A young team of England Handball players are celebrating after lifting a trophy at the Generation Handball competition in Denmark at the weekend.
The U17s side, or ‘Futures England’, beat Viking HK-1 20-12 in the B final at the Svanerent Arena in Viborg on Saturday, following a week of intensive preparations and tournament games.
It’s been described as a “brilliant achievement” for the team, who went one better having reached the final in last year’s competition.
Generation Handball, which is a competition created for handballers aged between 10 and 20 from around Europe, concluded on Saturday, with finals taking place across all age groups.
Luke Jennings, one of the coaches, said: “We’re delighted to win silverware after what’s been a week full of excitement, fun and great handball action.
“During the tournament, we’ve played against some really talented handballers from clubs across Europe – and doing so well will have done wonders for our squad’s confidence and development.
“They’ve shown amazing spirit and can be so proud of how they’ve represented their country – it’s a brilliant achievement and there’s a huge amount to be optimistic about.”
The England team, led by Luke Jennings and Alex Ghinter, made it to the final after beating Polish side KU AZS Politechnika Koszalińska in a tight semi-final – 17-16.
The team was made up of 16 boys selected from the Regional Academy programme from regions including the north west, midlands and south.
The U17s Girls team, coached by Matt Durber and Guillaume Eprinchard, also had a good tournament – making it to the semi finals, before being defeated by Norwegian side Son HK. An extended group of 23 girls made the trip to Denmark, with most then travelling to Turkey to compete in the F17 Euros for Great Britain.
Generation Handball saw the Boys team play nine games in five days, while the Girls played seven.
Ricardo Vasconcelos, Head of Performance at England Handball, added: “Tournaments like Generation Handball provide terrific experiences for our young future prospects. Thanks to everyone who helped us achieve this success – particularly to the clubs whose hard work has helped develop these players to the levels they’re at today.”
English