Shocking news came from the world of women’s handball on Sunday evening. The Norwegian club Vipers Kristiansand, which won the Champions League three times in a row between 2021 and 2023, found itself in serious financial problems and decided to declare bankruptcy.
According to the official statement of the club, the management of the council came to the conclusion that it does not have enough funds to continue functioning. Despite intensive efforts to resolve this situation, it was not possible to create a financial plan that would secure the future of the team.
Club president Peter Gitmark announced at a press conference that Vipers Kristiansand played their last home game on Saturday, defeating the Montenegrin team Buducnost Podgorica 32:23 and finished fifth in Champions League group B.
The Norwegian team is withdrawing from all competitions with immediate effect, and 19 handball players will now have to look for new clubs. He should notify the competent authorities of the bankruptcy decision on Monday.
“We could have continued for a few more months, but then these problems would have reappeared,” explained Peter Gitmark, whose club found itself in financial problems already in the spring of last year.
To avoid bankruptcy, Vipers Kristiansand had to raise more than 2 million euros by Friday. In the end, the deadline was moved to Sunday, but the club management did not succeed.
