Respect Your Talent alumni set to impress at the EHF FINAL4 Women

During the past years, a plethora of young players have taken part in the programme, mentored by former stalwarts, such as Anja Althaus, Nerea Pena, Katarina Bulatovic and Jelena Grubisic or current players like Ana Gros, Andrea Lekic or Stine Oftedal.

The success of the programme is also highlighted at the 10th anniversary edition of the EHF FINAL4, where five players from the rosters of the qualified teams are ready to deliver excellent performances to help their sides win the trophy.

Sarah Bouktit (Metz Handball)

At only 21 years old, Bouktit has been the first choice on the line player position for Metz Handball for some time now and has scored 46 goals in the 2021/22 season of the EHF Champions League Women, adding 64 goals in the following season of the European premium competition. This time around, she has been nothing short of fantastic for the French champions, being the top scorer of the second-best attack in the competition, with 97 goals. World Champion with France, Bouktit, an alumnus of the Respect Your Talent programme at the W19 EHF EURO 2021, has been crucial for Metz's success and will surely aim to add more silverware in Budapest, eyeing her first international trophy with the French powerhouse.

Anne With Johansen (SG BBM Bietigheim)

Born in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, Johansen has made her first steps at the local club, Ajax, before shining in the Denmark younger age category teams. She won the silver medal at both the 2022 IHF Women's Youth World Championship and the W19 EHF EURO 2023, where she was also enrolled in the Respect Your Talent programme. She was snapped up by Bietigheim at the start of the season and was used in several matches by coach Jakob Vestergaard, scoring 10 goals in this season's EHF Champions League Women, a sign of good things to come for the right back in the future.

Luciana Rebelo (Team Esbjerg)

In dire need of a right back at the start of the season, Esbjerg added one of the hottest prospects in women's handball, Portugal's Luciana Rebelo. The 18-year-old sharpshooter has been fantastic at the W19 EHF EURO 2023, in Romania, where she helped Portugal finish fourth, and ended up second in the top goal scorer standings, with 62 goals. This time around, she needed some time to get to grips with the new reality, but scored five goals this season and, as an understudy to Nora Mørk, she will surely have a lot to learn for the future, in a league and for a team renowned for bringing young players up to the fore.

Julia Farkas (Györi Audi ETO KC)

Farkas' potential has been clearly identified by Györ, which coopted the centre back in their academy when she was only seven years old. She made her debut in the domestic league in 2021, three years ago, when she was only 16, and subsequently made her debut in the EHF Champions League Women in the 2022/23 season, when she scored four goals for the Hungarian powerhouse. Still 19 years old, the centre back impressed at the W17 EHF EURO 2021, where she was named MVP, subsequently becoming a RYT alumni.

Klara Birtic (SG BBM Bietigheim)

The right back had a good outing at the W19 EHF EURO 2021, announcing her potential, which enabled Birtic to clinch a place among the players who featured at the 2023 IHF Women's World Championship, as Croatia look set to count on her on many more competitions to come. In her first season in the European premium competition, Birtic scored 47 goals for Lokomotiva Zagreb and made the switch to Bietigheim, her first team outside Croatia, yet she will make her comeback to her home country after the EHF FINAL4, where she is due to play for Podravka.

Photos © cedosa, Kevin Clement, Niels Husted, Marco Wolf