By Will Castle
Clio Stephanides wants handball to become part and parcel in the UK’s sporting culture as she seeks continental success on the court.
Stephanides, 18, is British-born but first picked up a love for handball in her hometown of Jerez, Spain – where she has lived for much of her life.
Now back on English soil to study at Loughborough College, she is making waves for GB as one of the youngest members of the senior squad and is currently staring down the barrel of the World Championship qualifiers in Lithuania.
But having grown up in handball-crazy Spain, Stephanides is eager to help raise the stock of handball in the UK, hoping that the sport can one day draw the attention that the likes of football and rugby garners.
“In Europe it’s so much bigger and I think that just stems from it being introduced at such a young age,” she said.
“I started playing when I was 12, but the rest of my teammates, it’s a similar thing to football here – as soon as they can walk, they play it.
“I think it’s slowly being implemented here in the school curriculum and stuff, which is really good. Our issue is that we’re trying to fight the likes of rugby, cricket, football.
“We need to try and push handball out. It is a good sport and it is worth playing and people actually could be really good at it if they gave it a go.
“Even if it’s just in the conversation, because you never really hear handball when you ask what sports you play. You’d hope years down the line, it will be more of a common sport and not looked at as ‘what even is handball’.”
Stephanides is one of 50 athletes across a multitude of sports supported by a partnership between SportsAid and Pitching In, a multimillion-pound grassroots sport programme established by Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral.
She is delighted to see handball supported by SportsAid, providing her with financial backing in a sport that severely lacks funding in the UK.
“My friends would go to a trial in Spain and they’d get all covered – but the difference is that here, handball just isn’t funded,” she added.
“SportsAid came in with a grant last year, which was like a lifesaver. It just makes my life a lot easier in the sense that I’m not having to worry about my financial situation. I can buy that protein, I can buy the flights to actually go and train with GB.
“If other athletes had it they’d have the exact same response, because I think the public don’t realise how much money is in every sport. But because of how unknown handball is here, it’s more of an investment.
“I’m in the senior squad, but without SportsAid, I might’ve had to say, ‘sorry coach, I can’t make it to this camp’, because I wouldn’t be able to afford it.”
Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more.