00:00During the 2021 and 2022 Handball Champions League, over 1 billion people tuned in to watch.
00:07Considering this, there is not much of a scene in the UK.
00:11However, local team the Medway Falcons hopes to change this.
00:15I came down to the under-15 Medway Falcons girls training to get a taste of what their training is like.
00:21Handball is fast-paced, with players attacking and defending together.
00:26It requires quick decision-making, jumping to shoot and strong defence.
00:31Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel accredits many of his signature moves, like the star jump, to playing handball in his youth.
00:40The Medway Falcons have been growing since 2013, with a women's team and men's team taking part in the league.
00:47Now, on top of these teams, they brought handball to many local schools to train up a future generation of handball players.
00:54This includes 14-year-old Nelly, who recently got accepted to the GB handball squad.
00:59I started playing when I was four, and I only started playing because my sisters and my mother would play.
01:07I would love to become a professional, and since I've already been playing it for eight years, I don't think it will be hard for me.
01:14And since I already have a lot of ideas of the sport, I just find it easier.
01:21I'm looking forward to playing in the GB team because we could play a lot internationally.
01:27And leading from there, I can go and represent my home country.
01:32Despite the growing popularity of the sport, the UK still faces some issues.
01:37The team's coach, Ivona, shed some light on why this may be.
01:41Personally, in my opinion, there is not a lot of money being put towards handball.
01:46If we could get more money, more advertisement of handball, I'm sure there would be more people coming to handball.
01:55And many of the girls are not choosing to stop now.
01:59I would love to play handball for my life.
02:03Because I really do enjoy it, and there's a lot of success, I think I will continue in the future.
02:09I'd like to go further in handball, you know, maybe in the GB.
02:14After feeling inspired hearing the girls, I decided to put my skills to the test and have a go at shooting a penalty.
02:22Etelie Reynolds for KMTV.
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