Updated 09.35 | Published 2024-10-20 22.27
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Norwegian handball giant Vipers Kristiansand is declared bankrupt.
The Swedish national team stars Jamina Roberts, Carin Strömberg and Nina Koppang play in the club.
Thus, they are without a club with five weeks left until the EC.
– This doesn’t feel so damn good, says Roberts to Sportbladet.
Viper’s handball club lacks SEK 24 million and on Sunday the board announced that they see no future to continue driving the club forward.
The contracts immediately end for the players and other employees, while the club disappears from league play and the Champions League.
– Vipers Kristiansand have played their last home game. You can see from my facial expression that this is incredibly painful, says club chairman Peter Gitmark VG.
Three Swedish national team stars
Gitmark goes on to say that the club could have kept going for a few more months, but that sooner or later the noose was pulled anyway.
– It is a cruel and tough ending to come to. The players and employees have been informed, says Gitmark.
The Swedish national team stars Jamina Roberts, Carin Strömberg and Nina Koppang play in the club. Now they are all without a contract with just over a month left until the EC in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland.
– This doesn’t feel so damn good, says Roberts when Sportbladet reaches her.
She is at the airport on her way to the national team meeting in Gävle this week.
– It is of course bad timing so close to the EC. You are not too eager to afford a move now.
Already have some options?
– Nothing concrete, but there is interest.
The 34-year-old prefers not to end his career abroad and move home to Gothenburg and Sävehof just yet.
Want a long-term solution
Roberts has her daughter Lou, 4, as well as her partner Emil Berggren with her to Norway.
– It was a family decision when we chose Vipers. Now I can’t pick and choose between safe options in the middle of the season. I’d prefer something long-term, but if it were only a contact for the rest of the season, Emil and Lou will probably stay in Kristiansand so they don’t have to tear her up twice in a short time.
Roberts isn’t worried about keeping fit in the three weeks between this national team gathering and the European Championship upload, in case she doesn’t have time to finalize a new club.
– There are several of us in the same seat here, so we will probably be able to practice handball together if nothing else. And it has happened that players have been injured for three weeks before a championship and have been able to perform.
Before we hang up, there is another small setback.
– Well, now the flight was canceled too, she sighs sadly.
Three straight CL titles
Roberts has played at the club since January 2022 while Koppang, who is injured and will miss the EC, and Strömberg joined ahead of this season.
For Strömberg, it is the second time in less than three months that her club has gone bankrupt. She left French side Nantes last summer for that very reason.
– It’s completely sick, Roberts comments on his friend’s double accident in a few months.
Vipers have been a giant in the handball world. The club has seven straight league golds and won the Champions League three years in a row: 2021, 2022 and 2023. Already last winter, the club was saved from bankruptcy after a major bailout and the players took a pay cut.
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full screenJamina Roberts is one of several Swedish stars in Vipers. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB
Ah, handball—the sport that’s essentially like football but with a lot more hand sanitizer involved. And today, it seems like we’ve got a real heartbreaker in the athletic world. Norwegian handball giant Vipers Kristiansand has reportedly crumbled faster than an IKEA shelf without the proper screws, declaring bankruptcy and leaving three Swedish national team stars looking for somewhere to throw their balls around. No, really, it’s not a good day!
Vipers Kristiansand: From Champions to Chumps
Let’s get to the meat of the matter: Vipers Kristiansand’s board is throwing in the towel after failing to secure a whopping SEK 24 million. That’s right folks, twenty-four million! You know it’s bad when even handball players are left with fewer contracts than a failed reality show contestant! Club chairman Peter Gitmark, bless his heart, has said the players have been informed, and by the look on his face, it’s clear this isn’t the typical “We’re just narrowing down our options” chat.
“This doesn’t feel so damn good,” says Jamina Roberts, one of the Swedish stars, as she tries to juggle her bags and the panic of a pre-EC (European Championship) search for a new club. I mean, talk about a tough gig! You’d think being a top athlete would mean having it all figured out—like figuring out who will bake the best cupcakes for your team. But here we are, five weeks from EC with no club, no contract, and potentially a lot of moving boxes.
Players in Limbo
The timing couldn’t be worse for these players. Picture this: Roberts is at the airport, about to meet her national team, and the last thing she wants to think about is where she will be playing next. No one likes uncertainty, unless, of course, you’re in a quiz show where you don’t actually care about the answers—’Cause let’s face it, no one goes home with the Wall Street Journal anymore.
Roberts shared, “Nothing concrete, but there is interest.” Great, so there’s some buzz, like when everyone says they’re considering an avocado toast diet but ultimately opts for pizza. With her family in tow, she seems less about rushing into any quick fixes and more about finding something long-term. I mean, who wants to switch clubs like you switch Netflix shows? Although, if they could just get a deal like “Binge-Worthy Handball Teams,” I think they’d have a winner there.
The financial crisis facing Vipers is not just a tale of bad bookkeeping—it’s a saga of repeated misfortune. Roberts’s teammate Carin Strömberg faced a similar situation just months ago when her previous club, Nantes, closed its doors quicker than you can say “handball hurler.” At this rate, they should consider creating a new league called “Clubs That Didn’t Make It,” featuring Vipers and perhaps a few Bundesliga teams twitching in their seats.
From Glory to Grief
And let’s pause to acknowledge the Vipers’ glorious past: seven league titles and three consecutive Champions League victories! What a dark twist of fate to fall from grace so miserably. It’s like scoring a hat trick in football only to slip on a banana peel while celebrating—totally tragic, yet somewhat hilarious in hindsight.
Roberts isn’t worried about maintaining her fitness before the championship, even with all this chaos. “There are several of us in the same seat,” she reminds us, which sounds like the opening line to a very touching sports movie about camaraderie. Don’t you just love it when life throws you lemons and you’re expected to make a five-star restaurant-quality lemon meringue pie out of it? We’re rooting for you, team!
So, here’s hoping that as Vipers Kristiansand fades into the history books, the players find new homes and maybe a new shot at glory—hopefully ones that won’t leave them auditioning for “Survivor: Handball Edition.” Because at the end of the day, we want our athletes thriving, not merely surviving, preferably whilst entertaining us with a cheeky smile, a quick handball pass, and perhaps a sprinkle of dark humor along the way!
