23.08.2013, 06:37
Boom time for handball in France

Fédération Française de Handball announces more than 500,000 players registered for the new season

Boom time for handball in France

The international success of the French men's national team as well as the huge media and fan interest surrounding the re-emergence of Paris Saint Germain as a force in both French and European handball are paying dividends for handball in France.

The French Handball Federation announced this week that it has achieved a promise made on the eve of the Olympic final in London in the summer of 2012: that it would pass the major milestone of more than 500,000 members.

An increase of more than six per cent in the number of registered members with the Fédération Française de Handball has seen the total number of members rise to 500,651.

Mission accomplished

Commenting on the official FFHB website, Joel Delplanque, President of the French Handball Federation, said: "The increase shows that our sport is attracting more and more people and the range of what we are offering meets the demands of everybody and all ages.

“The Men’s World Championship in 2017 must provide a new impetus for French handball and also the Women’s EURO in 2018 if we get it. We should not be satisfied but continue to work together to retain our member and welcome new ones."

Handball is the number one team sport in France and ranks in the top five most popular sports in the country alongside football, tennis, equestrian and judo.

PSG back amongst Europe’s elite

Paris Saint Germain will return to the VELUX EHF Champions League this season for the first time in almost ten years.

Backed by considerable investment from their Qatari owners, PSG have gathered together a selection of some of the best players in the world including Dane, Mikkel Hansen, and Frenchman, Luc Abalo.

They will be joined by five new top players in the new season including Daniel Narcisse, current Handball Player of the Year, and Igor Vori, VELUX EHF Champions League winner with HSV Hamburg in June.

PSG’s growing fan-base has some top international matches to look forward to in the season ahead.

They will play in Group C against the most successful team in EHF Champions League history, FC Barcelona, and the highly ambitious side from FYR Macedonia, Vardar Skopje.

TEXT: EHF / jjr