El Salvador planning for the future

The El Salvador Handball Federation (Federacion Salvadorena de Balonmano – FESBAL) recently launched a three-year development plan to develop the sport at all levels across the central American nation for the current Olympic Games cycle leading up to Paris 2024.

Supported by the International Handball Federation along with Olympic Solidarity, the El Salvador Ministry of Sports and National Olympic Committee of El Salvador, the plan, entitled ‘Subsidy for Handball Sports’, will last from January 2022 to July 2024 and is divided into three key areas:

1. Preparation of national teams
2. Training of coaches from school to national team level
3. Establishment of a national school for coaches

The ultimate goal of the plan is for the El Salvador national teams to lead the Central American region, be prepared for the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games, which will be hosted by El Salvador and be as competitive as possible for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games qualification period.

For any plan to work, it has to be realised off the paper its written on and that is exactly what FESBAL have done, bringing in two specialised experts to work closely on the plan with Eduardo Gallardo and Priscila Alvarez.

Gallardo, known as ‘Dady’, is the current Argentina women’s national team coach and former men’s coach, while Alvarez is the physical trainer for the women’s team and is supported by INDES, the National Institute of Sports of El Salvador.

They will visit El Salvador three times over the next two years, with the duo arriving in capital San Salvador for the first time in late January and leaving in early March. A second visit is scheduled for November and December this year, while the third and final visit will be in April and May 2023.

“The formula of combining the knowledge of our coaches with the experience and monitoring of world-class coaches such as Gallardo and Álvarez, will enhance the performance of our athletes,” said Cecilia Hernandez, President of FESBAL.

Visit the official FESBAL website or Facebook page for more information on handball in El Salvador. 

Photos: INDES