It turned out to be dangerous to speculate about the final outcome on the basis of the results in the preliminary round. The groups must have been rather unbalanced, as group winners who looked strong faded very abruptly during the knock-out stage. Three of them, Slovenia, Germany and Denmark finished no better than 9th, 11th and 13th respectively. Other teams that looked strong in the early going, such as Serbia and hosts Bosnia also faded completely.

Instead it became obvious that Group D, with Sweden, Spain, Egypt and Brazil moving on to the ’round of 16′ must have been the real ‘powerhouse’. Egypt and Brazil won their initial ‘knock-out’ matches, and Brazil made it all the way to 6th place, with Egypt finishing in 8th place. For Brazil, this is really a strong signal for a country that will host the next Olympic handball tournament and seems to be making great strides at the right moment also on the men’s side.

Sweden beat Spain by ten goals when they met on the final day of the group stage. But this does not always mean much when teams meet for a second time, like they did today in the final. However, Sweden, who impressively ended up winning nine straight games, took the early initiative also today. The lead narrowed around half-time, but in the end the Swedes were able to pull away again and gain a 28-23 victory. They had a very solid team, with goalkeeper Peter Johannesson (Saevehof) and Andreas Berg (Oennered) making it to the All-Star Team, while Philip Stenmalm (Drott) got named Championship MVP. It seems that the both the Swedish senior national team and top clubs around Europe have some real talents to rely on in the future.

The Spanish team had a real star player in the form of Alex Dushebaev, son of world-class player and coach Talant. Alex has just recently signed up for Vardar Skopje, who will get a major reinforcement for their participation in the EHF Champions League, after father and son had to leave the now defunct Atletico Madrid. The bronze medals were won by France, beating Croatia 32-27 in a ‘junior version’ of this strong rivalry of recent years. It is interesting to note that the Netherlands took 5th place and Switzerland 7th place, ahead of many highly favored teams. It is great to see that there is some hope that two more teams might be able to (re)join the perennial favorites on the men’s side. Now we just hope that some more non-European teams will join Brazil, Egypt, Tunisia and Argentina at the highest level.

The preliminary rounds finished yesterday, so we are now ready for the ‘knock-out’ stage, starting with the ’round of 16′ tomorrow. There was some excitement on the final day, with a ‘triangle drama’ in one group, where Qatar was eliminated on goal difference in relation to the Netherlands and Switzerland. And in another group, Tunisia got the win they needed against France to make it through. Korea lost narrowly against Hungary, which confirmed their elimination and caused celebration for Argentina.

But while it may be a bit premature to draw a lot of detailed conclusions, there is one disturbing overall observation that is quite clear: the European domination is as strong as ever before! This is the age group where the trends for the next 5-10 years should be possible to recognize, as we are talking about players who turn 21 this year and therefore should soon become important reinforcements for their senior national teams.

Europe has 13 teams in the tournament and the other continents have 11. The polarization can easily be seen. Twelve of the Europeans are in the ’round of 16′ with only Russia failing to qualify. By contrast, only four of the eleven non-Europeans made it through, and those were the ‘usual suspects’: Argentina, Brazil, Egypt and Tunisia. And it should then be noted that Tunisia was the only one of those teams that went through by leaving a European team (Russia) behind them in their group. The other three teams made it through by defeating other non-European teams in their respective groups.

As noted above, Qatar was the only other team to come close. Their elimination must be disappointing, right at the time when they are starting a surge to get ready for the senior World Championship which they are hosting 18 months from now. Just weeks ago, Qatar announced that, with the possible exception of a goalkeeper or two, they would abandon their efforts to strengthen their national team by quickly naturalizing some star players ‘imported’ from abroad. Instead they intend to rely on their own young talents. So they would undoubtedly have wanted to see their ‘U 21′ team do a bit better.

I do not want to go too far in speculating about the outcome of this World Championship yet. The four group winners, Denmark, Germany, Slovenia and Sweden all look quite strong. Moreover, they each seem to have a relatively comfortable match-up in the ’round of 16. But Spain and Croatia, who were the finalists in Europe last year for this age group, are probably also to be reckoned with. However, it would be nice to see a surprise caused by either the Egyptians or the Tunisians. I fear that Argentina and Brazil do not seem to have much hope of advancing further.

Partille Cup is ‘my’ old tournament. As I have undoubtedly mentioned in the past, this is where I had my initial international involvement in handball, serving as competition manager 1970-74. So it is for me a bit special when I have chance to be back there, and even when I read about the experience of USA teams in my old home town.

