Four years ago, Switzerland missed the chance to progress to their maiden edition of the IHF Women’s World Championship, when they lost against Czechia, 49:55 on aggregate, in the European Qualifiers – Phase 2.

For the previous edition of the world handball flagship competition, Switzerland had to go again through Czechia, this time conceding a 58:68 aggregate loss and missing out once again.

But as their experience built up and more and more players came through the Switzerland Women’s Academy at OYM Sciences in Cham, the European country finally made it on the list at the IHF Women’s World Championship, as they will make their debut at Germany/Netherlands 2025, after a 68:46 aggregate win against Slovakia.

This milestone was a long time coming, especially as Switzerland have already made their debut at the EHF EURO, finishing 14th at the 2022 edition, when they did not win a match, but snatched a draw against Croatia, and 12th in 2024, when they were co-hosts and secured two wins in seven matches.

Switzerland proved that having a plan, sticking to it and applying know-how is crucial in modern handball and their academy has been providing some excellent results, especially at the last two editions of the IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, when the European side finished eighth both times.

Those performances have also yielded two crucial players for Knut Ove Joa’s squad, right wing Mia Emmenegger and line player Tabea Schmid.  Emmenegger, aged 20 years old, and Schmid, who is only two years older, have already made headlines by signing for Danish powerhouse Team Esbjerg.

Schmid, a natural born scorer, has been dazzling at Kobenhavn in the previous season, and is one of the top scorers in the EHF Champions League Women, scoring 27 goals, just behind her teammate, the 2024 IHF Female Player of the Year, Henny Reistad, after the first four rounds in the European premium competition. 

“It means a lot. It was the next logical step, because we made some progress in the last years, qualifying for the European Championship in 2022 and then playing at home in 2024. And we have made so much progress over the last year. And when we played against Slovakia, we showed a good performance in both matches. Therefore, we deserve to be here,” says Switzerland’s line player, Tabea Schmid, for ihf.info.

There are several other players who can make an impact, including more well-versed players like backs Kerstin Kündig and Daphne Gautschi, who have been playing in Germany, France and Romania over the last years, complemeting the young guns with their experience.

Placed in Pot 2 at the draw for the preliminary round of the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, Switzerland have avoided a tough draw, which means they can be one of the dark horses of the competition, provided they play at the level they used to.

They did lose their three matches against Hungary in the last three years, 28:33 at the EHF EURO 2022, plus two losses in the EHF Euro Cup, 26:38 and 27:35, but will be favoured against Senegal and the Islamic Republic of Iran in the first two matches in the group, which would mean the European side can finish in the top-16.

But with a plethora of young players, which will surely see Switzerland become one of the youngest teams in the competition, the future looks definitely bright for Knut Ove Joa’s side.

Key players: Tabea Schmid (line player), Mia Emmenegger (right wing), Kerstin Kündig (centre back)

Coach: Knut Ove Joa

Qualification for Germany/Netherlands 2025: European Qualifiers – Phase 2: 68:46 on aggregate against Slovakia

History in tournament: Debutants

Group at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023: Group B (Hungary, Switzerland, Senegal, Islamic Republic of Iran

Photo credit: Alexander Wagner