EHF-president Michael Wiederer: "It's like coming home"

EHF president Michael Wiederer is in Gothenburg to visit Partille World Cup and see how the handball stars of the future are being shaped.

In 1992, Michael Wiederer became the Secretary General of the European Handball Federation and in 2016, he took over as President. Today, he is perhaps one of the biggest veterans of the Partille World Cup and is here for the 20th time. He describes how he has witnessed future talents being shaped during the tournaments.
– I came here for the first time 25 years ago and now its like coming home. Through the years we have seen top players here, who later goes on to international careers.
The European Handball Federation began a collaboration with Partille World Cup in 1994, and together they created the national team competition The European Open Championship. The competition is held every other year for boys and every other year for girls. This year, it is the boys, 19 years old, who are playing. Wiederer believes that the tournament is not just about competing, but also about meeting new people and creating exchanges between different groups.
– The tournament is, first and foremost, a meeting place for the youth. It’s a big motivation for young players to go to an international tournament, to travel and learn about handball in other countries. I feel a responsibility for the European handball federation to work and support the tournament because its a good starting point. 
Wiederer states that the EHF office in Vienna has grown from 2 to over 25 employees during his time in the federation and that he is proud of what they have managed to achieve. When asked how he thinks the future of handball will look, he replies that the sport is much more than just a competition.
– There is a strong competition, not in sports but in the world, in which direction does people go? Culture, sport, integration, I think that’s the big challenges we have. In my opinion team sport is one of the best ways for young people to learn how to integrate in to a group, how to function in a hierarchy, how to live with certain obligations and how to follow rules. I think that’s a social responsibility we have. We have to be active both on a grassroots level and on a top level.