Sports News in Brief: Denmark devalues the eFootball national shirt, and it hasn’t even played a game yet

Elsewhere, Clara Tauson reaches Ozzie final, the Danish under-21 coach intends to quit and the first transfer deal involving money has taken place between two Danish women’s football clubs

The Danish football association DBU has formed Denmark’s first eFootball national team in preparation for a Nordic tournament next week.

Daniel Kristensen, Frederik Fredberg and Daniel Bodo Barnewitz, who together recently won the inaugural eSport Superliga with Brøndby, have been selected for Denmark’s first-ever eFootball squad for the FIFA19 Nordics Invitational tournament in Finland.

“We wanted to side the strongest e-football national team possible and it needed to happen quickly after Finland invited us to the big tournament. That’s why we called up the Danish champions. But in the future, we’ll make our picks based on specific criteria.” said DBU spokesperson, Kenneth Reeh.

READ MORE: Denmark gets Superliga for FIFA gaming

Legend shunned 
During the tournament, the Danish team will play with Denmark’s team on FIFA and all the teams will have an overall rating of 85, which means the virtual teams of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark are equal in strength.

However, one person not overly pleased about the selection is one of the pioneers and leading FIFA players in the world, Agge Rosenmeier, who was disappointed at not being chosen for the first Denmark squad.

“As some of you know, @DBYfodbold made their first FIFA squad and I’m not a part of it. I’m very sad and frustrated, but most of all I don’t understand the selection. I feel like I’ve contributed a lot to the scene over the past seven years, but most importantly I feel like my level and results should have given me a spot,” Rosenmeier wrote on Twitter.


Tauson reaches first Grand Slam final
The 16-year-old tennis starlet Clara Tauson reached her first Grand Slam final for juniors last night after beating unseeded Daria Snigur of Ukraine 6-4, 6-1 in the semis of the Australian Open. The top-seeded Dane will take on fourth-seeded Leylah Fernandez of Canada in the final late on Friday night. Tauson is the last remaining Dane playing in Melbourne following earlier exits by Caroline Wozniacki, Frederik Løchte Nielsen and fellow junior player Holger Rune.

Transfer history made in women’s football
The US women’s footballer Nicole Robertson made history this week after moving from FC Nordsjælland to B93 in what is believed to be the first transfer of a woman footballer involving money between two Danish clubs. Christian Taylor, the head of women’s football at FCN, said that the transfer was an important step for women’s football in Denmark. Robertson, 22, had been at FCN since 2017.

Frederiksen to call it quits
Niels Frederiksen, the head of Denmark’s successful under-21 football team, announced today that he intends to step down from his position after the Euro 2019 championship this summer. Frederiksen, 48, has been at the helm of the Danish under-21 side for the past four years and has led Denmark to three straight European Championships – in 2015, 2017 and this year. Frederiksen said he hopes to land a job in which he can coach more on a daily basis.

Swimmers get a new coach
The national swimming association, Dansk Svømmeunion, has revealed that Stefan Hansen will become the new coach of the Danish national team. Hansen who comes from a coaching position at Bundesstützpunkt Berlin, will be the first Dane to head the swimmers in 15 years, and he will assume the reins on April 1. One of his key tasks will be preparing the Danish swimmers for the 2019 World Championship in South Korea and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Hjalte a step closer to NFL
Not since Morten Andersen retired has Denmark seen one of their own lace up cleats for an official NFL game, but all that could change as offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt has been invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, where the best college players from across the US are invited to showcase their skills in front of NFL teams. The 22-year-old Arkansas graduate recently took part in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and hopes to become just the second Dane in history to be drafted by an NFL team. Check him out in ‘freak mode’ in the video below.




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