasizes that the Cold War between the superpowers – the United States and the Soviet Union – from the late 1940s to the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s was not just a military arms race (“hard power”). The Cold War – or the race – was also fought in the sports arenas – not least in connection with the Olympic Games. The two superpowers used “soft power” to a large extent to convince the rest of the world’s nations – and not least the Western-oriented nations in Europe and the Eastern Bloc nations respectively – that they stood for the most attractive social system that could also produce the best athletes. The United States and the Soviet Union used the opening ceremony at their hosting of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow – where the US did not participate – and the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles – where the Soviet Union and most countries from Eastern Europe did not participate – to demonstrate space policy ambitions. The battle between the two “systems” should thus not “only” take place through military capacity and in the sports arenas – but also in space via modern technology.

China: A new superpower, both in sports and space

In the past two decades, a new superpower – China – has really emerged in international sports and space travel. Chinese President Xi Jinping has his own “space dream” and is convinced that the path to world domination goes through space. China has great space policy ambitions, which involves the idea of building a base on the moon and a manned mission to Mars. This message was communicated at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, as well as by the mascot for the 2022 Winter Olympics: a panda dressed as an astronaut. Stronger symbolic value cannot be sent to all children and young people in the world’s most populous nation.

Qatar: Major user of “soft power” in connection with sports mega-events

After the turn of the millennium, especially China (Olympics 2008 and Winter Olympics 2022), Russia (Winter Olympics 2014 and FIFA World Cup 2018) and Qatar have used “soft power” as a political strategy – with greater or lesser success. Qatar has systematically and strategically used sport’s mega-events to gain political goodwill and, not least, to develop commercial networks within the global sports industry. Among the biggest international sporting events that have taken place in Qatar are the Asian Games (2006), the World Championship in team handball (2015), the World Championship in road cycling (2016) and the World Championship in athletics (2019). FIFA World Cup 2022 is the next showcase, but the “crown jewel” for Qatar will surely be to be awarded the hosting of the Olympic Games in 2036. Qatar was awarded the hosting of FIFA World Cup 2022, which has created an intense debate about the relationship between sports, politics and human rights, two reasons in particular. Firstly, the evidence that there was corruption in FIFA during the awarding of the World Cup hosts for 2018 and 2022. Secondly, international organizations – such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Sport for Rights – as well as journalists’ coverage of Qatar’s problems in respecting basic human rights, especially in relation to the many migrant workers who have since 2010 built stadiums, hotels and infrastructure to be ready to receive fans from around the world when the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 kicks off on 21 November 2022.

 

Literature on “soft power” and international sport:

Joseph Nye: “Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics” (2004)

Jules Boykoff: “Power Games – A Political History of the Olympics (2016)

Stanis Elsborg: “Sporten er en yndet arena for budskaber” – https://www.idan.dk/nyheder/sporten-er-en-yndet-arena-for-politiske-budskaber/

Francios Colin, Hein Meurs, Jurryt van de Vooren & Teun Meurs: No More Qatar (2022).

Amnesty International – https://www.amnesty.org.uk/search/sportswashing

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. Great Britain with Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins in the team were big favorites for the Olympic gold medals, while Australia, New Zealand and Denmark were among the other medal candidates. The Danish team, which consisted of Jens-Erik Madsen, Casper Jørgensen, Alex Rasmussen and Michael Færk Christensen, disappointed in the preliminary time trial with a 4th place – almost 3 seconds behind New Zealand and 5 seconds behind Great Britain. The ranking meant that Denmark had to compete against No. 5 – France – in tonight’s quarter-finals. During the day, the charismatic national team coach Heiko Salzwedel chose to replace Michael Færk Christensen with Michael Mørkøv for the quarter-finals, where Denmark delivered a formidable performance. The time of 3.56.831 was not only a Danish record – just 1.6 seconds off the GB’s world record, but also better than both New Zealand (3.57.536) and Australia (3.58.633). Denmark had thus – much surprising – qualified for the Olympic final and secured at least one Olympic silver medal. The morning’s disappointment in the preliminary time trial had suddenly turned to joy and excitement. The following day Great Britain won superb Olympic gold with a new world record (3.53.314), but this was a won silver medal and definitely not a “lost” gold medal for Denmark.

