#PlaytheFuture: Thousands of children enjoy handball in Magdeburg, Hanover and Berlin

"#PlaytheFuture" is the motto of the 24th IHF Men's Junior World Championship, which is taking place in Germany and Greece, and a serious emphasis on sharing the passion for handball with children has been put over the last week of competition in the arenas where the competition has been scheduled.

The three venues in Germany – the GETEC Arena in Magdeburg, the Swiss Life Hall in Hanover and the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin – were greeting thousands of children who came to see the teams playing, flocking to see the next big stars in handball.

Over 1,500 children came to every first game scheduled during Germany/Greece 2023 in the preliminary round and in the main round, with double the number, 3,000 children, getting into the Swiss Life Hall in Hanover for every first morning game throughout the competition.

This was possible through a partnership made by the Local Organising Committee in Germany with schools from Magdeburg, Hanover and Berlin and from the cities and villages around, with tickets donated for the children to come and witness the next stars in action.

"Of course, we think about the future of handball and the best way to get handball to be more and more popular is to show the kids how handball is played and how exciting it is to watch a game. Therefore, they will get even more excited when they take up the sport, get their hands on a ball and start playing," says Bernd Kühn, the Local Organising Committee manager for Berlin.

"I think it is something that is fun for the kids. You have seen them in Magdeburg, Hanover and Berlin, and how much they enjoyed being there and even getting autographs and talking to the players of the teams. We got positive feedback so far, and we expect more kids in the games in the next days in the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin," adds Kühn.

In Berlin, the first game played in the Max-Schmeling-Halle at the 2023 IHF Men's Junior World Championship, a Placement Match 9-12 between France and Brazil, set the record for the competition so far, with 5,656 spectators, most of them children, cheering for the two sides.

One of those spectators was Germany's senior national team player Paul Drux, who plays at club level for local team Füchse Berlin and is the ambassador of the competition in Berlin as well as of the current programme of helping young children discover handball.

 

 

"I had a lot of formative experiences in the youth and junior national teams, many friendships developed between us, and from a sporting point of view, the two European titles with the youth and juniors were of course the highlights. I look back very fondly on that time," says Drux.

Now, Drux is hoping to shrug off a serious injury and get back into Germany's senior national team squad. Still, he took his time to be present in the arena and was surprised by the raucous reception given by the children in the stands to France and Brazil, who opened the show on Wednesday in the Max-Schmeling-Halle.

"It's an honour for me, especially being here in Berlin, which is kind of my second town, especially in the Max-Schmeling-Halle, where we play all our home games. I was a little bit surprised by how many they came, but it feels really, really good. The young kids in the crowd, they are really excited to see handball and this, for me, it is a really nice thing to see," says Drux.

Surely, the interest in handball in Germany has been growing, with children getting more and more into the sport, as good results came, especially at club level for German sides, but the current junior national team is one of the sides which can challenge for the big trophy come Sunday.

Before the quarter-final against Denmark, Germany have a five-game winning streak, dominating their opponents, including France and Croatia in the main round in close games, which were eventually won.

"It is really nice to see handball in Germany, such a competition being played here and I really like what I see from our team. Hopefully, they will secure the trophy because it would be a great achievement and handball would receive another popularity boost," concludes Drux.