Sometimes, a future star appears on the horison and it is bound to create headlines and attention.

Francisco Costa’s rise to greatness is well-documented, as the Portugal right back has been steadfast in becoming one of the main attractions in men’s handball over the last years.

But his progress has been fantastic, thrown from a young age into the lion’s den and performing admirably for both club – Sporting CP – and country – Portugal – as he finished second in the top goal scorer standings at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship and third at the EHF EURO 2026.

And the most entertaining thing for casual handball fans and the most frightening for his opponents? Kiko Costa is only 21 years old – celebrating his birthday today, three days after being named the 2025 IHF Young Male World Player of the Year.

“The truth is that my passion for handball continues to grow. It's something that's inside of me, that I have a passion for handball, and that makes me want to train every day, to play, everything that involves handball. I like it – trips, friendships – I love it. It's a sport that I admire a lot and that, if I can, I will always be connected to. I like it a lot and I want to leave a mark on this sport,” says Costa.

 

First step: the family

The prodigious right back hails from a handball family, with his older brother, Martim, being the All-Star centre back at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, where Kiko also made the All-Star team as the Best Young Player Presented by LIDL.

His father, Ricardo, is a former Portugal international and now Kiko and Martim’s coach at Sporting CP. Their mother, Cândida, was also a handball player, retiring after giving birth to Martim, after having played for Portugal 33 times.

So for Kiko and Martim, it could not have been any different. 

 

 

 

 

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“I think it also has a lot to do with my father and my mother. They were handball players and coaches. Since I was born, I've always played handball, I've always had a ball in my hand. I didn't want to say that I was going to be a player, I didn't want to say that I was going to be successful, but that I was going to be much closer to being a handball player than to being a player of any other sport,” adds the right back.

Costa has been in the spotlight since he was a teenager, as his athleticism and skill earmarked him for greatness. It also helped that Portugal were in the middle of an ascension to greatness, with the Costa brothers being the missing pieces in the puzzle.

Kiko was especially crucial to that puzzle, as left-handed right backs are even harder to find in the handball world and his transition from the wing, courtesy of his fantastic skills, perfect for the current landscape of the sport, made Portugal a true contender in handball.

“I think that I never thought that I was going to be good or that I could be one of the best. I only know that since I came to Sporting, of course, there was a drastic change in what I was and what I am now. At the beginning, I was still very young, I was 15 or 16 years old. Things weren't easy, it was difficult, I was a kid. But as the years went by, things became easier – for me, scoring goals, helping others,” says Costa. 

“I realised that maybe I could play at their level, I could play at the level of older players. I started to gain other things, physically as well. I realised that maybe I could play at their level, not thinking that I was going to be one of the best or that I was a good player, but thinking that I could play at their level and that I could compete with them. And then, if I was the best, I would grow into that.”

 

Second step: A cautious plan

Costa already lit up the Men’s European Championship Under-20 in 2022, which was hosted by Portugal, being the top scorer of the competition and helping Portugal secure a silver medal.

Six months later, Kiko was dressing up for the senior national team, despite being only 18 years old, at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, his maiden international competition. And while the desire for coach Paulo Pereira was surely to reflect Costa’s talent, the approach was cautious and he never let the emerging talent gather too many minutes on the court, making sure he enters when the match and the situation allowed.

It was the cautious approach and the one which provided the most benefits, as Costa is now the hottest prospect in handball.

Two years later, Costa helped Portugal finish fourth at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, missing out on a medal by the slightest of margins. He was just 19 years old and dazzled by scoring 54 goals (tied for second overall, 69% conversion rate) with 22 assists - directly involved in 76 of Portugal's goals.

“I always say that there are people who really feel pressure. There are people who have to wake up in the morning, get home at 11 at night, be with their kids, cook, and bring money home. I don't feel any pressure; I'm just playing handball. I do what I like, I do this with the people I love the most, so it only gives me more pleasure, it only makes me want to continue. I don't feel any pressure, I just want to continue, to be able to win something important for Portugal or for my club, Sporting. So it's not pressure, but motivation to continue growing and fighting for us and to be able to win something very important,” says Costa.

 

Third step: Entering the big stage

His development was also helped by featuring prominently for Sporting CP, as he made his mark in the EHF European League Men, where he had 61 goals in the 2021/22 season, 97 goals in the 2022/23 season and 73 goals in the 2023/24 season. As Sporting became the dominant force in Portugal and won the domestic league, with Costa’s huge input, they slowly became a force in Europe, playing in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League.

The right back had 79 goals in his debut season, 2024/25, and midway into the current season, he already scored 70 times, being one of the best scorers in the competition.

“Since I moved to Sporting, there has been a drastic change. Five years have passed, a lot has happened, I grew a lot – a lot of games, a lot of victories, a lot of defeats. But the truth is that having my father and my brother by my side, everything is easier. Things become simpler, I can play with joy, play with heart. So I would like to continue for some more time; we never know the future, but for now, yes, we have to take advantage of these moments. This is very special, you never know when it will happen again in this life. So the three of us being in the same team at the moment, we have to take advantage of it and come back as never before,” adds the right back.

But the discussion slowly moves to Portugal again. This generation has the potential to finally bring a medal for a team which has slowly grown since 2020, when they finished sixth at the EHF EURO. A debut at the Olympic Games followed, at Tokyo 2020, followed by the fourth place at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship and the fifth at the EHF EURO 2026.

“A lot of things have happened to our team, but the truth is that we have come to show that we are a good team, that we are a great team, that we can beat anyone. So the truth is that playing alongside them makes everything much more special. The national team is something incredible, it is a special feeling to play for our country. And the truth is that being one of the important players of that team gives me even more desire to fight for them, to never give up, to be able to win a medal. We know that we have done things well, we know that we are on the right track, but we have to keep going and keep fighting,” says Costa.

 

Fourth step: The future is bright

Costa won the 2025 IHF Young Male World Player of the Year award by linking the IHF CCM vote and the coaches’ vote, where he had an otherworldly 80% of the votes. In the fans’ vote, he ranked second behind Faroe Islands’ Oli Mittun, with a late surge by the Faroe centre back seeing him first in this category, though Costa had the largest number of votes in the coaches’ voting in any category.

But what does the future holds for Costa? Well, the right back already knows the answer.

“What can I achieve? I can achieve a lot more. I can grow as an athlete, as a person, I have a lot to achieve. I just have to look at the good examples; I have to look at Gidsel, who is the best in the world, it’s the third time in a row. He is a player I look at, someone I try to follow. I also want to do my own way, I don't want to copy, but I try to follow, I try to look at him, knowing that he is the best in the world. So there is a lot to achieve, I am very young. I don't think too much about the future; I think about the present, what I can do now, year by year, and have fun – have fun with the people who come to see our games. That is the most important for me,” concludes Costa.