From historic low ebb to Olympic silver in record time

Prior to the Olympic final in Beijing, a period of 4 years had passed in which 6-8 young talents, with the financial support of the Danish Cycling Union (DCU) and Team Denmark, as well as the employment of an international coaching capacity, had “invested” a lot of time and efforts to recreate a world-class Danish 4 km team pursuit. Denmark had not qualified one single track rider for the Olympic Games 2004 in Athens, which was an absolute low ebb for Danish track cycling. However, DCU director Jesper Worre and sports manager Lars Bonde had identified great potential among a number of talented junior riders. And with Heiko Salzwedel’s systematic and scientific approach to training, equipment and competitions, a fantastic era for Danish track cycling started with lots of Olympic, WC and EC medals over the past 15 years. I got to know Jens Erik, Casper, Alex, Færk and Mørkøv as friendly, hard work and passionate cyclists who developed into world-class athletes in record time – but still with humility and mutual respect as personal values. The Olympic silver medal in 2008 and the World Championship in 2009 – both for the 4 km team pursuit and for Michael Mørkøv and Alex Rasmussen in the Madison – in the Polish industrial town of Pruszków still stand today as some of my greatest sporting experiences.

Exciting book about social relations and community

4 km team pursuit race is a fascinating sport discipline where tactics, technique, endurance, speed and discipline must be united by 4 different athletes. And the riders who started the golden era of Danish track cycling were very different. It also appears that Michael Mørkøv’s book “My way” (Turbine, 2022), which was published a few months ago. The book, which was written in collaboration with the journalist Carsten Ritter, gives an exciting insight into the social relations and the community, both on the 4 km team pursuit, in the Madison and not least on professional World Tour teams, which have been Mørkøv’s “livelihood” throughout almost two decades.

The newsboy with lots of defeats

Not all of the book’s chapters are equally interesting. But the chapters such as Michael Mørkøv’s upbringing and youth in Kokkedal and North Zealand should be “curriculum” for all boys and girls who dream of a life as a professional cyclist. Michael was not a bright talent when he started at Lyngby Cycle Club, but he was fascinated by the sport of cycling and did not let a lot of defeats put him off. The story of the mini-six-day race in Forum, the cement track in Ordrup, the new cycle track in Ballerup, the love for the family, the mates and the role models in the cycling club, the respect and trust in the youth coach Tom Breschel, the first sponsor, the newspaper routes that finance new cycling equipment, the roommate Casper Jørgensen and the education as a carpenter is top class. The same is true of Mørkøv’s decision 5 years ago to leave a strong training environment in Lucca in favor of the family – wife Trine and their three children Alberte, Frederik and Viktor – well-being in Rødovre. High priority of the family and a very disciplined everyday life as a professional cyclist is also clearly evident in sports director Tom Steels from Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team, double Olympic gold medalist and partner Lasse Norman Hansen, friend and national team coach Casper Jørgensen and wife Trine’s experiences of and attitudes towards the cyclist and the human being – Michael Mørkøv.

Lots of Olympic and World Cup medals – but never alone

Mørkøv’s greatest international sporting results have been unconditionally achieved on the track with Olympic gold medal in Madison together with Lasse Norman (2021), World Championships gold in Madison together with Alex Rasmussen (2009) and Lasse Norman (2020 and 2021) as well as Olympic silver medal (2008) and World Championship in the 4 km team pursuit race (2009) as highlights. And maybe another Olympic medal awaits in the Madison in two years in Paris. The experiences – victories, defeats, conflicts, disappointments, friendships and much more – on the track are described openly and honestly, but (unfortunately) not with the same degree of detail as everyday life and life on the professional road cycling teams.

Recognition from competitors and trust from teammates

Mørkøv’s role on professional cycling teams such as Saxo Bank (2009-2015), Katusha (2016-2017) and today Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (2018-) has been – and continues to be – helping one of the team’s top sprinters to victory. The role of lead-out rider perfectly suits Mørkøv’s tactical and analytical skills combined with his courage and fearlessness. It is these abilities and a deep loyalty towards teammates and employer that, over a number of years, have given Mørkøv recognition among competitors on the best World Tour teams – and not least the trust and respect of teammates and world cycling stars such as Fabian Cancellara, Alberto Contador, Alexander Kristoff, Elia Viviani, Peter Sagan and Mark Cavendish. There are extremely few athletes who win Olympic medals or World Championships without a large amount of training – and certainly not in a sport such as cycling. In my opinion, Michael Mørkøv is one of Danish elite sports’ very best examples of how hard work and loyalty are far better qualities in elite sports than talent and selfishness – both as an athlete and as a human being.

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. However, it is far from all professional clubs that are equally skilled and efficient in managing their financial resources – not even in the Danish Super League. In a few days a new season will start and optimism is high in all 12 professional clubs. But even before the first match is played, everything indicates that the Danish championship 2022/2023 (again) will be won by either FC Copenhagen (FCK) or FC Midtjylland (FCM) with the clearly largest expenses for players, coaches, experts and administration.

