Brits definite for 2012

Following a 51.6 per cent decrease in UK Sport funding, British Handball were forced to move out of their Danish training base in Aarhus as a budget of just £1.448 million in the run up to London 2012 meant the purse strings had to be tightened.

Handball was the only able-bodied sport to receive a red rating in UK Sport's recent Mission 2012 Report, prompting fears the aim of having two competitive teams at London 2012 would not be realised.

But with the news that GB women's captain Lynn McCafferty has signed for Italian second division side Brixen, the vast majority of the two 26-strong squads are now based on the continent, plying their trade for European teams.

And Brown is adamant that Great Britain's aim of producing two teams capable of a top eight finish at the London 2012 Olympics is still on target.

"As host nation we have already qualified for the London 2012 Olympics and that has been agreed with the BOA," said Brown.

"We want to satisfy ourselves, we want to be competitive and we want to finish in the top eight. And that target has never changed.

"When our funding cuts were made we had to make some difficult choices. We had to look for the next best thing and we decided that was to place players in countries across Europe.

"These clubs have been very receptive to British Handball and receptive to the challenges we face as well as being very impressed by the standard of our players.

"Having had to leave our base in Denmark, the biggest problem for us has been the expense of the flights for all the players from all over Europe to temporary training camps - and then it's not always easy to keep continuity because players arrive with their club cultures.

"Our hand was forced in the sense that this was something we envisaged happening in approximately 15 months rather than at present.

"But all it's done is make us focus on our players' progress, we have a fantastic new head coach in the form of Dragan Djukic and we remain extremely positive."

While handball is among the most popular sports on the continent, even elite level competition rarely makes it into the back pages in the UK.

The 2008 Men's European Handball Championship attracted a global TV audience of more than 1.2 billion but it's fair to say only a small proportion of those would have come from the UK.

And while from a distance, the decision to be based in Denmark may suggest an acceptance that handball is never going to catch on in this country, Brown is adamant that is not the case.

"We are absolutely committed to the development of handball across the UK and before our funding cuts our focus was on developing a legacy in this country," she added.

"Had we received the funding we were hoping for, we planned to relocate back to Great Britain and had intentions to develop super clubs in the UK, capable of playing in European's premier club competitions.

"It's definitely a challenge to raise handball's profile but what we find is that people who are exposed to it fall in love with it.

"We have found school children in England and Scotland taking it up and we have to ensure as part of the legacy that the sport will grow.

"The one thing holding us back is the lack of facilities and that is something that must be addressed. But as far as London 2012 is concerned, we certainly have not taken our eye of the ball."