Kavallieri’s women team in first European Cup participation

Kavallieri Handball Club, one of the leading local handball clubs has been focusing most of its energy on the EHF (European Handball Federation) European Cup for several months now. The EHF European Cup is a third tier club competition and one of the most prestigious club competitions in Europe, with over 41 clubs from 18 European countries participating.

For the first time ever, Kavallieri Handball Club will be participating in this competition with the womens’ team after successfully winning the MHA (Malta Handball Association) First Division League for two successive seasons. Whilst preparation for this competition started a few months ago, this teams’ journey started back in 2010.

At the tender age of 15 years, several girls hailing from different secondary schools and with little previous handball exposure, were invited for summer handball sessions with the club.

The bond that the players managed to achieve in a few months was so extraordinary that despite the lack of experience, the team went on to win the MHA U17 Girls League that same year. Under the direction of one of the most experienced coaches in the local handball scene - Mr Anthony Xuereb, the girls continued to win the U17 and U21 leagues for several consecutive years, with most of them also being called up to the national team of their respective age groups.

Fast forward 10 years and the core team members are the ones that started this journey together back in 2010. Two years ago, Bosnian Center Back, Irena Drugovic, joined the team who proved to be a very strong addition - her skills, international experience and tactical ideas were just what the team needed in order to win the biggest local handball cups and the first division league. Another notable player with a lot of international experience, Danish Pivot, Louise Beyer Mouton, brings her fun and energetic persona to the court, which has been just the right energy and encouragement that our young team needed. Over the Summer, the transfer of Francesca Farrugia from La Salle Handball Club has been another important milestone in this teams’ journey.

Francesca has already participated in this competition with her former club a few years back, thus her leadership and experience in the back position is a new strength for the team. With an average age of 25, the team is stronger than ever.

This Maltese team has been seeded directly into Round 3, the final round before the Last 16 round. 9 teams have already successfully advanced from Round 2 to join the remaining 23 teams in Round 3. Kavallieri RS2 will be facing A.C. PAOK from Greece. Usually, the teams play a home and away match, however due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, a double home match will be played in Malta. Both games will be played at the University Sports Hall in Tal-Qroqq on Friday 20th November and Sunday 22nd November - throw off time at 18:00.

The games will be played behind closed doors as no spectators are allowed according to the current health and sports regulations. However, the organising team are working on delivering an excellent live online stream of both matches for all handball supporters and sports enthusiasts to watch from the comfort and safety of their home. More details about the live stream will be available in due course.

This team is not any ordinary team, but rather extraordinary. They have grown together playing this sport for fun and will now be representing the country on the European court.

It's a journey of a group of young girls, now women, with incredible determination, strong willpower and hunger for improvement and success. They have formed the best of friendships and their skills on court have become a pleasant display for any handball supporter. The team embodies the clubs’ motto of ‘’true people, through sports’’.

Kavallieri Handball Club wants to spread the story behind this team in order to encourage sports amongst the children and the youths whilst also promoting this fast paced and highly energetic sport. Starting sports at a young age is the key for a healthy lifestyle.

The delegation for this competition will be led by their longstanding coach Mr Anthony Xuereb and an up and coming young assistant coach, Mr Liam Harrison who has just been appointed as the handball coach for the Malta National Sports School.

Sponsored by RS2 Software p.l.c, V.Demajo Bros., JP Content Creations, SportMalta, Quality Meat Products and Technoline