FCK with great success in European club football over two decades

FCK has since the turn of the millennium been absolutely superb in Danish club football with a total of 13 Danish championships, 6 cup titles and only one season (2017-2018) the club has not won medals. In addition, FCK is also the only Danish club with success in European club football with repeated group stages in the Champions League (CL) and Europa League (EL). It will also happen in the coming autumn, where FCK is already sure of group stage in either CL or EL and thus net income of DKK 60-100 million. FCK’s European success is also reflected in UEFA’s club ranking, where the club is currently is placed as No. 41 – in front of top clubs such as AC Milan, Feyenoord and Valencia CF. It is estimated that FCK’s annual expenditure on salaries and bonuses for players and coaches, sign-on fees and amortization of transfers amounts to DKK 170 million. In the last 5 seasons, FCK has won 2 Danish championships and 2 silver medals. And at the same time, FCK has achieved revenues of more DKK ½ billion by the sale of players such as Mohamed Daramy (AFC Ajax), Jonas Wind (VfL Wolfsburg), Robin Olsen (AS Roma), Robert Skov (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim) and Jens Stage (Werder Bremen).

FCM with the best Super League results in the last 5 seasons

FCM has had better sporting results than FCK in the Danish Super League’s last 5 seasons despite a smaller annual expense – DKK 12o million – for salaries and bonuses for players and coaches, sign-on fees and depreciation on transfers. 3 Danish championships, 2 silver medals and 2 cup titles in 5 years are very impressive, but the ambitious club from “Heden” lacks a decisive breakthrough in European club football. Currently, FCM occupies a position as No. 87 on UEFA’s club rankings – very far from the goal of the top-50 by 2025. In a few weeks, FCM will once again have the chance to qualify for CL or EL group stages, but the qualification is both long and very difficult.

Brøndby is – sportingly and financially – back on track

Brøndby struggled for a number of years with very poor sporting results and poor finances, which were financed solely by financial “donations” of DKK 50-80 million annually from the main shareholder Jan Bech Andersen. However, in the last 5 seasons Brøndby has not been worse placed than No. 4 and not least the Danish championship in 2020/2021 and the silver medal in 2017/2018 has placed Brøndby stable as Denmark’s 3’rd best club with DKK 65 million in annual expenses for salaries and bonuses for players and coaches, sign-on fees and depreciation on transfers. An amount that is “only” approx. ½ of FCM’s and slightly more than 1/3 of FCK’s corresponding costs. Brøndby has also in recent years revised their sporting strategy, so that the development of young talents via the club’s academy has been prioritized rather than the purchase of “older” foreign players from “2’nd or 3’rd shelf”. The sale of 21-year-old Jesper Lindstrøm last summer to EL-winner Eintracht Frankfurt for more than 50 million DKK hopefully heralds new and better times for Brøndby’s financial strategy.

FCN is extremely adept at developing and selling young players

Several Danish Super League clubs have in recent years largely focused on FC Nordsjælland (FCN), which in my opinion has performed best in sporting results in recent seasons based on the club’s financial conditions. With the exception of last season, FCN has been stably placed in the top-6 with annual salary and bonus costs for players and coaches, sign-on fees and amortization of transfers of DKK 35 million. In addition, FCN – through the academy “Right to Dream” – has had great success with the sale of young players, such as national team players Mathias Jensen (Brentford F.C.), Andreas Skov Olsen (Club Brugge KV) and Mikkel Damsgaard (U.C. Sampdoria) and foreign profiles like Emre Mor (Borussia Dortmund) and Kamaldeen Sulemana (Stade Rennais F.C.). A total transfer income, which is probably greater than FCK’s DKK ½ billion in the last 5 years.

Aarhus GF has improved its finances – but still poor sporting results

In recent years, AGF has undergone a financial turnaround with significant reductions in the club’s costs and a doubling of sponsorship income from DKK 40 million to DKK 70 million. It is estimated that AGF today with DKK 65 million has the Super League’s 4’th largest annual expense for salaries and bonuses for players and coaches, sign-on fees and depreciation on transfers. But unfortunately, AGF from the country’s second largest city only manages to qualify for the top-6 playoffs twice in the last 5 seasons. The bronze medal in 2019/2020 – AGF’s first medal in 23 years – created great optimism among AGF’s sponsors and fans, but 4 points in the relegation game’s 10 matches in the spring of 2022 brought the club very close to the fourth relegation from the Super League since the turn of the millennium. A new head coach – the experienced German Uwe Rösler – must now develop a new style of play and put together a competent team. In my opinion, this will not happen without the purchase of many new players in the coming transfer windows.

