Marta Mangué Honoured for Promoting Equality in Handball
A Legendary Figure in Spanish Handball
In every generation of handball, certain names are etched into memory, and in the Canary Islands, that name is Marta Mangué. For years, she was the face of Las Guerreras, the captain who led Spanish handball to European, World, and Olympic medals. Today, back in her homeland, her legacy is being written off the court: mentoring young players, paving the way for equality, and demonstrating that sport is also a tool for social transformation.
A Prize for Equality
This commitment has been recognised by the jury of the 2025 Canary Sports Awards, which will honour Marta Mangué in the category of equality. This award acknowledges a career that goes beyond titles, establishing her as a symbol of the promotion of women’s sport. The most influential Canarian player in the history of Spanish handball returned to her native island to conclude her sporting career and launch a future project focused on training and inclusion through her own club, Marta Mangué Handball.
Sporting Legacy
Considered a living legend of European handball, Mangué has over three hundred international caps for the Spanish team and boasts a medal collection from European Championships, World Championships, and Olympic Games. In 2024, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the European Handball Federation, a recognition granted to the sport’s greatest figures. After a professional career competing at the highest level in France, Denmark, and Romania, she chose to return to Gran Canaria, embarking on a new phase dedicated to training girls and young women and instilling the values of sport as a means of achieving equality.
The Councillor for Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity, and Sports, Poli Suárez, highlighted, “Marta Mangué is the greatest legend that Canarian and Spanish handball has produced, and her greatest victory today is working for equality at the grassroots level. Recognitions such as this reward not only her extraordinary sporting career but also her commitment in her homeland, ensuring that many girls have opportunities and role models in sport.”
An International Reference
Mangué’s career is marked by her decisive role in the rise of women’s handball in Spain. She was a key figure in the historic Las Guerreras team that secured silver at the 2008 European Championship, bronze at the 2011 World Championship, and Olympic bronze in London 2012. Her leadership skills and talent made her captain of the national team and an icon both on and off the court.
A Training Initiative
Following her retirement, she has initiated the Marta Mangué Handball club, which has become a breeding ground for female talent in Gran Canaria. Here, younger players find a space to train, compete, and grow in values, learning that sport is a tool for equality and personal development.
Awards Ceremony
Marta Mangué succeeds Gran Canarian surfer Iballa Ruano, who received recognition in the inaugural edition of the awards in 2024 for her work in promoting equality. The awards ceremony is scheduled for 3rd October in Tenerife, as part of Expodeca 2025, where the second edition of the awards will honour prominent figures and projects in sport across the islands.
