The Swedish Handball Federation (SHF) has extended its partnership with Sideline Sports, expanding the XPS Network performance platform across every national team, from player development programmes to the senior squads. The agreement also introduces XPS Health, giving SHF’s medical staff a shared foundation to work from.

For Hanna Fogelström, Head of National Teams at SHF, the expansion is a natural next step. It builds on a simple idea: give every player, whatever their age or level, one consistent place to be tracked, supported and developed.

One Platform for Every Stage of a Player’s Journey

Players move between their club, a youth national team and the senior squad all the time, and that movement used to mean scattered records and lost context. SHF set out to close that gap.

Hanna Fogelström points to XPS as the fix: “By bringing all our players together within the same platform, we can follow their journey regardless of whether they are part of our player development programme, a youth national team or the senior national team.”

The result is more continuity, for the individual player moving through the system and for the coaches working with them at every level.

Spotting Issues Early, On and Off the Pitch

That continuity matters most once a squad is actually assembled for a camp, and the national team coaching staff feel it directly.

Patrik Fahlgren, assistant coach for SHF’s men’s national team, points to results from recent tournaments: “On several occasions during major championships, our readiness monitoring has helped us identify potential issues at an early stage.”

“Those issues range from injuries and illness to fatigue and mental wellbeing concerns, and spotting them early lets us act as soon as possible, rather than waiting for a problem to become more serious.”

From Scouting Opponents to Prepping the Team

Day to day, XPS Network’s role goes well beyond monitoring.

“XPS is a central tool in our preparation process. It helps us analyse opponents, spot trends and key situations, and build video clips for team and individual meetings, tailored to each player’s position, role and preference,” says Fahlgren. 

Jesper Östlund, assistant coach for SHF’s women’s national team, relies on the platform just as closely, describing its value in blunt terms: “The XPS analysis tools are invaluable throughout the entire process, before, during and after a camp.” 

The greatest value of XPS lies in having so many key functions gathered in one place: “We as coaching staff are free to spend more time developing players and preparing the team, and less time managing information.”

Less Admin, More Time With Players

Behind the scenes, Hanna Fogelström sees the same shift play out across the federation’s administration.

That same shared platform is also changing how SHF staff spend their time. Information that used to live across different documents, spreadsheets and systems now sits in one place.

Fogelström sums up the goal in practical terms: “We want everything from schedules and training content to individual development plans to be available in one place.”

That shift means less time spent on administration, and more time spent working directly with players and their development.

Continuity of Care, Camp After Camp

SHF does not own its players, it borrows them from their clubs for short, intense camps. That relationship shapes how the federation thinks about player welfare.

“Our ambition is that every player should return to their club in better condition than when they arrived at the national team camp,” Fogelström says.

With the XPS Health medical module now part of the partnership between Sideline Sports and SHF, the national teams’ medical staff have a consistent foundation to work from, so a player’s medical and injury history follows them, regardless of which staff are on duty at a particular camp.

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What Comes Next for SHF and XPS Network

For Fogelström, the expanded partnership is only the start. “What I look forward to most is the opportunity to work together with XPS to build a new foundation for player development and our national team programmes across SHF,” Fogelström says.

Gustav Rosqvist, Sales Director at XPS Network Sweden, has watched the partnership grow from the start: “This year marks 15 years since SHF became one of our very first customers in Sweden. Their expertise and high standards have helped shape XPS into what it is today. This expansion shows what a forward-thinking federation looks like, one that puts the player first at every level. We are proud and grateful to continue this journey together.”

The goal is a structure that gives both players and coaches the best possible opportunities to develop, in the short term and over time, supporting each player individually while strengthening the team around them.

5 reasons why XPS is a great tool for Sports Federations

Extending XPS Network across every national team level delivers five clear benefits:

Want to learn more about XPS Health Medical Module?

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Developed by Sideline Sports, XPS Network is a sports performance platform for planning, monitoring, analysis, communication and injury management. It helps clubs, federations, coaches and performance teams keep their work and key information in one place, build customizable reports and make data informed decisions around team and athlete development.

Foto: Jozo Cabraja / kolektiff