Sport’s not all about Wayne’s world...

ROYTON and Crompton handball player Ben Holmes

FOOTBALL might have lost a little of its gloss after Wayne Rooney and co’s 4-1 World Cup drubbing by Germany. But with the start of the Premier League next month, the beautiful game is still the country’s number one sporting obsession. Self-confessed football fanatic Karen Doherty found what impact this has on other sports competing for players and support.

ASK any man what their dream was as a child and it is probably scoring a World Cup goal for their country.

And it seems that things haven’t changed for the current generation of boys — and increasingly girls — who are mad about the game.

Yet switch on a sports channel in other European countries, as I did recently in Poland, and you won’t find the same level of wall-to-wall coverage of football to the exclusion of practically everything else.

Indeed, it came as a surprise to find myself watching the so-called minority sport handball. I was even more stunned to discover that it is the second most popular team sport in the continent.

One person who is not is Des Herlihy, head teacher at Royton and Crompton School where the game is on the curriculum.

Its Year 10 team recently won the the national championships while Stefan Whaley and Jamal Braithwaite have been chosen for the England under 17s team.

“It really is a frustration on my part. I just feel that the opportunity for young people to progress into sports needs to be broadened,” he explained.

Fair point. Football is not for everyone and lack of choice could put off both sporty youngsters, whose talents lie elsewhere, and those considering getting active alike.

Many people also think some of the game’s preening primadonnas are hardy good role models . . . but why handball?

“I’m interested in seeing young people in Oldham progressing to elite performance, but also an enjoyment of sport in general,” added Mr Herlihy, chairman of the English schools handball development group.

“Oldham has got a lot of talent and handball is a sport that’s entirely suited to tapping into that wealth of talent in the school system.

British handball aims to capitalise on the London 2012 Olympics to boost interest in the game and Royton and Crompton is working to spread its popularity in local schools.

One problem is that football, with its strong development schemes in clubs and promise of millionaire salaries, snaps up the best sporting taalent, leaving a dearth in schools.

“Handball is a minority support. Absolutely, I accept that,” added Mr Herlihy. “Football is the national game, it is well established and obviously there is a lot of interest. But it is highly competitive and quite often players become demoralised when they do not make the progress.

“What they should be doing is looking at converting to another sport and some clubs do screening with the Olympic Association to see if they can convert to other sports.

“Handball would be ideal because tactically it’s very similar to soccer. It is a very big European game, it has very high attendances, and it is popular on TV. It is played to a professional level and I believe the salaries of players are on the scale of rugby.”

If handball is hoping to get a foothold in Oldham, netball is already popular and successful at school, college and borough level. This is reflected in the national Superleague, with the North-West’s team Northern Thunder packed with Oldham talent.

If any game has undergone an image transformation it is netball. Around 350 screaming fans regularly attend Thunder’s fast-paced home matches while Sky Sports has recognised the game’s appeal and shows Superleague matches.

Northern Thunder director Mike Greenwood, whose father, Mike, is head coach and a local netball stalwart, said: “The Superleague was originally designed to get England players playing in a competitive league each week.

“It has grown in popularity. Northern Thunder was viewed by around 625,000 people on Sky Sports last season, that’s an average of 125,000 a game. The best figure for rugby league on there was around 250,000.

But despite netball’s growing profile and the team’s stunning run to last season’s play offs, Mike admitted: “It is perceived as a woman’s sport and it is hard to get sponsorship for women’s sport in general.”

The Army is the team’s official partner while Northern Thunder is planning to launch a 100 club to attract sponsorship from local businesses.

“Since the Superleague has started more girls want to play netball. But at the end of the day a girl who is good at football will probably be good at at netball. We are competing for the same players.”