Faroe Islands’ unique conditions to achieve the unexpected

“We went into this qualification group with a lot of wishes and dreams of going to another, the second, European Championship,” says coach Peter Bredsdorff-Larsen. 

“We had a great experience in ‘24 in Berlin, with 5,000 spectators from the Faroe Islands, so we had a great experience and great memories and, really, we all want to go back. And so, of course, we went into this qualification round with a lot of dreams and a lot of expectations also. We knew that this would be a tough group, but also a group that we had positive thoughts about and thought that we will be able to compete.” 

The 2026 qualifiers have seen the Faroe Islands’ most successful campaign at this stage, with three wins, one draw and one defeat. In 2024, on the path to their debut EHF EURO, they won twice and lost four times — a record that was enough to secure them a place as one of the best third-ranked sides. The first victory on that occasion came in round 3, and both wins were taken at home. This time around, the Faroe Islands started off with a win and, in round 4, celebrated their first away victory ever in this phase, beating the Netherlands 32:31. The victory against Kosovo was also played away. 

At the Men’s EHF EURO 2024, the Faroe Islands were knocked out in the preliminary round, but their defeats were narrow, and they memorably secured a draw versus Norway. The losses were to Slovenia and Poland — two sides vastly more experienced at major tournaments, with steady histories of participation in the EHF EURO. 

Not many national teams manage to take it to the biggest squads on their first go at a major event. The Faroe Islands’ recent record speaks to characteristics that make the side unique, including a visible mentality where doubt is completely cast aside and self-assuredness wins. 

“We are very happy with the development of the team on several areas — on all areas I would say,” says Bredsdorff-Larsen.

“We are very happy with the development of their physical skills, technical skills, tactical skills, but also the mentality — very important. And of course, making great results and also great performances against great teams, like for example, Norway, but also going to the EURO last time, beating Romania and also Ukraine back then. But also playing good games at the European Championships and now good teams in this qualification group. That all strengthens the team’s mentality because everybody knows that things are possible.

“We have a lot of confidence in each other. No matter that a lot of the players are playing second leagues in Denmark, for example, and so on. We still have a lot of confidence in each other. And we are also happy that we have players that keep progressing in greater teams in Europe, like, we have Vilhelm Poulsen in Hannover, Elias Ellefsen (á Skipagøtu) in Kiel and also Hákun (West Av Teigum) in Berlin, for example. And that is also getting better from season to season.

“All in all, it has been very, very nice to be part of this journey because we can see the development almost from game to game, but at least from one qualification to ’24 now to the qualification for ’26. We can see the progress in each player or also in the team.” 

The Faroe Islands also have a situation faced by many teams — but one that is not always easily mastered: A few standout individuals in their ranks. Having one or a small number of key players requires strategizing to ensure other players shine alongside those standouts, and that team cohesion remains. 

In the Faroe Islands’ case, there are players like 2023 IHF Young Player of the Year Ellefsen á Skipagøtu, Av Teigum and Óli Mittún. The three have combined for 104 of the Faroe Islands’ 153 goals in the qualifiers. 

“We are very happy that we have a very good conditions for the team, because the team are almost family. They know each other from childhood, and they know each other very well personally,” says Bredsdorff-Larsen. Not only are some of the players actually family — Skipagøtu and Mittún are cousins, for instance — but the majority of the team members are of a similar age and, being from such a small community, many of them have grown up together. Together, they have also been part of building Faroese handball to a new level from a young age. That creates a unique foundation of trust and empathy that is impossible for a team coming together later in life to replicate. 

“We only have so many players, so it is like a club team, because we are such a small ecology, community, society. There’s only one way to go and that is to see if we can develop each player as much as we can and as quickly as we can,” says Bredsdorff-Larsen. 

“We try to create jobs in the team that match the competence from the players. Of course, we are not equal in that. We have players who can accomplish very big assignments, but also, we have other players who maybe can accomplish smaller assignments. But all in all, it makes us a great team, that we have very important players in our attack, but we also have different very important players in our defence.”

The situation of a such a small pool of players to choose from is something of a unique one, but also one of the strengths of the Faroe Islands. The close-knit team and community around it means the base is unshakeable. 

“Other national teams have a lot more players to select from,” says Bredsdorff-Larsen. “It's so inspiring to work with these guys because they are almost family and that gives us great conditions in order to become a team that can do more than you could expect — and at least a lot more than they could have done individually. 

“We are very happy that it is clearly instilled in the team that every time we play, we might play against bigger nations with a lot more players to select from, but we are still seven-against-seven on the court, no matter what.” 

Their debut at the EHF EURO 2024 earned the Faroe Islands direct passage to the last European qualification phase on the path to the 2025 Men’s World Championship. There, they faced North Macedonia, and only just missed the chance to follow their first EURO with a first World Championship. The aggregate result for North Macedonia was 61:60, with the second leg played on the Macedonians’ notoriously fiery home court in Skopje. 

“It was a very special game — a very tough game for our young team to play in Skopje under those circumstances. So, of course, it's just one of those experiences. We try always to learn, even if we win and even if we lose. We try to learn as much as possible, and of course we get just stronger by those experiences,” says Bredsdorff-Larsen.  

The win that ended up taking the Faroe Islands to the EHF EURO 2024 occurred in round 5 of the qualifiers, with the side beating Ukraine 33:26 at home in Torshavn. Serendipitously, the Faroe Islands will conclude their 2026 qualifiers campaign at home against Ukraine on Sunday.  

“It was an amazing experience because, of course, everybody in the Faroe Islands were cheering that we would make it on our home court. It was a fantastic game with a lot of pressure and a lot of attention. We have a lot of great memories about that game,” concludes Bredsdorff-Larsen. We will access our great memories about last time and try to copy that, copy the mindset. We will of course do our best to live up to the expectation from our enthusiastic home crowd.” 

Photos © FotoReza, Alvur Haraldsen, Ukrainian Handball Federation