The USATH web page has already provided some reports and indications of the final results for our teams in the recent finished 2013 edition of Partille Cup. We had teams in the ‘under 21’ category for both men and women. Especially our women’s team did quite well, advancing to the semifinals. Of course, I know that the U 21 bracket is not exactly the most competitive one in Partille Cup or anywhere else. It is a bit of a ‘hybrid’ category and does not attract more than a small number of teams, especially in comparison with the vast number of strong clubs in the younger age groups. So perhaps one needs to be careful about not getting carried away with the conclusions from the results achieved.

But it was certainly nice to see, for the USA teams, for the Partille Cup organizers, and even for me personally, that we had teams that were more competitive and helped provide a nice image. Younger USA teams in the past have typically had a much more difficult time. And it also seems to be that right now we have a bunch of players who fit in well to create a solid U-21 team on the women’s side, whereas they are too young to constitute a strong ‘senior team’, and also in contrast with the novice players we normally have to field in younger age groups. So the question now is, of course, whether this is a group that one could build on for the future or not.

In any case, my conversation with my old friend, Partille Cup ‘general’ Stefan Albrechtson, gives a separate strong reason for satisfaction and pride. He commented that there was a widespread perception during the tournament that, among all the participants from around the world, our USA teams really displayed an energy and positive spirit that was almost unmatched. This involved all the delegation members, i.e., players, coaches and managers, and it was noticeable not just on the court and during the games but also in the overall enthusiasm that they showed throughout the event. This is indeed high praise, coming from Albrechtson who has seen it all over many decades!

Another interesting piece of information obtained from Albrechtson was that Partille Cup is entering into collaboration with the Qatari organizers of the Men’s World Championship in 2015. Delegations from Qatar have been frequent participants in Partille during many years, so the connection was already established. The Qataris know that they will be able to put on an attractive event, not just for the teams but for any spectators who would want to come. But there is the concern that precisely the ability to attract visiting spectators from around the world might be a weak point. This is of course an important question of image, not just for Qatar but for the IHF and the reputation of our sport. The fiasco when the Women’s World Championship was organized in Brazil virtually without spectators stills lingers in people’s minds.

As Partille Cup has a vast communications network around the world, and as Albrechtson, who also is a member of a (somewhat defunct) Commission of the IHF, has an interest in supporting a World Championship wherever it is organized, the scope for support in spreading the word certainly exists. The Partille Cup outreach is particularly strong in the many countries in northern and central Europe, from where it is common for people to travel long distances, whether for vacations or for sports events. So it seems that a special effort will be made to facilitate travel that is less expensive and to organize attractive packages for the stay in Qatar. Many clubs and federations which have close contacts with Partille Cup would find an easy way to get the necessary information through a source they are used to relying on. And for Partille Cup, this would seem a natural and integral part of their mission to promote handball globally.

In mid-September, the eyes of the sports world will be on the IOC Congress in Buenos Aires, where the organizer for the 2020 summer Olympic Games will be decided. The remaining candidates are Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo, after Baku and Doha were eliminated in a preliminary round. Madrid is trying for the third time, but one wonders if the current economic situation of Spain will make the IOC decision-makers hesitating about taking the risk of giving the event to Spain. Istanbul would be an enticing choice, given Turkey’s ‘bridging’ position in a geographic, political and cultural sense. But have the very recent disturbances there undermined their chances? So could it be that Tokyo, which hosted the 1964 summer Olympics, might become the safe choice ‘by default’!?

However, as I see it, the more important decision, with a longer-term impact, will be the selection of a new IOC President to succeed Jacques Rogge. The Belgian, an Olympic yachtsman, is no longer eligible for re-election, after serving for a 12-year period. In some sense, I am perhaps contradicting myself, when I attach such importance to this position. After all, I have often suggested that the IOC is mainly the organization running the Olympic Games, rather than living up to its potential role of really being the overarching and monitoring entity in relation to all the International Federations for individual sports and the National Olympic Committees. The IOC could, and in my view should, do much more to ensure good governance and ethical behavior in international sports, especially as the IOC frantically insists on autonomy, i.e., freedom from scrutiny, for sports organizations in relation to the world around them.

