Players of the Match at Women's Championship Can Donate to HAND

29 Nov. 2019

Players of the Match at Women's Championship Can Donate to HAND

The world’s best handball players get the opportunity to help the world’s vulnerable girls at the IHF Women’s Championship throwing off tomorrow.

hummel, as an official main sponsor of the IHF and the 'Player of The Match-awards’, has chosen to focus on girls’ rights and inclusion in handball. Thus, in each of the 96 matches of the competition, the ‘Player of The Match’ will have the opportunity to help vulnerable girls and pass on the joy of handball. Each 'Player of The Match' donates handball equipment from hummel to HAND - 'Handball for A New Destiny' - in Sierra Leone.

The campaign marks the continuation of a successful campaign during the 2019 World Men’s Handball Championship, where hummel also provided the 'Player of the Match' with the opportunity to donate handball equipment to vulnerable children. As this is a women's tournament, the donation will this time naturally target vulnerable girls.

At the XXXVII IHF Ordinary Congress organised in Gothenburg, Sweden last July, IHF Partner hummel announced the creation of their corporate social responsibility programme: HAND – Handball for A New Destiny.

The aim of HAND is to introduce handball to 1,000 girls in Sierra Leone, host a giant handball event in capital city Freetown in April 2020, initiate a girls’ handball organisation in the country for the promotion and establishment of female handball clubs all over the country, and create partnerships between individuals and organisations from Denmark and Sierra Leone to contribute to the United Nations development goals of 5: Gender Equality and 3: Good Health and Well-Being.

The HAND project is a little sister to the organisation FANT – Football for A New Tomorrow, founded in 2012 by the Athens 2004 women’s handball Olympic gold medallist with Denmark, Josephine Touray. FANT is a humanitarian organisation that, through the establishment and operation of sports associations, creates development and change for children and young people.

FANT experienced how difficult it could be to get girls involved in football activities with boys dominating the game around the world and, in some countries, it can be hard to break down prejudices and beliefs that football is not a sport for girls. 

HAND aims to do the same with handball and believes passionately in the power of female inclusion in handball to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. 

In many parts of the world girls are being excluded from sports activities and in many of those countries handball is not a common sport to play. This unfamiliarity can make it easier for girls to participate because the sport is not already seen as for boys only. 

HAND introduces girls to handball when hosting big sporting events, teaches girls about the rules of the game, gives out handball equipment and establishes handball clubs where girls can meet regularly and are informally educated in democratic principles and human rights.

Overall, HAND aims to help grow the sport in Sierra Leone and improve the chances of girls to be able to participate in sport in a male-dominated society. 

One FANT female coach in Sierra Leone, Annie Fridaye, became interested in handball because she noticed how many gold medals Denmark won in the sport and wanted to work with the game in Sierra Leone. So, she asked if FANT could help her out with some handballs and two years later, FANT and Fridaye created their own handball club.

“We need to support anyone who wants to play and to give them the best opportunities,” said Ulrik Feldskov Juul, PR, Karma & Communication Manager for hummel. “Let’s do what we can to share the game of handball.”

Danish sports brand hummel and the International Handball Federation joined forces and embarked upon a four-year-long partnership contract, starting on 1 January 2019 and launching at the 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship held in the home of hummel, Denmark, as well as Germany.

hummel expects 1,300 sets of handball kits to be donated to HAND and the girls in Sierra Leone.