In the coming days, more than 6,000 Faroese will be in spectators stands in the Unity Arena in the Oslo suburb of Baerum, when the Faroe Islands play the three preliminary matches at the \u201cMen\u2019s EHF EURO 2026\u201d. The opponents are Switzerland (16.1.), Montenegro (18.1.) and Slovenia (20.1.) \u2013 all opponents with greater results and more experience in international handball than the island kingdom in the middle of the Atlantic, which is only participating in its second European Championships. In my opinion, the Faroe Islands have a good chance of points against Montenegro, but Switzerland and Slovenia are immediately my favorites for the two places in the main round.<\/p>\n
Handball \u2013 a very popular sport for children and young people in the Faroe Islands<\/strong><\/p>\n The Faroe Islands, which consist of 18 islands of volcanic origin between Great Britain, Iceland and Norway, have been part of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1814 with self-government in one of the world’s oldest parliaments: the Lagting. The population of the Faroe Islands is a modest 54,000 \u2013 the same number as many Danish municipalities. On the Faroese islands, handball \u2013 along with football \u2013 is the most popular and sometimes the only leisure activity among children and youth. There are currently 2,500 registered handball players in the Faroe Islands and the popularity of handball means that the relative proportion of children and youth is almost three times as large as in Denmark. In recent years, the Faroe Islands have achieved impressive results, especially the bronze medal at the U21 Men’s World Championships in 2025. The women’s national team’s success at the 2025 IHF World Championships, including the victory over Spain has created great respect and recognition in international handball.<\/p>\n Faroe Islands without independent membership of the IOC<\/strong><\/p>\n The Hondb\u00f3ltssamband F\u00f8roya (HSF), which was founded in 1980, has independent status with both the European Handball Federation (EHF) and the International Handball Federation (IHF). Since the mid-1980s, the Faroe Islands have \u2013 unfortunately so far \u2013 sought independent membership of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has rejected membership for the Faroe Islands for political reasons. The IOC has the same position on independent membership of Greenland. At present, three Faroese athletes have participated in the Olympics – representing Denmark – the swimmer P\u00e1l Joensen (2012) and the two rowers – Katrin Olsen (2012) and Sverri Nielsen (2020). In addition, it should be mentioned that J\u00f3han \u00e1 Pl\u00f3gv Hansen, changed to Danish nationality and won silver medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The Faroe Islands will probably not appear as an independent nation at the upcoming 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles either.<\/p>\n The Faroe Islands’ best players – also in the Bundesliga and at GOG<\/strong><\/p>\n The Faroe Islands’ best player on the men’s national team is Elias Ellefsen \u00c1 Skipag\u00f6tu, who is playing his third season for the major club THW Kiel in Germany. The 23-year-old dynamic full-back, who is among the top scorers and assists in the Bundesliga, has been injured leading up to the European Championship this year. It will be a huge loss to the team if he is not fit to play. H\u00e1kun West Av Teigum, who is a teammate with Mathias Gidsel and Lasse Andersson at the champion team F\u00fcchse Berlin, is also a key player for the Faroe Islands. The 23-year-old right winger has had great success at F\u00fcchse Berlin this season, where he has replaced the legend, Hans Lindberg. Among the best players should also be mentioned the 20-year-old \u00d2li Mitt\u00fan, cousin of Elias and R0i Ellefsen \u00c0 Skipag\u00f6tu, and younger brother of Pauli and Jana Mitt\u00fan, all of whom are national team players. The talented playmaker, who was appointed as \u201cMost Valuable Player\u201d at the 2025 IHF U21 World Championship, now plays for GOG with success in both the Danish league and the Champions League.<\/p>\n National team players throughout the Nordic region<\/strong><\/p>\n The Faroe Islands men’s league consists of 7 clubs, but several of the very best players choose to develop in Denmark as youth players. Both Elias Ellefsen \u00c1 Skipag\u00f6tu and H\u00e1kun West Av Teigum have thus been affiliated with SHEA in Skanderborg, after which they have continued their careers in Sweden and Germany. Most national team players are affiliated with clubs in the best or second-best leagues in Norway, Sweden, Denmark or Iceland. There are currently more than 30 players from the Faroe Islands who are either full-time professionals or combine elite handball with studies or part-time work abroad. The Faroe Islands’ international success among the men’s youth national teams has already made many agents and several major clubs in the best European leagues look at the talents from the island kingdom in the Atlantic.<\/p>\n Resilience and identity are among the most important reasons<\/strong><\/p>\n Peter Bredsdorff-Larsen, who has been head coach of the A-national team since the summer of 2021, points to several reasons for the unique talent development in Faroese handball. Firstly, the players are extremely resilience \u2013 not least mentally. They were raised in harsh nature and under sometimes extreme weather conditions, which place physical demands on endurance, courage and strength. Secondly, the players, who very often have family relationships with each other, place high demands on themselves and their teammates. The players thus know each other very well, both in good and bad situations. And thirdly, the national teams show great intensity and energy \u2013 regardless of whether the opponent is Denmark, Sweden, France or Germany, and regardless of whether the team is far ahead or behind.<\/p>\n Next goal is qualification for the 2027 IHF World Championship <\/strong><\/p>\n Fighting spirit, courage and intensity will also be needed for the Faroe Islands, both at the upcoming EHF EURO 2026 and not least in relation to qualification for the 2027 IHF World Championship, which will be held in Germany. It is not realistic for the Faroe Islands to qualify directly for their first WC at the EHF EURO 2026, but the opportunity is there by the WC qualifiers in March and May 2026. It will be great for both the island kingdom’s players, coaches and spectators to be part of the WC in the arenas in Cologne, Kiel or Hannover in a year.<\/p>\n Sources:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n