“I want more people like Andy Schmid”: Association boss Jenny rebuilds Swiss handball

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Pascal Jenny, you want handball to become more popular than floorball again. Is there such competition?
Pascal Jenny: With this statement my old sporting ambition came through. The fact is that the floorball players have done many things right over the last decade, most recently with the World Cup at home. Seen in this light, they are role models rather than competitors.

How do you measure the success of the handball club as chairman?
Pascal Jenny: For me there are two important aspects: Firstly, a sports club must strengthen cohesion in society. Handball shapes so many leaders that I would blindly hire a company. It must be our goal that after their career they take on a leading role in business and society on the one hand and in the handball community on the other.

And secondly?
The finances have to be right. In other words, we’re trying to generate new revenue through new partnerships and a larger community. We want to reach 250,000 people in Switzerland with handball. It is estimated that we are now at just over half.

Are there no sporting goals?
Yes of course. With the national women’s and men’s team, we want to regularly qualify for European and World Cup tournaments. For more – that is, a medal – everything should fit together. And we must make progress in the training and further training of officials, coaches and referees. Swiss Olympic is the leading umbrella organization in this field. We also want to go there with handball.

How should the upcoming national coach Andy Schmid help to achieve these goals?
Andy will have a huge impact on the federation. He communicates convincingly, thinks out of the box, knows how to convey the right values ​​to boys. On Instagram, he does not show off a new car, but shows his sponsorship of a baby giraffe in Knie’s children’s zoo. I wish there were more people like him in the handball community.

Also in the successor to Martin Albertsen as national coach of the women’s team?
Precisely. Martin’s departure came as a shock at first. Swiss women’s handball owes a lot to him. But we can now redefine the requirements. What is needed are not only sporting qualities, but also a personality that can convince people off the field of the vision of our association.

Where do you see the largest Construction sites in Swiss handball?
Our community is not integrated enough, cannot participate enough. Secondly, our catchment area is too small. Although Chênois is rising again in the NLA. Yet handball hardly takes place in western Switzerland, in Graubünden and in Ticino. In addition, our events must become more innovative. There is a great opportunity at the 2024 Women’s European Championship in Basel.

How should the two home European Championships for women in 2024 and men in 2028 be sustainable are used?
For me, sustainable means effective in all four dimensions: organization, economy, ecology and social issues. For example, around the European Championships in November and December 2024, we will be present with our national players at schools and places where today’s youth gathers. They have to tell the girls (and boys) about their experiences. If ten new juniors do not come to the local handball club for trial training, the association and clubs have not done their job.

Source : Blick