An Academy for the future: Switzerland bank on youth to write history

16 Aug. 2024

An Academy for the future: Switzerland bank on youth to write history

In the past two editions of the IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, Switzerland have always made the quarter-finals, finishing on the eighth place each time, after a long-awaited return to the competition, with their latest appearance made in 1997.

In the younger age category, at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, Switzerland made their debut in 2022, finishing 21st, but this time around, at China 2024, they made it a step further, sealing a main round berth after only two matches, with wins over Romania (25:24) and Egypt (28:19).

This means that the European side will finish 16th at the worst in the final standings, their best performance in the history of the competition, underlining once again their penchant for growth in the team, which has been fueled by the creation of the Concordia Handball-Akademie in 2020, the base of the pyramid for this growth.

“We are creating the conditions for a successful future and we offer our most talented players perspectives that are unique. With this training, we want to strengthen the national team in the long term and establish a connection with the extended world elite,” project manager and former national team player Karin Weigelt said in 2020.

Despite having no pressure on delivering results as soon as possible, the project started to yield dividends sooner rather than later, with fantastic performances at the junior level in the last years. And in July 2024, Switzerland hit another level, by winning the W16 European Open, taking a 34:31 win against Germany in Sweden.

“Fortunately, we have had excellent results in the past years and this only shows that the project we have been working on is yielding the results we may or may not have expected. All the players are fully invested in the project and doing their best to improve and become better and better with each training session and with each tournament they are playing in,” says Switzerland women’s youth national team coach, Jürgen Fleischmann.

At first, the Concordia Handball-Akademie had input from an experienced Danish coach, Martin Albertsen, who led the senior and the younger age category teams was in charge for the first years of the project, until 2023, when he switched to club level, coaching Hungarian side FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria for a few months.

But the project marched on, with 20 players of different ages spending five days a week in the academy between Monday and Friday, returning back home for the weekend, where they can also play for their clubs. It is a win-win-win situation for the players, the clubs and the Swiss Handball Federation, with everybody benefitting from this arrangement.

“We are aiming higher and higher, because I think the potential is there. Switzerland is a small country, therefore I think the project can work like this, in this form, because then the players understand the requirements to improve. In the first years, we had to talk to them, but I think that everything is on the right path,” says Jürgen Fleischmann.

The right path was also confirmed by the emergence of right wing Mia Emmenegger, who shined in the younger age categories, made the senior team at only 16 years old, played at the EHF EURO 2022 at only 17 years old and now signed for three-times EHF Champions League Women, Vipers Kristiansand.

With the Women’s EHF EURO 2024, the European continental competition, being co-hosted by Switzerland in December, this will be the first test for the country at the senior level. Yet the focus is still on developing young players, with the good results confirming the approach.

“I think everything is tailor-made to make these players ready for the senior national team in the future and also giving them an easier path towards ascending in their respective careers,” adds the Switzerland women’s youth national team coach.

Until now, that approach looks to have secured Switzerland their maiden main round berth at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship. Wins against Romania (25:24) – a comeback from five goals down at the start of the second half – and Egypt (28:19) enabled the European side to progress and secure their best-ever finish in the competition.

This proved both the tactical know-how, as well as the resilience needed to create a page of history for Swiss handball and confirm the approach created by the Swiss Federation. 

“We are very happy to be here, to qualify and progress to the main round. When results are coming, it is excellent,” said Fleischmann.