Handball legends Luc Abalo and Victor Tomas new EHF EURO 2024 ambassadors

The names of two former right-wing stars of handball have been unveiled as ambassadors of the forthcoming Men's EHF EURO 2024.

It will not only be German stars supporting the next EHF EURO; after Uwe Gensheimer, Stefan Kretzschmar, Emily Bölk and Johannes Bitter showed their support for the next European championship, two more international handball superstars have been added to this already fantastic list.

Luc Abalo won the EHF EURO three times with France, in 2006, 2010 and 2012, among the nine international gold medals that are covering the shelf in his living room. After playing for Ivry, Ciudad Real, Paris Saint-Germain and finishing his career in Japan, the right wing has decided to move on, at least, professionally, from handball. “As an athlete, we have two lives. One in which I played handball, and another one in which I want to do something completely else. I’m very interested in arts and there are a lot of things in this area that I want to try. I want to be a painter, I want to be a designer, I want to take care of my clothing line,” explains the 38-year-old. Spending his time on something other than handball does not mean Luc Abalo will not be watching any more games. 

“I’m very honoured to be an ambassador for the EHF EURO 2024. I’m sure the atmosphere will be great in this country that has been the place to be in handball for the last decades,” he says.

Besides the three titles that he won with France, Luc Abalo has very fond memories of the epic battles against Croatia that spiced his whole international career. It was against Ivan Balic and his teammates that he won his first gold medal, at the EHF EURO 2006.

“Croatia were just like France. An amazing team, built with players playing for the best teams in Europe. We often won the games against them, but it is difficult to say why. Were we lucky? The one thing I know is that we prepared very hard when we knew we were going to be against them, as Croatia were one of the best teams in the world at that point.” While France vs Croatia was a trademark battle in national team competitions, so were the games featuring Spain and France. When Luc Abalo was playing for France, his opposite number was Victor Tomas. Tomas counts matches against his fellow EHF EURO ambassador as some of his best memories - including the 2014 semi-final, when Abalo's eight goals helped send France to the final past Tomas's Spain.

“2014 remains one of the best memories of the EHF EURO for me. We played against Norway in the group phase in Aalborg, and Norway is the country of my wife. I usually had bad games against them or Norwegian clubs. But this time I scored eight, we won, and that was very important for us progressing to the main round,” recalls the left-hander. Tomas retired from handball in 2020 after a career that saw him win EHF EURO bronze in 2014 and silver in 2016, adding to his 2013 IHF Men's World Championship title, bronze at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and three EHF Champions League titles with Barça. Despite retirement, Tomas does not remain far from the handball courts. He tries to stay healthy - jogging, running half-marathons and playing padel every other day - but he also has a business linked to handball.

“I am now a players’ agent, I’m trying to use my experience to give them the best advice. I am also commentating the Barça games on Catalonian TV, and it’s fun to see handball a different way, analysing things almost like a coach,” he explains. Just like Abalo, Victor Tomas will be attending the next EHF EURO in the stands, while trying to spread the word beforehand. 

“I always said to myself, what can I do to help handball grow after my career? To be an ambassador is an honour as well as a good opportunity to keep spreading the word, to keep enjoying handball in a different way.”

There is no doubt what Tomas is most looking forward to about the tournament: “The games at the LANXESS Arena.” With Barça he won the Champions League there twice, in 2011 and 2015, and coming to Cologne makes him relive those crazy memories. “This is an arena that every handball fan knows about across Europe. This is an iconic one. And I’m sure that all the games will be played in an amazing atmosphere there.”

Kontakt
EHF - European Handball Federation
Thomas Schöneich (Director Media & Communications)
E-Mail: Schoeneich@eurohandball.com
Web: www.eurohandball.com