BLOG: Norway, the Richest Country in Europe, Can’t Keep Sagosen and Lunde—Why?
For the second year in a row, the Norwegian super-project Kolstad IL has failed to reach the knockout stage of the EHF Champions League. Initially hailed as a game-changer in European handball, a Norwegian counterpart to ambitious northern European projects like Aalborg and GOG, and a way to build a team consisted of domestic players with famous domestic coach, the Trondheim-based team was fast-tracked into the top European competition. Remember, it was given a spot ahead of clubs like Dinamo Bucharest, Kadetten Schaffhausen, and Celje Pivovarna Laško.
However, in just two years, Kolstad has effectively collapsed and failed the test. The EHF’s decision to grant the Norwegian club a Champions League spot—despite having no history or guarantees—was a clear signal of goodwill and an attempt to engage with the market of Europe’s wealthiest country. But goodwill alone isn’t enough…
A few weeks ago, Sander Sagosen admitted in an interview that he had been “naïve” when discussing his move from German powerhouse THW Kiel back to his homeland. Sagosen, one of the best handball players of the past decade, often mentioned in the same breath as Karabatić, Hansen, Landin, and Mem, has suffered a significant decline in both results and form which affected also national team performance. His escape from Kolstad to Aalborg appears to be the only way to get back on track as the world’s No. 1 player. Other top Norwegian players, such as Bergerud and Rød have made the same decision, to leave the project.
But Sagosen isn’t the only “victim” of Norway’s strange approach to handball or the sport’s failure to establish a sustainable model. The three-time EHF Champions League-winning women’s club, Vipers Kristiansand, once filled with some of the biggest names in women’s handball—including Norwegian stars—has disappeared entirely. The club went bankrupt.
Even Katrine Lunde, a sporting icon, a national treasure, and one of the greatest goalkeepers in handball history, has been left without a club in her own country. Just four months after winning Olympic gold in Paris, she suddenly finds herself without a place in Norway’s handball system. A brutal reality. Sounds like a bad joke. She had to go to Denmark, just like Sander.
All of this is happening in the richest country in Europe. A nation known for sporting success. A place where rules supposedly ensure stability. And yet, both Sander and Katrine have been forced to leave.
How? Why?
BLOG: “Gidsel’s Story: Why Handball Needs a Stronger PR Strategy”
