Óli Mittún and the Faroe Islands' rise to prominence

Óli Mittún who was Faroe Islands’ second-best scorer during the qualifiers with 26 goals, but the 18-year-old says it was a dramatic as well as a bittersweet experience when they found out that they had booked a ticket for Berlin.

“It was incredible. We had all dreamed of that moment to happen. And it was also a kind of weird feeling going through my head at the time, because we lost the last match in the group with five goals against Austria, so we didn’t know immediately if we were qualified. But when we heard that we were, we were incredibly happy,” Mittún says.

The top scorer of the 2023 Youth World Championship, and the MVP and top scorer of the M18 EHF EURO 2022 feels extremely proud every time when he puts on the national team’s shirt and can’t wait to sing the Faroese national anthem at the start of next year in Berlin, where the young playmaker expects a huge support from his compatriots.

“It means a lot. It’s always fun to play with the national team, and certainly in front of many Faroese fans. Of course, playing at the EHF EURO will mean everything for us, because we want to put the Faroe Islands to the highest level in handball,” Mittún says.

“And when we will hear 4-5,000 Faroese people sing the national anthem with us, it will be a surreal experience for us and all Faroese people. I think it’s a huge advantage for us to have so many fans in Germany, and we want to do everything to give them a good experience.”

One can definitely argue that the strong chemistry as well as unity shown on the court is one of the Faroe Islands’ best qualities, and the young Óli shares the family recipe.

“You play with your best friends and also family members. That is maybe the reason why we all are so motivated, because we really want to do everything to make our country proud. And of course, it’s always to play such big tournament where we play against big countries and also play up against them,” Mittún says.

Óli is the younger brother of Pauli, and they are cousins of THW Kiel player Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu and of Rói Ellefsen á Skipagøtu, with whom they all share the national team’s dressing room. Additionally, Óli and Pauli’s sister Jana is also a national team player.

“I have played handball since I was five years old, and ever since I have loved the game. Me, my siblings and cousins have always been in the hall together, and I think that is when I really fell in love with the game. I was also always with my father in the hall, when he was the coach of H71, where I always got to play with them before and after training,” Mittún says.

Then came the moment where he signed his first contract – with IK Sävehof in Sweden.

“It was really a dream come true. It’s all I ever wanted, to live from handball and just play the game I love,” he says.

“I have always played with my family members: my brother Pauli, my cousins Rói and Elias, my sister Jana. That is probably a huge advantage for us both on and off the court, because we know each other so well. But I wouldn’t say handball is everything in our life. At the dinner table, when we all eat together, there is a lot of talk about handball, but we do have other things to talk about.”

Sävehof’s second-best scorer in the EHF European League Men this season, with 29 goals, is going to be one of the Faroese key players in Berlin, where they will face 2020 bronze medallists Norway, 2020 semi-finalists Slovenia, and dangerous outsiders Poland.

“Those are all huge handball countries, and to see us competing against them is a huge next step for us. I would say that Norway are clear favourites with a lot of huge names. It’s a bit difficult to compare us with Poland and Slovenia, but I think that Slovenia play a bit like us – with a lot of strong man-to-man players. Poland are a bit different, with a lot of very tall and strong players where that would fit us well in the attack but maybe not so well in defence,” Mittún says.

“But, of course, we are going to do everything to win every match, but it’s going to be hard against all the teams. Our biggest chances are against Slovenia and Poland, but we have to play an amazing match if we want to get points against them.”

When asked about what has changed during the past few years within the Faroe Islands national team that led them to securing a place at the EHF EURO 2024, Mittún hails the federation’s focus on mental preparation.

“I think the biggest part to our success is that the handball in the Faroe Islands has become a lot more serious over the years, where we have gotten a lot more full-time coaches at the clubs. And also, that the players really want to play at the highest level, and really go all in to be the best that they can be,” Mittún says.

“Also, that the people that are involved in handball are really good to help the players to get the best possible training. Lastly, we have begun to have a lot of mental training in the national team, and I think that has helped a lot to perform under pressure.”

Mittún is one of Faroe Islands up-and-coming players who are earmarked for a big future in the world of handball. And despite his age, the promising playmaker already sounds like a leader ready to lead the national team to an even higher level alongside his compatriots in the future.

“I see Faroese handball growing every day, and I think it’s going to keep doing that for a long time. We have a lot of very interesting young players coming up, and if we keep on this process that we are in, I think we will see some huge results for Faroe Islands in the near and far future,” Mittún says.

“I think that the young players are really going all in to play at the highest level, because they see so many good Faroese players in huge teams, and they have realised that they can also come that far if they put much effort into it.”

photos © Alvur Haraldsen; Carsten Harz/Diener