AaB and OB underperform significantly from the clubs’ finances

Proud traditional clubs such as Aalborg BK (AaB) and Odense (OB) from Denmark’s 3’rd and 4’th largest cities have – like Aarhus GF – underperformed significantly in recent seasons based on their annual financial costs of DKK 44 and DKK 40 million for salary and bonus for players and coaches, sign-on fees and depreciation on transfers. Despite good results by the club’s youth team (U17 and U19), OB has only managed to qualify once (season 2018/2019) among the Super League’s 6 best teams in the last 5 seasons. North Jutland’s football pride – AaB – has only achieved marginally better sporting results than OB with three places as No. 5 in the last five seasons.

Silkeborg IF and Viborg FF – good results with modest costs

Last season’s big positive surprises in the Danish Super League were the two promotions: Silkeborg IF, who won bronze medals with strong passing playing style and Viborg FF, who qualified for European club football (Conference League). The sporting results of the two clubs were particularly impressive in light of the very modest annual cost of salaries and bonuses for players and coaches, sign-on fees and amortization of transfers on DKK 23 million and DKK 18 million – or only 10-15% of FCK’s and less than ½ of AGF’s corresponding costs. Season no. 2 after a promotion is always difficult, so it will be very exciting if SIF and VFF can achieve the same sporting success in the coming season, where many of the two clubs’ most talented players have become attractive “sales objects” for both Danish and foreign clubs.

Money will mean (even) more for future results

All indications are that capital will have an even greater impact on sporting results in Danish and international club football in the coming years. But competencies – or perhaps more precisely – lack of competencies in the form of weak talent development, poor purchases and sales of Danish and foreign players, lack of quality and continuity among players, coaches, sports directors, board and owners, changing style of play, lousy communication, declining spectators and sponsorship interest and much, much more will also – fortunately – continue to have an impact on one of the football’s most important DNA’s – the unpredictable result.

You can get further information about finances in Danish Super League clubs and international top clubs on the following website:

• https://superliga.dk/
• https://www.uefa.com/
• https://www.tipsbladet.dk
• https://offthepitch.com/

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.

Democracy, transparency and freedom of expression as key values

The vision of an international forum focusing on the “shadow sides” of sport was launched in 1997 by journalist and editor-in-chief Jens Sejer Andersen, who hosted an international media seminar on behalf of the Danish Gymnastics and Sports Associations (DGI). The seminar was also the start of an international network for journalists who were interested in more than just sports results and international football matches. The first three conferences were conducted by DGI, but in 2004 “Play the Game” was established as a self-governing institution with support from the three Danish sport organizations: DGI, the Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF) and Danish Company Sports (DFIF) as well as financial support from the Ministry of Culture. In 2011, “Play the Game” was merged with the Danish Institute for Sports Studies (Idan). Despite various organizational structures, the purpose of Play the Game has remained unchanged – “… to promote democracy, transparency and freedom of expression in international sports community”.

Doping is (still) one of the biggest challenges of sport

The most controversial theme in international sports in the late 1990s was doping, especially in professional cycling. The Festina scandal in 1998, in which French police seized a gigantic quantity of doping substances from the cycling team Festina shortly before the start of the Tour de France, was the background for the establishment of an international institution – the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) – the following year. In addition, a number of national anti-doping institutions were established, such as Anti-Doping Denmark (ADD), which was to combat the use of doping. During these years, the Play the Game conferences were the meeting place where “key players” in the international doping debate, such as Dick Pound (former IOC Vice President and WADA President 1999-2007), Bengt Saltin (International Researcher), Alessandro Donati (Head of Research and Anti-Doping at CONI), Pat McQuaid (UCI President 2005-2013) and Greg LeMond (Tour de France winner 1986, 1989 and 1990) appeared as “witnesses of truth”. Similarly, the Play the Game conference in 2017 became the venue where Yuliya and Vitaly Stepanova helped reveal for the systematic, Russian state doping, which culminated during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Despite a number of national and international initiatives, including coordination across nations and sports, doping is in my opinion still one of the biggest “shadow sides” of sports, as it is probably no more than 35-40 out of more than 200 nations that have an effective control system in relation to doping.

