Berliner TSC and LSC Köln win the IG Handball Best Practice Award 2026

The search was on for ideas with a strong role-model character – projects that create impact while also serving as inspiration for other clubs. For the jury, the size of a club or its available budget were not the deciding factors. Instead, the focus was on the impact of the projects and the question of what other clubs could learn from them.

"The response to the Best Practice Award has far exceeded our expectations," says Marco Kehrenberg, board member of IG Handball. "We experienced an incredible amount of commitment, creativity, and passion. To be honest, we would have liked to recognize many more projects. That is why we are already discussing with our partners how we can give additional initiatives a bigger platform in the future."

In the category “Commitment in Handball”, Berliner TSC impressed the jury with its TRAuM project – Teams for Respect, Awareness, and Humanity.

The project was launched following a racist incident experienced by the women’s team in 2024. The club consciously decided not to treat it as an isolated case. Instead, the handball department developed a comprehensive awareness concept together with external experts, including trained contact persons, clear reporting channels, workshops, as well as information materials and guidelines for everyday club life. Berliner TSC now also makes the developed resources available to other clubs.

In the category “Handball for All”, Longericher SC Köln won over the jury with its Handball Köln Primary School League project.

Together with schools, teachers, the city of Cologne, and strong partners from the business community, the club brings handball directly into physical education classes. The core of the project is an eight-week teaching program for third-grade students, followed by a final tournament. In the first year of the project, 20 primary schools and more than 1,000 children from eight Cologne districts took part. Around 840 children experienced handball for the very first time. At the same time, teachers receive materials and training to continue implementing the program independently in their classes in the long term.

The jury was particularly impressed by the consistent further development of the “Primary School League” format: LSC Köln combines sports development with integration and inclusion, equips teachers with the skills needed to sustainably embed the program into everyday school life, and creates a network together with schools, the local community, and strong business partners that generates impact far beyond handball.

"The Primary School League is an impressive example of how handball can bring people together," says Kehrenberg. "The project reaches children who often had no previous connection to the sport, connects students from very different backgrounds, and demonstrates what can be achieved when a club inspires strong partners to work towards a shared vision. This network approach is exactly what makes the project a best practice example that many other clubs can learn from."

As a partner of the award, spized equips each winning club with a custom-designed set of jerseys. In addition, the award-winning clubs will receive prize money of €1,500 each, donated by Toni Mester (DVAG), as well as 150 individually designed team socks from nahtstelle.

spized would like to thank all applicants. The award has shown how much commitment, creativity, and passion exists within clubs and how many people are working to further develop handball.

Didn't win the Best Practice Award this time? Of course, that's disappointing, but it is no reason to miss out on a custom jersey design.

Even if it wasn't enough for a Best Practice Award win this year, we believe that every club's hard work deserves a strong team jersey.

If you would like to equip your team with a custom-designed jersey set, you can easily create your dream jerseys yourself using our 3D configurator. Team colors, sponsor logos, or personal details – there are almost no limits to your creativity.