Handball in Crisis: Stefan Kretzschmar Warns of Sport’s Decline
The 2025 Handball World Championship, hosted by Denmark, Norway, and Croatia, has brought underlying issues in the sport to the forefront. Despite high expectations, matches not involving host teams are being played in near-empty arenas, highlighting handball’s struggle to expand its global appeal.
Stefan Kretzschmar, a former German national player and current sports director of Füchse Berlin, has raised serious concerns in an interview with SPORT1. He argues that handball faces a dire future unless bold steps are taken to globalize and modernize the sport.
Empty Halls and Lack of Global Presence
Kretzschmar observes that outside Germany and a few other countries like Denmark and France, handball remains a niche sport. While Germany consistently fills arenas, with a 94% occupancy rate at the 2024 European Championship, tournaments outside Europe fail to draw significant crowds. Matches featuring teams like Switzerland, Tunisia, or the Czech Republic have seen sparse attendance, even at World Championships.
Kretzschmar criticizes the frequent awarding of major tournaments to Germany, warning that this “monoculture” threatens the sport’s international relevance. “If we don’t invest in global growth, handball risks becoming a purely German sport,” he warns.
Proposed Solutions for Global Growth
Kretzschmar emphasizes the need for innovative strategies to save handball from decline:
- Rotating Tournaments Globally: He suggests hosting World Cups alternately in strong markets like Germany, Denmark, and France, and in underdeveloped regions like Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Free tickets and local sponsorships could attract new audiences and build global interest.
- Leveraging Digital Media: Kretzschmar advocates for high-quality console and mobile games, as well as documentary-style storytelling akin to Netflix’s success with Formula 1 and tennis. These tools can create stronger connections between fans, players, and clubs.
- Revamping Visual Appeal: From jerseys to playing fields, Kretzschmar calls for cleaner designs to replace the current cluttered look dominated by sponsor logos, which he says diminishes the sport’s professionalism.
- Youth Engagement: The introduction of innovative formats like a summer league, featuring smaller teams (5v5) and partnerships with streamers and influencers, could engage younger audiences. Schools and universities should also become central to handball’s development.
The Cost of Inaction
Kretzschmar warns that without global expansion and modernization, handball risks fading from the Olympic scene and beyond. He also highlights a generational gap in decision-making, urging younger leaders to take the helm and envision where handball should be in 20 years.
“If we continue as we always have, the sport will eventually die,” he concludes, adding that the current leadership must prioritize innovation and collaboration to secure handball’s future.
Final Thoughts
Kretzschmar’s candid critique underscores the urgency of reinventing handball. As the 2025 World Championship struggles to capture global attention, it’s clear that the sport needs fresh ideas and bold investments to thrive in an increasingly competitive sports landscape.
