The Danish Handball Association (DanskHåndbold) has announced that the new coach of the Denmark senior women’s national team will be Helle Thomsen, replacing the current coach, Jesper Jensen, who will leave his position at the end of this week.

Thomsen will be the 15th coach in the history of the Denmark women’s national team and the second female coach, after Else Birkmose, who led the Scandinavian side between 1963 and 1965, according to DanskHåndbold.

A former player, Thomsen first dipped her toes into a head coaching position in 2012, when she took over Danish powerhouse FC Midtjylland, where she spent four years. She also coached the Romanian side CSM București, Norwegian side Molde Elite, Turkish team Kastamonu Belediyesi Gençlik Spor Kulübü, and French side Les Neptunes de Nantes, before returning to CSM in the summer of 2024.

Thomsen also has plenty of experience as a national team coach, leading Sweden between 2014 and 2015, as well as the Netherlands between 2016 and 2019.

With Sweden, Thomsen won a bronze medal at the EHF EURO 2014, while with the Netherlands, she finished on the podium in three major international competitions, securing bronze at the 2017 IHF Women’s World Championship, and silver and bronze at the EHF EURO 2016 and EHF EURO 2018, respectively.

“It is the greatest thing to be allowed to lead the Danish national team as a Dane. Denmark is a handball country. Here is the whole package: young talents, lots of players, and a national team that participates in all final rounds and fights for medals. I am incredibly proud, grateful, and humbled by the task,” said Thomsen, according to the official website of DanskHåndbold.

“I am looking forward to taking all the best from the team and the culture that Jesper Jensen and Lars Jørgensen have created in and around the team, and hopefully adding some layers so that we can become even better. At the same time, I know how things work in a squad for championships, and what it requires of the players. I can still use that learning today and look forward to benefiting from it.”

Thomsen will therefore lead Denmark at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship in her first major international competition, where the Scandinavian side has already qualified via the EHF EURO 2024, where they were runners-up, conceding the final against Norway.

“After a thorough process, where we have spoken to many competent and committed candidates, the choice was Helle Thomsen. She has extensive experience with national and international women's handball. At the same time, Helle has a CV with many successful results and a profile that we believe fits well with the Danish women's national team in 2025,” says the sports director of DanskHåndbold, Morten Henriksen.

Denmark has been one of the most consistent teams in recent years, winning a medal in each of the last five major international competitions, since Jensen took over in 2020 and started his tenure with a fourth place at the EHF EURO 2020.

At the IHF Women’s World Championship, both in Spain 2021 and Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, Denmark finished third, securing bronze medals. At the EHF EURO, in both 2022 and 2024, the Scandinavian side were runners-up, conceding both finals against Norway. At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Denmark were also bronze medallists.