Corruption thrives in the world of sports

Another controversial theme is corruption in sports. In particular international organizations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and federations such as the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF – today World Athletics), the International Boxing Amateur Association ( AIBA) and the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) have been the subject of corruption scandals, i.a. in connection with the allocation of hosts for international events and the negotiation of television contracts and sponsorships. One of the “strongest cards” of the Play the Game conferences for 25 years has been the journalist and author Andrew Jennings, who died a few months ago. Jennings contributed in an exemplary manner with the books “Lords of the Rings: Power, money and drugs in the modern Olympics” (1992), “Foul! – The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote Rigging and Ticket Scandals” (2008) and ”The Dirty Game: Uncovering the Scandal at FIFA” (2016), a fantastic international network of sources and a tireless commitment to incompetent and money-hungry “sports and football politicians” in the media spotlight and in several cases convicted of corruption in national and international courts. Without critical, hard-working journalists like Jennings, it is highly questionable whether e.g. Transparency International (IT) in 2016 was able to publish the report: “Global Corruption Report: Sport”. The report contains more than 60 articles, analyzes and essays from external contributors, which together cover six sports-related topics: Governance, transparency, American college sports, megaevents, match-fixing and sports participation. The report unequivocally shows that sport – not least due to exponentially increasing cash flows – has become a sector where corruption thrives. In the report, IT also makes a number of recommendations that national and international federations should use to combat corruption in sport. Against this background, Play the Game – together with six European universities: Loughborough University (UK), Utrecht University (Netherlands), KU Leuven (Belgium), German Sport University Cologne (Germany), IDHEAP Lausanne (Switzerland) and Ljubljana University (Slovenia) – developed “Sports Governance Observer” (2019), which is an operational, standardized “online tool” for measuring “good governance”. It would be very naive to imagine that “online tools” alone can root out corruption in sports, but Play the Game should be praised for (also) working on concrete solutions. In my opinion, there is no doubt that the billion-dollar purchase and sale of clubs across continents and sports is one of the international sport’s biggest threats in the years to come. Multinational funds and television companies can see many benefits by “investing” in top sports with astronomical amounts that are excluded from “democratic control”.

Room for different views and attitudes

Doping and corruption have been among the main themes at Play the Game conferences throughout the 25 years. But other controversial topics such as match-fixing, mega-events, organized crime, sexual assault and human rights violations as well as “soft topics” such as volunteering, sports journalism, sports management, ethics in sports and “sports for all” have been highlighted through academic or journalistic research. Subsequently, the topics of the individual sessions have been debated from different points of view among the participants – always with enthusiasm and respect for each other’s attitudes.

Play the Game 2022 – lots of current topics

12 international conferences in 5 different countries with 300-400 participants each have been the “crown jewel” for Play the Game. But the institution has – with Jens Sejer Andersen as visionary front figure – also involved in research projects, articles and debate posts on websites and participated in advisory committees and working groups under the EU, the Council of Europe and UNESCO.  Play the Game 2022 in Odense contains a packed program with both traditional themes such as doping, corruption and match-fixing. I also look forward to gaining more knowledge on topics such as the sporting consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, human rights and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the responsibility and commitment of the sports sector in relation to climate change, reforms of the International Sports Court CAS and much, much more.

Finally, a big congratulations to the team behind “Play the Game” with 25 years anniversary: Carl Holst, Troels Rasmussen, Jens Sejer Andersen, Stanis Elsborg, Kirsten Sparre, Maria Suurballe, Katja Høiriis and others who are associated with the “watchdog “- see you in Odense!

You can read more about Play the Game 2022 here:

• https://www.playthegame.org/conferences/play-the-game-2022

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. A status that has been greatly strengthened through the title of World champion in 2019 and not least the Olympic gold medals in Beijing a few months ago. For decades, Finland has belonged to “The Big Six” – the unofficial group of the six strongest ice hockey nations, with the others being Canada, Russia, the United States, Sweden and the Czech Republic. But never before has Finland with a modest population of 5 million been ranked No. 1 in the World rankings.

Ice hockey – Finland’s national sport

Finland has – not least due to climatic conditions with frost and snow for more than half of the year – always achieved good international results in winter sports such as cross-country skiing, biathlon, ski jumping and ice hockey. For this reason, it is logical that ice hockey is Finland’s national sport. Football is also the largest sport in Finland in terms of number of players, but football’s popularity as a spectator sport does not even come close to ice hockey. Today, ice hockey is the most popular sport in Finland, both financially, in terms of spectators and media. More than 100,000 children and young people under the age of 18 play ice hockey, of which almost 40,000 children and youth – 4,000 girls and 36,000 boys – play ice hockey in one of the 348 clubs. This popularity is an important foundation for the position of ice hockey in Finland. The same is the number of weekly training hours among the youth players. More than 70 percent of all children and youth players in ice hockey train at least three times a week.

World-class talent development

The talent development in Finnish ice hockey, both in the clubs and the association, is in my opinion among the world’s best in team sports. In the 1970s, the Finnish Ice Hockey Association (FIHA) set up a national ice hockey training center at the Vierumäki Sports Institute, where regular training camps were held. Each of the regions of Finland sent their junior teams to the camps, and united junior teams within different age groups. These training camps gradually developed into the core of Finnish talent development work. The work was based on training camps for the best players, testing and development of coaches. Today, the training camps for different age groups are still the core of the talent work in Finnish ice hockey. This work is complemented by the basic development of the talents of the clubs. However, it is at FIHA’s training camps that the greatest talents in the different age groups are selected for the youth national teams. The most well-known training camp is “Pohjola Camp” – an annual training camp in Vierumäki, which brings together the most talented 14 and 15-year-old players from the different regions. If a junior player participates in the talent system from start to finish, he or she will have participated in more than 100 international matches before the player becomes a senior player. World-class talent development is the main reason why Finland has achieved exceptionally good results at the IIHF World U20 Championships and IIHF World U18 Championships in recent years.

