LykkeLiga: Every child is a part of the team

Words have meaning even when we don’t realise. Anna Pawlowicz explains how it affects the message we want to deliver.

Photographs: LykkeCup2024

Text: Anna Pawlowicz

If you’ve ever stepped into a Danish train station and spotted a bright LykkeLiga poster - all confidence, colour, and cool-factor - you’ve already had a glimpse of one of Denmark’s most joyful social movements.

LykkeLiga (The Happy League) began not as a programme or a charity, but as a heartfelt act of parenting. Back in Aalborg, two families - the Espensens and the Nielsens - were raising daughters with Down syndrome. When the girls became old enough to try handball, former national team player Rikke Nielsen dreamed of seeing her daughter on the court, just like any other child. The problem? No team existed that welcomed her.

One official even suggested bowling instead. “That’s not very cool for someone who’s played handball all her life,” Mikael laughs.

So they made their own team.

They started with one training session at a local club and asked Mikael and his daughter to show up “just in case nobody else comes.” Instead, 30 to 40 children arrived on day one. Families drove from 40 minutes away just to be part of something that didn’t exist anywhere else: sports where the rules were simple - everyone is welcome, everyone is a teammate, everyone has fun.

A growing community of joy

From the start, the founders leaned into their advertising backgrounds. They designed professional jerseys, created team posters, wrote a team song, and built a world where every child with a disability could feel like a superstar. “Our mission was never really about handball,” Mikael says. “It was about creating happiness and making children feel like they’re part of a team.”

It worked. Fast.

Today, LykkeLiga includes more than 80 teams, 1600 players, and over 500 volunteer Head Coaches across Denmark. The branding is iconic. The movement has been featured on TV, in newspapers, and across social media. But what keeps it growing is not just the attention - it’s the stories.

Like the boy with autism who spent almost a year sitting on the bench each Monday, simply watching. No pressure to join, no expectations, just a shirt, a seat, and a team waiting whenever he was ready. “At some point, the ball rolled his way,” says Mikael. “He threw it back. Then he stood up. Then he joined. And suddenly he wasn’t scared anymore — he was on the court.”

Or the girl who, for three years, could only sit in the hallway outside LykkeLiga’s tournament, overwhelmed by the noise. One year, she walked through the doors on her own. “It’s all about timing,” Mikael says. “We believe kids will join when they’re ready, and we let them arrive exactly as they are.”

That philosophy - no pressure, no prerequisites - is partly why international families fit right in. Many players don’t speak Danish fluently. Some don’t speak at all. Communication happens through smiles, movement, routine, and play. “Language doesn’t matter here,” he says. “Everyone can join.”

Joining is simple: find your nearest team on LykkeLiga’s website, reach out to the head coach, or just show up and try a session or two. After that, you pay a small fee directly to the local handball club -just like any other child in Denmark.

But LykkeLiga has grown far beyond the court. The team now runs family summer camps, community events, and youth programmes for players aged 18–25. There are teams in Germany, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and -in one of the organisation’s favourite stories - South Korea, where a group of local volunteers built teams inspired entirely by what they saw in Denmark.

With growth comes new challenges. LykkeLiga is entirely independent as an organisation. About a third of its funding comes from the Danish government, another third from private companies, and the rest from grants - most of which must be reapplied for every few years. “We spend too much time worrying about financial security,” Mikael admits. “What we really want is to keep building this community.”

It’s hard to exaggerate the shift LykkeLiga has created. Children now walk into grocery stores in their team shirts and get stopped for high-fives, small chats, and even autographs. They aren’t approached as kids with disabilities, but as athletes.

When asked what he would say to international parents considering joining, Mikael smiles: “Join us, and you’ll quickly realise that you’ve found your people.”

And that is what makes LykkeLiga so special. It’s not a disability organisation. It’s not about diagnosis. It’s a celebration - of childhood, community, and uncomplicated joy.

Want to get involved?

Whether you have a child with a disability or simply want to support one of Denmark’s most joyful communities, LykkeLiga welcomes you. You can join, volunteer, coach, support financially, or help the organisation strengthen its long-term stability. You’re welcome to contact Mikael at mikael@lykkeliga.dk or visit Lykke Liga’s website - https://lykkeliga.dk/