Personnel
BVB women's handball team sign Lois Abbingh
The 1.77-metre-tall player, who can be deployed flexibly at the back of the court, moved to Kristiansand from Danish club Odense Håndbold in 2023. The Groningen-born Dutchwoman, who has won numerous championships and cup titles with her teams, has previously enjoyed successful spells in Russia, France, Romania and Germany. The Bundesliga was Abbingh's first port of call outside her home country: she won the DHB-Pokal with VfL Oldenburg, for whom she played from 2010 to 2014, in 2012.
In addition, the 32-year-old has made 216 international appearances for the Netherlands national team, scoring 902 goals. She has participated in three Olympic Games with the Netherlands and won a total of five medals at World Cups and European Championships – including gold at the 2019 World Cup, where Abbingh converted the decisive seven-meter throw in the final against Spain to win the title for her team.
"We're delighted to have been able to pull off this top transfer. It was a lot of work, but we've done our homework. We could sense during the talks that even players of Lois Abbingh's calibre have BVB on their radar. Lois is the perfect reinforcement for our team," said Andreas Kuno, the deputy head of the Borussia Dortmund handball department.
"Lois boasts enormous experience. She worked with our coach Henk Groener for years in the national team set-up and knows many of the players here. She is also not new to the Bundesliga. It will therefore not be that difficult to integrate into the team. She is enormously ambitious to achieve our objectives for the season with us," said Yasmin Yusif-Hügle, the sporting director of the BVB women's handball team, adding: "We have great confidence in our new signing. In view of the busy fixture calendar and the upcoming play-off round, the workload will be immense. This transfer has broadened our squad, particularly since Lois is extremely versatile."