Skilled youth coaches and high quality of physical training

Ice hockey is similar to other sports in Finland based on volunteer work in the clubs, both in the big cities and in the smaller cities throughout Finland. There has always been a strong tradition for skilled and well-educated coaches in Finnish ice hockey. Many coaches are educated at the University of Jyväskylä and they often have many years of practical experience. In relation to the country’s modest population, Finland has many professional ice hockey coaches who are highly respected and recognized – also abroad. There is also a strong tradition of systematic analysis and research in Finnish ice hockey, both in relation to the individual player and the team. Both clubs and federations have placed particular emphasis on the physical part of the game, and individual physical training has high priority in the training of children and youth players. Today, many clubs have hired professional physical trainers for the talents so they can learn to train more effectively during the summer season. The targeted and structured physical training is also the main reason why many young players in Finnish ice hockey make their debut early in the SM league, which is among the best in the world. The physically demanding game in the SM league places great demands on the young players’ capacity in relation to both strength, endurance and speed. Likewise, it is crucial that the young talents achieve a good skating technique with a lot of speed and change of direction. Likewise, the player at an early age must be able to deliver and receive the puck under pressure and at high speed. And then the player must also be able to shoot at goal from many different positions.

The dream of the NHL and the national team

It is the unique talent development that, in my opinion, is the basis for the success of Finnish ice hockey at the Olympics and World Championship. And it is also the unique talent development that is the reason why many young talents from Finland are recruited to the world’s strongest league – the National Hockey League. These include established NHL stars such as Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers), Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricans), Patrik Laine (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Kaapo Kakko (New York Rangers), who all debuted in the world’s strongest league as 18-year-old players. This season, there are more than 50 Finnish players in the NHL, where the play-off matches take place at the same time as the World Championship at home. For that reason, it will also primarily be players from the SM league and the Russian KHL league that head coach Jukka Jalonen has available on the WC team. The 59-year-old Jalonen has today achieved legend status in Finland, as he has now won two World Champion titles (2011 and 2019) and two Olympic medals – bronze in 2010 and gold in 2022.

Nothing but WC gold medals counts

The ice hockey fever in Finland is in these weeks gigantic ahead of the World Championship at home. This is not least due to the national team’s latest results: WC silver medals in 2021 after a narrow defeat of 2-3 to Canada in the final and Olympic gold medals in 2022 with a final victory of 2-1 over the favorites from Russia. Many find hope for a World Championship final – Sunday, May 29, 2022 – against “hereditary enemy” Sweden. And anything but a victory for the “Lions” will be a great disappointment for the proud nation far to the north.

Kilder:

Jari Lämsä: “Lions on the Ice: the success story of Finnish ice hockey”, pp. 152 – 167 I: Svein S. Andersen & Lars Tore Ronglan: Nordic Elite Sport. Same ambitions – different tracks (Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 2012).

The Finnish Ice Hockey Association – http://www.finhockey.fi

International Ice Hockey Federation – https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2022/wm

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. Despite these fantastic sporting achievements, children and not least youth increasingly drop out from the handball clubs in Denmark. So it takes a lot more than international honors and daily TV matches in handball to be attractive as a handball club for today’s children and youth.

Significant dropouts are not a new trend

It is not surprising that an indoor contact sport such as team handball has been affected by the last two years of Covid-19 restrictions. The Danish Confederation of Sports (DIF) current membership figures for 2021, which have just been published, show a decrease in members in the 746 handball clubs of over 6,000 members – from 104,422 to 98,217. Most striking is that 4,886 – or almost 4 out of 5 apostate members – are children and youth players under 18 years of age. The reduced number of players – and not least fewer volunteer coaches, managers and parents – should of course call for attentive and concrete initiatives, both in the management of the Danish Handball Association (DHF) and the clubs. The marked dropout of handball players is far from a new trend – on the contrary.

Handball is the only major team sport with significant dropouts

The number of registered handball players has fallen by no less than 27% in the last two decades – from 134,782 members in 2002 to 98,217 today, i.e. a constant dropout of 3-4% per year. The decline has been greatest among girls and women with 30%, while the decline among boys and men has been 22%. The number of handball clubs has also been steadily declining – from 1,035 in 2002 to 746 today, corresponding to 28%. There is not necessarily a linear relationship between the number of clubs and quality, but fewer clubs limit not least the physical distance of children and young people from their place of residence to the sport hall. It is also striking that the number of members in team sports such as football (from 293,749 in 2002 to 344,678 today = 15%), basketball (from 11,383 in 2022 to 17,990 today = 37%) and volleyball (from 15,385 in 2002 to 16,028 today = 4%) has been increasing. The DHF has thus been the only major team sport in Denmark that has lost a very large number of members – both in number and percentage – in the past 20 years.