But I still believe that the IOC and its President have the scope for setting appropriate trends and ensuring a positive development for the sports movement globally. So I always want to hold out hope that a new President will be able and willing to act forcefully and exert an influence which will be beneficial to both athletes and sports fans, as modern life brings new challenges and demands. There is a tough competition for resources and media exposure, while at the same time we are subjected to negative influences in such forms a doping, match-fixing, and general corruption. Political pressures will also remain strong, not the least when it comes to decisions about hosting Olympic Games and other major events. The trend where only those with unlimited resources or unconstrained political power will have a chance, Russia and Qatar being recent examples, is a worrisome one. So it will take a strong person with real character to gain control as IOC President.

Six candidates have emerged, and they very recently presented ‘election manifestos’, or program statements, in connection with an IOC gathering in Lausanne. The candidates are, in alphabetical order: Thomas Bach (Germany), Sergei Bubka (Ukraine), Richard Carrion (Puerto Rico),Ser Miang Ng (Singapore), Denis Oswald (Switzerland), and Ching-Kuo Wu (Taiwan). Bach, Carrion, Oswald and Wu are veteran IOC members with more than 20 years of service, while by contrast Bubka is a relative newcomer after his distinguished career as a pole vaulter. Bach and Oswald are also Olympic athletes. I will not here try to comment on their individual background and merits. There may be time for that as we get closer, and you will easily find sources in the media. But from a handball standpoint, it may be of special interest to focus on the candidacy of Bach, who also seems to be the clear favorite at this time.

I have commented in earlier articles, that the IHF President regrettably does not seem to be held in very high regard in IOC circles, contrary to what he often tries to claim. He has managed to put people off, in part because of his persistent and not so elegant efforts to find a way to become an IOC member himself, but in part because of scandals that have not gone unnoticed among IOC members. Rogge commented to media in a conspicuously negative way about the discoveries of some of the IHF President’s business dealings and ‘concerns’ regarding the handling of bidding for TV contracts.

But especially the disastrous matter of the Korea-Kuwait qualification game for the 2008 Olympics caused public reactions from highest level in the IOC. At that very same time, the IHF President tried to reassure his Council, in efforts to prevent appropriate action, that ‘his special contacts’ in the IOC really did not think the whole matter was such a big deal. And the one IOC member he often mentioned was none other than Bach, something which he found important as Bach represents such an important handball country. Of course, it was never really known to IHF Council members what Bach in fact might have thought and said… It is then also of interest that, together with the IHF President himself, the main culprits in the Korea-Kuwait matter was the Kuwaiti president of the Olympic Council of Asia, Sheikh Ahmad, now also a holder of the powerful position as President of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).

It is not surprising that most of the experts who follow IOC matters, and now especially the election campaign, describe the Sheikh as the ‘power player’ or ‘puppet master’ behind the scenes (or often quite openly). But what might seem strange to some is that the Sheikh is not promoting one of the two Asian candidates for the presidency. Instead, he is very forcefully pushing Bach as his favorite. Some speculate that the Sheikh wants to remain the top Olympic figure in Asia, so he might not then want to be overshadowed by an IOC President from his own continent. Also, he is shrewd enough to realize that his own position of strength is likely to require a strong alliance with the Europeans.

To provide some symmetry, Bach is known to have important business interests precisely in Kuwait. Now, this alliance between Bach and Sheikh Ahmad might not in itself be awkward, even leaving aside what is known about the Sheikh’s reputation. But when one starts seeing that Bach is far from an uncontroversial person even in his own country, then one might begin to wonder. For instance, it has been noted that Bach can be seen as a protégé of two persons whose reputations are not exactly snow-white. One is the former IOC President Samaranch, and other is Horst Dassler, son of the Adidas initiator Adi Dassler and founder of the ‘corruption giant’ ISL, the company in the middle of all the scandals involving FIFA. And Bach himself has often been described as ‘extremely ambitious’ and obsessed with the IOC Presidency.

So while Bach may have his own detractors, and while his backing from the Sheikh may be a negative factor for some people, it is generally seen that having the support of the Sheikh is on balance a clear advantage, whether one seeks the IOC Presidency, some other top position in sports, or the rights to host a really major sports event. Then the question arises: given that the connection between Bach and the Sheikh might be seen as extended into a triangle also comprising the IHF President, and given Bach’s German origin, would his election as IOC President be advantageous for handball, or would one instead be concerned about what the ‘triangle’ says about his suitability?

Finally, if you are interested in matters related to the IOC, FIFA, governance and corruption in sports, and especially if you read German, then I would strongly recommend the web site and writing of the German investigative reporter Jens Weinreich at www.jensweinreich.de I know Jens from occasional collaboration, and he is one of the foremost experts and serious investigators in his field. His research and writing will give you access to much more of a detailed story than I could ever bring you.