The management of the handball club blames the poor financial result on, among other things, pregnancies.
Nora Mørk is one of Esbjerg’s star players, who was out of the games due to her pregnancy. AOP
Danish major club Esbjerg made a loss of 3.25 million kroner, or about 440,000 euros, in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. In the previous year, the loss was around 70,000 euros.
According to Esbjerg, the increased losses were a result of the increase in the prices of goods and services, as well as the players’ maternity and sick leave.
– Four Esbjerg players were unable to play due to pregnancy, and the fifth player suffered a cruciate ligament injury, the club says in its press release.
According to Esbjerg, its personnel costs rose from 16.8 million kroner to 19 million kroner when it had to sign new players to replace pregnant women and an injured player.
Director of the Danish Handball Players Association Torben Vintherin thinks it’s wrong that the club blames women’s pregnancies for bad financial results.
– The players should not be responsible for how the club manages its finances, Vinther states.
The man reminds that players are covered by social security during pregnancy. This means that the clubs save the player’s entire salary for the period of maternity leave.
– We think it’s unfortunate that the club’s financial difficulties are connected to pregnancies. It sends a really bad message, Vinther continued.
Esbjerg finished second in the Danish league in the 2024–2025 season, but won the cup.
Source: Dagbladet