Especially the teenage girls are dropouts in team handball

Team handball has been a popular team sport among girls in Denmark for decades, but that relationship is under tremendous pressure. 10 years ago, there were a total of 26,708 girls under the age of 12 and 15,216 girls between the ages of 13 and 18 who were members of a handball club. Today, the corresponding figures are: 22,138 girls under the age of 12 and 12,349 girls between the ages of 13 and 18. This is a drop in 17% and 19% in just 10 years. It is especially the girls who drop out of the handball clubs. There are undoubtedly many reasons for the membership flight from team handball. Let me point out some of the explanations.

Youth have very different motives – also for playing handball

There are a number of youth players who are very focused and ambitious – also in relation to team handball. It is not unusual for the most talented youth players to have 6-8 weekly training sessions and several matches during the week. The talents, who often have great support from their resourceful parents and highly competent coaches, remain in the club and also continue as senior players in the league and the divisions. But for all other youth players – and this is the vast majority – it must also be attractive to play on the 2nd team or have handball as the 2nd, 3rd or 4th priority in youth life. For all young people, the community of social relationships with good friends is paramount. This means that the atmosphere, culture and club environment – both sportingly and socially – must be attractive to young people, who primarily have handball as a social free space. The good youth coach must want to work with young people. And then there must be agreement – between coaches, leaders, parents and not least the youth themselves – on what it’s all about. They should never be the “old people” who just decide what the youth want.

The transition from school to a youth education is a critical phase

Many young people find it very difficult to maintain their involvement in the handball club when, they start on a youth education. It is precisely at this time that especially the girls deliberately drop out of team handball in favor of homework, leisure jobs, boyfriends and fitness outside the club. They quickly experience that the requirements for youth education cannot be met with a modest work effort and a large weekly time spent on training and matches. Or they are involuntarily disqualified in the handball club due to “lack of skills” or “insufficient” training efforts.

Outdated tournament structure is a major barrier for most youth

One of the main reasons for the dropouts of the 14-18 years in handball is in my opinion an outdated tournament structure with a large time consumption for transport and matches every weekend as well as inflexible rules in relation to the players’ age categories. It is the fewest youth players who find it fun to spend “precious” time on the weekends to transport themselves to matches in the “other end of Jutland”. It is necessary for the Danish Handball Association’s regional association to develop and rethink forms of tournaments that are flexible in relation to young people’s everyday lives. And at the same time, the clubs must have the courage and ability to try out forms of training and social activities that do not commit the individual young person over an entire season. If this does not happen, in my opinion there will be great risks that handball in future will “only” become a sport for the very best… and not for the many.

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. Johaug’s 3rd gold medal at the Winter Games brought Norway’s total number of distinguished carats to a total of 16, which is an Olympic record. And Finland’s final victory was the first Olympic gold medal in ice hockey after 2 silver and 4 bronze medals at previous Winter Olympics. The two achievements put a nice end to the Nordic countries’ Winter Olympics 2022, where 109 medal sets were distributed in 15 different sports.

Norge – suveræn vinder af vinter-OL’s nationskonkurrence

For the past decade, Norway has been the world’s best winter sports nation, which was confirmed at the 2022 Winter Olympics with 1‘st place in the national ranking, both in terms of gold medals and total number of medals. The total number of medals was 37 (16 gold, 8 silver and 13 bronze medals), which is only 2 medals less than at the Winter Olympics 2018 in PyeongChang (14 gold, 14 silver and 11 bronze), where Norway also won the national ranking. The Norwegian Olympic medals were won in 9 different sports, of which 14 medals (6 gold, 2 silver and 6 bronze medals) in biathlon, 8 medals (5 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals) in cross country and 4 medals (2 gold and 2 silver) in Nordic combined (ski jumping and cross-country skiing). The biggest Norwegian disappointment was undoubtedly that Norway only won one medal in ski jumping: Gold to Magnus Lindvik on Men‘s Large Hill. Ski jumping is a classic Norwegian sport, where it turned into 5 medals (2 gold, one silver and 2 bronze medals) at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Multiple Norwegian gold winners in biathlon and cross-country skiing

