The recipe for a historic feature: Mittún's experience as the Faroe Islands qualify for the first senior World Championship

During the IHF Youth Coaches Handball Education Week which took place as part of the 2023 IHF Education Weeks, coach Mark Lausen-Marcher presented a lecture about how the Faroe Islands are slowly emerging as a country to watch, titled “The World’s Best Talent Development Environment”.

Between the lines, Lausen-Marcher explained that the few arenas in the Faroe Islands are open at all times for children to go in and dabble in handball, making their first steps towards a professional career.

Sure, with a population of only 54.000 people, the Faroe Islands are one of the smallest countries in Europe. Therefore, the pool of potential players is slim. But their performances have been nothing short of exceptional, with some young players punching well above their weight.

Take, for instance, Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu, the 2023 IHF Young Male Player of the Year. Or his cousin, Óli Mittún. Both were the top scorers of the competitions they took part in 2023, the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship and the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship.

But now, the Faroe Islands have created yet another historic moment. After the 65:56 aggregate win against Lithuania in the Qualification Europe – Phase 2, the women’s team became the first Faroese side to qualify for a senior World Championship, as they will make their debut later this year at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship.

“The feeling is amazing. We knew we had more experience than our opponents, but to have such a good outing in the first match, it was simply fantastic. Yes, we lost our second match, but I think we made everyone proud and we made history for our country,” says Faroe’s Jana Mittún.

The last years have been nothing short of special for Mittún, who is Oli’s bigger sister. Yet the current Faroe side has, more or less, the same recipe like the men’s team, which was the first one to qualify at a major international competition, the Men’s EHF EURO 2024, followed by the women’s team, also last year, in the Women’s EHF EURO 2024.

There is plenty of young talent, as well as some more experienced players in the squad. Some of them are based in Faroe, while others, like Mittún or captain Pernille Brandenborg, are plying their trade in Denmark, one of the top leagues in the world.

“This is a dream, of course, to be able to represent my country on such a big stage. We have improved over the last years, that is clear, but the World Championship is different, there will be 32 teams, from all over the world. We have the experience from the European championship, but this is going to be different, with other styles, team from other continents, it will be something unforgettable,” adds Mittún.

Indeed, the Faroe Islands surprised everyone when they qualified for the EHF EURO 2024 and they even managed a fantastic performance, finishing 17th, after clinching a draw against Croatia, 17:17, a team which only four years earlier was the bronze medallist in the continental competition.

Losses against Switzerland (25:28) and Denmark (24:33) were respectable and Mittún was always there battling, being her team’s second scorer, with 14 goals in three matches, despite turning 21 years old only days before the start of the competition.

That 17th place enabled the Faroe Islands to have an easier draw for the Qualification Europe – Phase 2 for Germany/Netherlands 2025 and they duly took advantage against Lithuania, with a 36:25 win in the first leg, which basically decided the outcome of the tie, before conceding a 29:30 loss in the second leg.

And just like that, with a meteoric rise, the Faroe Islands are between the 32 teams at the IHF Women’s World Championship, after having won only two of the 12 previous matches played on their way to the world handball flagship competition, conceding losses against Finland, Kosovo or Belarus in the past eight years.

“There is progress, that is clear, and playing in a major competition before helped us. Of course, at the European Championship, we did not win a match, therefore our objective will be to win matches here, but, once again, I think it is something amazing to be there and play on the biggest of stages,” adds Mittún.

Two years ago, hundreds of Faroese fans came at the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship in Germany to support their team in the quarter-finals. Eventually, the Nordic side finished seventh, after one year earlier they became the first Faroese side to beat Denmark in a team sport, at the M20 EHF EURO 2022.

Does Mittún think they will have the same support, as the Faroe Islands can also play in Germany, provided they are drawn into a group played in Trier, Stuttgart or Dortmund?

“Maybe there will not be thousands, but this is a big occasion, therefore I hope we will have plenty of support from people coming from the Faroe Islands,” says the Viborg HK player.

Handball also runs in the family in the Faroe Islands, with the Faroe Islands Handball Federation being led by Gunn Ellefsen, Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu’s mother. Elias is also her cousin, while Jana’s brothers are Oli and Pauli, also members of the men’s senior team.

“Of course, Oli congratulated me after we qualified, it is normal that we talk. Everyone was very proud, as this is a very important occasion, a very big performance for handball in the Faroe Islands and for our country,” concludes Mittún.

Photo credit: Andrei Antal / Faroese Handball Federation