Translated into English as “Happiness League,” LYKKELIGA is a national handball league for young people with disabilities. Today, more than 1,500 children and young people with physical and cognitive challenges compete in LYKKELIGA, which began its life as a single team in the city of Aalborg.
Former handball international, Rikke Nielsen, whose daughter was born with Down’s syndrome, founded a handball team for children with developmental disabilities in 2016. Soon, 40 children were involved, and after positive media exposure, parents and children across the country expressed a desire to follow Nielsen’s lead. As teams were formed nationwide, the next step was to organise a competition, and LYKKELIGA was born. The league quickly spread across Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, and today a total of 83 Danish handball clubs support a LYKKELIGA team in addition to a non-handicapped team
The teams are run by volunteers, often former players, and are affiliated with local handball associations. While all share a love of handball, LYKKELIGA is about more than sports participation. Based on the belief that learning is best achieved through play, the LYKKELIGA community nurtures players’ potential in numerous contexts beyond handball. With strong community values at its core, LYKKELIGA’s philosophy has always focused on inclusion, learning, and not least, fun.
In 2020, LYKKELIGA entered into a sponsorship agreement with the Denmark-based personal care chain NORMAL, which has now extended to other forms of cooperation. For example, NORMAL invited LYKKELIGA players to draw pictures, which were then printed on drink cans and sold in Danish NORMAL stores, with the profits channelled to support the league.
Today, LYKKELIGA has expanded to include the LykkeCup, a season finale that is encouraging everyone to view disability sport in a new light. In 2024, more than 900 players were registered for the event, which attracted thousands of spectators both in person and online.
Minority sports competitions specifically those aimed at people with disabilities, often face obstacles related to venues, facilities, and sponsorship. The success of LYKKELIGA demonstrates that such challenges can be overcome if the right conditions, motivations and enthusiasm exist.
More than 20 teams already exist in Germany, and LYKKELIGA is looking to further expand internationally. Under the name “Happy League,” the concept is now being presented to a global audience. An informal international league is currently being developed, and teams are invited to register online via LYKKELIGA’s English-language portal. Further information is available at https://lykkeliga.dk/happyleague/
