Vasconcelos named British Handball head coach

Vasconcelos held the position on an interim basis for the recent 2017 Emerging Nations Championship in Bulgaria, having been in charge of the Under-21 team during the 2016-17 season.

A former player in the Portuguese first division, Vasconcelos was forced to retire through injury and turned his hand to coaching, moving to the UK in 2013.

As well as being coach of Nottingham Handball Club, he is also Midlands Regional Partnerships Manager for England Handball.

"I am honoured to have been given this opportunity to continue working with the GB men's team," said Vasconcelos.

"We developed a very good relationship and bond in the run-up to the Emerging Nations Championship.

"I look forward to continuing to work with them for the medium/long-term success of the team."

British Handball chair Paul Bray added: "We are delighted to have secured Ricardo's services for the senior national team for the next four years.

"He is a hugely experienced coach and understands well the challenges faced by handball in the UK.

"We have worked with him for some time on the Under-21 programme and more recently with the senior team, and have been very impressed with his work."

Sportsbeat 2017