Eight years ago, in the 2017 IHF Women’s World Championship qualification phase, Switzerland were dropped early, in Group 2, winning against Kosovo, 36:21, but conceding losses against Belarus (27:35) and Türkiye (24:29).

Two years later, their bid for a place in the world handball flagship competition fell short, with a 36:61 aggregate loss against powerhouse Denmark. But soon, things took a turn for the best.

For Spain 2021, Switzerland drew against Czechia, 27:27, in the first leg, only to concede a painful home loss, 22:28, in the Qualification Europe Phase 2, falling one step short of making it to the final tournament.

Once again, in the previous Qualifiers, Switzerland played against Czechia and lost both matches of the doubleheader in the Qualification Phase 2, 31:32, and 27:36. But the signs were there.

The European side made the EHF EURO twice in the last two editions, as a 14th place at their debut in 2022 was followed by a 12th place in 2024, when they were co-hosts, playing on their home court in the St. Jakobshalle in Basel.

And now, thanks to that 12th place, they were finally favoured to reach their maiden edition of the IHF Women’s World Championship, facing Slovakia in the Qualification Europe Phase 2. And sure enough, Switzerland delivered two excellent performances, taking a 38:22 home win and a 30:24 away win in the second leg to make history.

Finally, after a long wait, Switzerland are at the IHF Women’s World Championship, and their ambitions match their talent.

“It means a lot. It was the next logical step, because we made some progress in the last years, qualifying for the European Championship in 2022 and then playing at home in 2024. And we have made so much progress over the last year. And when we played against Slovakia, we showed a good performance in both matches. Therefore, we deserve to be here,” says Switzerland’s line player, Tabea Schmid.

Schmid is just one of the players who have established themselves as stalwarts in this Switzerland line-up, despite being aged only 21 years old.

The line player, born in St. Gallen, played for local club LC Brühl Handball, before moving to Denmark in 2023, when she signed for København Håndbold. After two succesful seasons, she will move to Team Esbjerg, the Danish champions, this summer, marking her meteoric rise over the last years.

But Schmid is not alone in delivering excellent performances. 19-year-old right wing Mia Emmenegger also signed for Esbjerg at the start of 2025, after her former side, Vipers Kristiansand, folded. 

Left wings Era Baumann and Alessia Riner or centre back Nuria Bucher, are also 17, 20 and 19 years respectively, being an excellent complement to an older core, which has players like Kerstin Kündig (31) or Daphne Gautschi (24).

In fact, the team selected by Norwegian coach Knut Ove Joa for the doubleheader against Slovakia had an average age of 21.8 years old, an astonishing feature for a side which has really shown a great potential.

“I think we are a really young team and we grow together. And so if we can stay a bit together in this team that we are, then I think we can really perform at a really high level. Because I can feel already now that pretty much from every time we meet with the national team, (we get better and better,” adds Schmid.

The core of this team has already shown brilliant flashes of potential at the 2022 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, when they finished eighth, despite a bout of Covid-19 which ravaged the European side.

Schmid was there and she was already the team’s top scorer, with 44 goals, finishing on the eighth place of the top goal scorer standings.

Without Schmid, but with Riner, Emma Bachtiger, or line player Nora Snedkerud, Switzerland went at it again at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, when they retained their eighth place, making the quarter-finals for the second year in a row.

That meant that their academy, established five years ago, the Concordia Academy, is providing a pipeline of talent, which ensures that Switzerland will be a team to be reckoned with in the future, when the current crop of senior players reach their peak, while other youngsters are ready to provide their input.

At first, the Concordia Handball-Akademie had input from an experienced Danish coach, Martin Albertsen, who led the senior and the younger age category teams was in charge for the first years of the project, until 2023, when he switched to club level, coaching Hungarian side FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria for a few months.

But the project marched on, with 20 players of different ages spending five days a week in the academy between Monday and Friday, returning back home for the weekend, where they can also play for their clubs. It is a win-win-win situation for the players, the clubs and the Swiss Handball Federation, with everybody benefitting from this arrangement.

“Of course, these results also have something to do with the academy that we have in Switzerland. It's now in the fifth year, I think. And that, of course, it plays its part. We have more and more players who leave the Swiss League and go to Germany or Scandinavia or France or other countries to develop themselves and make progress. And I think you can really see it pretty much from month to month. That's a big part of why we make so much progress as a team,” adds Schmid.

“We haven't had anything so professional in Switzerland for handball, for women's handball before. So that, of course, is a big influence on the performances that we can show now. For the young players, it has been something new, but it helped them develop and become better.”

The line player herself played a big part in the 68:46 aggregate win against Slovakia, which sent Switzerland to the IHF Women’s World Championship for the first time in history, scoring 13 of her side’s 68 goals, being the second best scorer after Daphne Gautschi, who had 15 goals.

But what can Switzerland do at Germany/Netherlands 2025? Can they be a dark horse, or is it a bit too early for them to provide some surprises?

“It can turn out in any kind of way, depending on the group in which we are drawn. But we're always wanting to make the surprise, to show what we can do. Because as I said, we did so much progress and we are a young team and we can call ourselves underdogs. We love to surprise our opponents by our playing style. And we have the qualities and we have shown the qualities. It's important that we also can show it in a big tournament like thism” adds Schmid.

Yet the focus is also on the future, when Schmid considers that Switzerland can battle for more, maybe even a medal.

“We always strive for something more. And now we have made the first main round qualification in Euro, in 2024, and now we look at the next thing. What can we do to be better, to perform better? And so that, I don't know, I'm talking also about a long period now, but in five to ten years we can be really at the top,” adds Schmid.

After making it to the IHF Women’s World Championship, Schmid also will focus on her club career. After two years at København Håndbold, she will make a huge step in her career, signing for Team Esbjerg, a perennial contender in the EHF Champions League Women and the current Danish champions, where she will share the court with the reigning IHF Female Player of the Year, Henny Reistad.

“Going to København Håndbold was the best decision I made, because I had multiple offers. I really enjoy playing as a professional here. In the two years that I've been here, I could also see so much progress with myself. But now, the next logical step, was to make it a step further and go to an even better club,” concludes Schmid.

And surely, the future looks bright for the 21-year-old line player.

Photo credit: Swiss Handball Association