'Founding Fathers' reveal secrets of Danish success in documentary

What if one brought some of the world’s best handball players and coaches — past and current — together for a full day?

What if one gave these legends the time and space to reminisce about what success, teamwork, culture, friendship and hierarchy mean in the sport they all love?

And what if they had the opportunity to renew and strengthen a bond that has brought them to the top of the handball world, telling stories and sharing memories along the way that may have been known only by those closest to them?

The answers to all those questions and much more will be given in “Founding Fathers — The Rise of Denmark’s Handball Empire”, an original documentary realised by the European Handball Federation and Infront Productions, released as the build-up to the Men's EHF EURO 2026 in Denmark, Norway and Sweden reaches boiling point.

The documentary brings together three generations of Danish handball legends in a single setting. Past and current Danish internationals such as Joachim Boldsen, Kasper Hvidt, Lars Christiansen, Lars Jørgensen, Lasse Svan, Mads Mensah, Hans Lindberg, Mathias Gidsel, Emil Nielsen, Simon Pytlick, Emil Jakobsen, together with head coaches Ulrik Wilbek and Nikolaj Jacobsen were filmed over one day at a historic manor on the Danish island of Funen.

The film traces the rise of Denmark from an also-ran to their first gold at the EHF EURO 2008, Olympic gold in 2016, and eventually to the global handball powerhouse of the present, being undefeated on World Championship level for 37 matches and more than eight years, through open, unscripted conversations.

Supported by Danish broadcaster TV2 and hosted by the channel's long-time handball voice Bent Nyegaard, the project also underlines how premium documentary formats can deepen engagement beyond live matches.

The 75-minute TV documentary premieres on the EHF Home of Handball YouTube channel on Tuesday, 13 January at 20:00 CET. On the eve of the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 which throws off on 15 January, this movie is a must-watch for every handball fan!

Main images © EHF / Infront Productions