Angélique Spincer and the place of women's sport: "It's sad to always have to beg ..."

Angelique, what is your view on the evolution of women's handball, between the time you were a player and the current time when you are a coach?

Angelique Spincer:

Even if it's still a bit shy, there has been a real leap forward, especially in social networks.

When I was a player, there was already Facebook but it was not yet as developed.

Today, the multiplication of networks makes it possible to better highlight the clubs and the players, and this compensates for the lack of media coverage elsewhere.

Because on this level, we always remain in the shadow of the boys.

The girls won a nice silver medal at the Euro last December but I have the impression that this is already a thing of the past.

And it's always frustrating to see that our good results remain ineffective in the medium and long term.

Now, on the other hand, I wonder if it's not better for women's handball to stay a little behind ...

In what sense do you say that?

I think that this pushes the young players not to settle too quickly in a certain comfort.

Even if there has already been a change compared to my generation where you had to earn a certain status in the field, whereas today, without going so far as to say that you give easily, things are still going faster. .

There is more money in women's handball and a young player can already have a very decent salary, which was not the case before.

And what scares me is to see these young players more exposed not knowing how to manage their career, their relationship to money, to sponsors, to partners etc ...

Isn't it annoying to see the Women's League at the start of the season almost have to beg to find a French championship broadcaster?

Of course, and it ties in with what I was saying about the leap forward that has been made on networks but not on traditional media.

Sometimes we wonder if we are not making fun of our… Women's handball in France has progressed enormously.

We have a league that attracts the best players on the planet, with two clubs (Brest and Metz) that shine in the Champions League.

And to see that there is no TV channel interested in it, it's still absurd.

The League fought so that we could be broadcast, so much the better, but that is still far too insufficient.

In addition, with Covid-19, being in camera hurts a lot, people cannot get to the theaters and there is no TV to compensate, even though the quality is there.

Do you know the situation in other European countries, like Norway and Denmark which seem to have a better promotion of women's sport?

Without having great knowledge, it seems to me that in Denmark, there is still women's handball which is played on free channels.

And I think it's the same in Norway or Hungary, because I have a friend who plays there.

There is no equal treatment between the male and female hand, but there is not an imbalance as strong as in France.

I think that with us, we may be fighting the wrong way when it comes to sport and that the money is not put where it is needed.

"Already in a normal season, many are not interested in us, but then, being invisible, how to attract investors?"

Denis Masseglia, the president of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), had expressed his concerns about the future of professional women's sport a few months ago, which essentially lives on ticketing in the absence of TV rights. .

Do you share his fears?

Yes, obviously, we ask ourselves some serious questions ... Whether it is the ticket office or the refreshment bar, women's handball clubs essentially live on match day income and everything is complicated.

Especially since the lack of television broadcasts does not help to attract sponsors and / or partners either.

We are caught in a negative spiral and we are already starting to see the effects in a club like Brest, which will change a lot of things next season.

Fortunately, some matches are broadcast via Facebook or local channels because without it, the situation would have been even more terrible.

How do you explain this lack of media coverage of women's sport in general?

Is it the fault of men who do not care enough?

Or that of women who do not have the same interest in sport and their champions?

Probably a bit of both.

It is a daily struggle.

I do not understand that with the situation in which we live, we do not put more emphasis on women's sport.

Already in a normal season, many are not interested in us, but then, being invisible, how to attract investors?

Often, men take a rather condescending look at women's sport while denigrating it.

Does this annoy you?

When I was a player, yes, that annoyed me.

Today, I understand it better, with age and maturity, I have learned to overcome it.

I know very well that we will not be able to change the mentality of some.

Unfortunately, as long as there is not an awareness of some ... But for that, I insist, it is necessary to be visible on television.

After that, whether a player makes the front page of a major magazine for x or y reasons, it's another thing.

Broadcasting matches is vital.

Too often I hear people say that men's handball and women's handball are two different sports, which is not true.

This also induces a different approach.

To take an example, BeIn Sport, which currently broadcasts the Men's World Cup, invites many more interlocutors than a month ago for the Women's Euro.

Likewise, with all due respect for her immense career and the quality of her expertise, why take Thierry Omeyer and not a current or past player to analyze the matches?

After a men's match, there are only men on the board after all… All of this is a bit disturbing because it suggests that a player is not able to analyze a men's match while at the Conversely, in a women's match, anyone can say what they want.

"We as sportswomen have to prove over and over no matter what we have done or won."

On this subject, you are one of only three women to train in the first division, for eleven men.

While there is not a single woman to coach a men's club ...

Yes, clearly.

This is the first year that there are three women on the benches of the women's D1, which indicates progress but hey… I absolutely do not question the qualities of the men.

There are some excellent ones in the French championship…

But by doing this, it's a way of questioning the skills of women…

Yes, because one might wonder why, conversely, we are not solicited by male clubs.

What is the brake of an NHL team to give a chance to a technician?

We have the feeling that it is impossible, that it is a foregone conclusion.

If tomorrow I apply for a position with the boys, they will laugh in my face or they will tell me to start with National 3. A woman who does that, we do not even look at her CV, which she is capable of to do.

It's the feeling I have, it's unique to me.

You previously spoke of a sportswoman who made the front page of magazines.

Isn't the problem there too, that some champions remain too discreet in the people sphere?

It's possible, but I don't want the sport to become reality TV either.

Now, some champions deserve media coverage that will go beyond the simple sporting sphere.

But it has to be sportswomen who have a solid entourage.

You can learn to speak in front of a camera, to journalists or on social networks.

Exposing yourself is not something to be taken lightly, especially nowadays.

Not everyone has the shoulders to do it.

But I think we deserve this.

Simply, I do not see how today we are going to be able to move the lines.

Unless there is a champion who is ready to go to the nerve, banging her fist on the table.

But it's sad to always have to be in the fight, to have to beg… There is nothing natural, automatic, whereas it is the case for many male athletes.

To come back to my sport, in women's handball, I think that the players of the France team have sufficiently shown their merits on the field.

But we as sportswomen have to prove over and over again, no matter what we have done or won.

We are often the last resort, and it is sad.    

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