The biggest Norwegian Olympic profiles in Bejing have been the biathletes Johannes Thingnes Boe with 5 medals (4 gold and one bronze medal), Marte Olsbu Roeiseland with a total of 5 medals (3 gold and 2 bronze medals) and Tarjei Boe with 4 medals (2 gold, one silver and one bronze medal). Johannes Klaebo with 4 medals (2 gold, one silver and one bronze medal) and Therese Johaug with 3 gold medals in cross-country and Joergen Graabak in Nordic combined (ski jumping and cross-country) with 3 medals (2 gold and one silver medal) also performed as world-class athletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Best national ranking at the Winter Olympics ever for Sweden

Sweden also has strong traditions in many winter sports. Still, it was a surprise that the 2022 Winter Olympics became a historic highlight for Swedish winter sports. Sweden achieved with 18 medals (8 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze medals) a distinguished 5‘th place in the national ranking. The historical record, both in terms of gold medals and total number of Olympic medals, was achieved in 6 different sports. Sweden won medals in all 3 disciplines in curling: Gold for the men’s team and bronze for both the women‘s team and the mixed team. Also in free style skiing with 4 medals (2 gold and 2 bronze medals) and biathlon with 4 medals (one gold and 3 silver medals) the Swedish athletes and teams achieved impressive results.

Double Olympic gold for speed skater Nils van der Poel

The biggest Swedish Olympic profiles have been the speed skater Nils van der Poel, who became Olympic champion in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter distances, the 22-year-old Elvira Oeberg who won two individual silver medals and gold in the women’s relay in biathlon with big sister Hanna Oeberg, Linn Persson and Mona Brorsson as well as free style skiers – Walter Wallberg and Sandra Naeslund – who both became Olympic champions. Among the biggest Swedish Olympic disappointments must be mentioned the men‘s ice hockey team – “Tre Kroner“ – defeat to Slovakia – in the bronze match.

First Olympic gold medal in ice hockey for Finland

Finland achieved with 8 medals (2 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze medals) the best winter Olympics since the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, where Finland achieved 12 medals (2 gold, 4 silver and 6 bronze medals). The medal harvest was picked up in two sports: Cross-country skiing with 6 medals and the national sport – ice hockey – with bronze medals for the women’s team and Olympic gold for the men’s team, reaching a 16th place in the national ranking. Especially the gold medal in ice hockey after silver medals at the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 2006 Winter Olympics has created great enthusiasm in Finland, which in May will host the IIHF World Championship 2022 in ice hockey. Despite the fantastic results in cross-country skiing and ice hockey, the 2022 Winter Olympics also became documentation that Finland no longer has world-class athletes who compete for the medals in ski jumping, biathlon, Nordic combined or snowboarding.

Ilvo Niskanen – one of Finland’s greatest historical sports profiles

The biggest Finnish Olympic profile has – together with the two ice hockey teams – been Ilvo Niskanen, who won 3 medals: Gold medal in 15 km classic style, bronze medal in 15 km skiathlon and silver medal – together with Joni Maki – in the men’s team sprint. The 30-year-old Finn, who also won Olympic gold, both at the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2018 Winter Olympics, has entered the performance in Beijing as one of Finland’s greatest historical sports profiles. Ilvo’s big sister – Karttu – also surprised with a silver medal in 10 km classic style together with Krista Pärmäkoski, who has now won a total of 5 medals at the last 3 Winter Olympics.

Positive Danish performance in men’s ice hockey

Denmark is not a winter sports nation, but was still represented in 5 sports at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The biggest positive Danish performance was delivered by the ice hockey team for men, who defeat the Czech Republic (world ranking 6), Switzerland (world ranking 8) and Latvia (world ranking 10) before losing 1-3 in the quarterfinals against Russia. On the other hand, the Danish achievements in curling and speed skating were very disappointing.

Best Nordic Winter Olympics ever

It is very impressive that Norway and Finland with a little more than 5 million inhabitants and Sweden with 10 million inhabitants are able to win a total of 63 medals (26 gold, 15 silver and 22 bronze medals) at the Winter Olympics 2022. There have been one or more medal winners from the Nordic countries in 43 – or almost 40% – of the 109 Olympic disciplines. The number of Olympic medals is thus significantly higher than at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where the 3 Nordic countries together won 46 medals (14 gold, 15 silver and 17 bronze medals) and marginally higher than at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang , where it turned into 59 medals (22 gold, 21 silver and 16 bronze medals). It will be exciting if the Nordic countries can maintain the record-breaking number of medals at the next Winter Olympics, which will take place in Milan-Cortina 2026. There is no doubt that nations like China, Russia, Japan, Canada and Germany, which have surprised very positively with 27 medals (12 gold, 10 silver and 5 bronze medals) in Beijing and an overall 2‘nd place in the national ranking, will invest massively in winter sports – not least new sports such as speedskating, free style skiing, snowboarding and short track, where there are many medal sets to compete for.