The SK Hawks of men’s unemployment handball have handed over the reins to a foreign coach, the first time a domestic handball organization has done so.The SK Hawks announced on Monday that they have hired Portuguese coach Nuno Aubares as their new head coach.While South Korean handball has had foreign coaches at the national team, this is the first time a club has appointed a foreign leader.Currently, Hollando Freitas (Portugal) leads the men’s national team, while the women’s team is led by Henrik Signell (Sweden), who succeeded Kim Rasmussen (Denmark).Born in 1975, Aubares began his coaching career in 2015 with a club team in the Portuguese men’s handball first division.Since then, his coaching career has taken him around Europe, including the Portuguese first and second divisions and the Israeli league.”With his strong background, we are confident that Mr. Aubarez will bring a breath of fresh air to not only the SK Hawks, but to the stagnant Korean handball scene as a whole,” said the organization.Handball’s unemployment leagues have struggled with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, suffering from unattended games and reduced league schedules, and have fallen out of favor with sports fans.In order to raise the profile of handball on the international stage, there have been calls for strengthening the competitiveness of unemployed teams, which are the backbone of national teams, and advancing the league.In response, the Korea Handball Association decided to promote the professionalization of the handball unemployment league and launch the Handball Unified League (tentatively called the H-League) from the 2023-2024 season, which starts this November.Ahead of this change, the SK Hawks have taken the lead in a new endeavor: hiring a foreign coach.The club expects Aubarez to not only improve the performance of the SK Hawks’ players, but also to bring the advanced European handball club system to the Korean league.In Europe, handball, like soccer, has a well-developed club system that is linked to daily sports. Based on this system, the sport enjoys great popularity comparable to soccer.”We hope that the SK Hawks will grow into a prestigious club in Asia under the leadership of Coach Aubarez,” said Lee Il-woo, head coach of the SK Hawks. “We will make great efforts to ensure that the domestic handball league is recognized by fans and that the base of handball is 스포츠토토 expanded.”