Chebbah: “Why not? I will be the first woman going to Europe”

Now, thanks to trailblazers like Chebbah, little girls and boys in Tunisia, in Africa, who grow up attending the mosque on Fridays and participating in Ramadan, can see a possible path to being a professional handball player much more clearly.

“At that time, if you remember, we had a really good team, the men’s team — they were good in Tunisia. And it was almost like, all of them go to play in Europe,” recalls Chebbah when thinking back to having no one close to her to look up to; no one whose steps she could try to replicate.

“But at that time, no woman was going alone in Europe, and having this adventure to leave her family.

“I was really motivated and my parents, they said to me, ‘We accept you to go.’ And I decided. I had some contacts and I saw our men’s team, how they are famous there, how they are so, like, appreciated in the world. I said, ‘Why not? I will be the first woman going in Europe. And why not? I will do my best to prove myself. And why not? I will have a name in world handball.”

Chebbah did carve a name for herself in world handball, mainly through her performances in the French and Danish leagues, but also by becoming the all-time record holder for both caps and goals for Tunisia. Before retiring from the national team, Chebbah was MVP of the African Championship three times, twice awarded best athlete in Tunisia across all sports and once best Arab sportswoman across all sports.

First moving abroad to Besançon in France then on to Denmark, where she joined Team Esbjerg, Chebbah quickly collected All-star Team awards in the two leagues — in France in 2007/08 and Denmark in 2009/10.

In 2010, she moved to Viborg HK right after their back-to-back EHF Champions League titles, playing her first four seasons in the top-flight international club competition. In that period, Chebbah won the Cup Winners’ Cup as well as both the Danish league and Cup.

Reversing retirement: “I couldn't refuse”

She returned to France in 2014 to join Nimes, then had stints at Chambray and Bouillargues. In the first season with Nimes, Chebbah was named MVP of the French league as well as All-star Team centre back, and she also ranked as top scorer of the competition — the latter a feat she would repeat in 2016/17.

Come the end of the 2022 season, Chebbah was about to turn 40, and she thought it was time to call it quits.

“Four years ago, I just say to everybody, ‘I'm going to stop,’” recalls Chebbah — but then, a twist of fate sent from Kastamonu: “I had a call from Türkiye, from a team there, and they were going to play Champions League.

“I couldn't refuse. It was a Danish coach, and they made a really good team,” says Chebbah. “They called me, ‘Can you come and just see? We really need you.’ And I go there and I sign one year. I just went back from my decision and started to play Champions League, and I was 40 years old.

“And that time, I scored like 12 goals against Team Esbjerg and I had a really good tournament in the Champions League.”

It was precisely 12 goals that Chebbah scored in her standout outing that season, against Esbjerg, in Esbjerg. She was Kastamonu’s top scorer in the EHF Champions League, with 66 goals. With the Turkish club, she added to her domestic trophy collection.

“We were champions, and we won the Cup and the Super Cup in this year. And after that, I say, ‘OK, it was an amazing season. I want to stop and go back to France, and stop everything.’ But they called me again from another team in Türkiye, in Bodrum.”

So Chebbah kept her handball shoes tightly laced and played the European Cup with Armada Praxis Yalikavaspor, reaching the quarter-finals.

“After, I went back to France. I say, ‘OK, I am 42…and it's OK [to stop].’ But I found out my old team in France, they wanted to build a good team, and they said to me ‘Mouna, please come and help us. You still can play.’”

It was clear the statement was true. At that point two years after her initial decision to retire, Chebbah felt herself more than capable of continuing.

“I was trusting myself. I said, if I am good, still good, in Champions League and the EHF [competitions] and I was the best in my teams and I scored a lot of goals, then I can continue.”

Chebbah returned to Nimes. “I signed with them for one year and until now I will go back again and play — it’s almost three years now with them.”

“My brain said to me to stop but my heart still wanted to play”

Chebbah realises she was facing retirement because of expectations — when a handball player reaches a certain age, it is traditionally time to stop. But nothing about Chebbah’s journey had been traditional.

“Actually, I was not really happy to make this decision because I know myself. I am disciplined. Until my age, I never missed training. I train by myself all the time extra,” she says. And there were other factors at play.

“I wanted to go back [to Tunisia] because I left my family when I was 20 years old. I say it's time to go back and be closer to them and build a new ‘after career.’ I decided. But it was like my brain said to me to stop but my heart still wanted to play, because I love this, the handball. I love to be on the court and enjoy with the people who watch.

“Then I said, I will not ‘decide’ — I will let destiny come to me. And if my body still keeps running good and everything, I will continue until my body says to me to stop.

“When I see myself now, when I think to stop everything, I still remember this: The beginning when I was a kid. I say, ‘Mouna, it was my dream to play handball.’”

“It was like, finding myself another way”

Once, her biggest dream was to be a professional handball player. Chebbah realised there was no reason not to continue living that dream as long as she could.

“Many players I play with in Denmark and in France, they stop their career and they are younger than me, like five years or 10 years younger than me,” says Chebbah.

“They have their life. Maybe they marry, they have kids, and they follow another career and their life, but for me, it was like, finding myself another way.”

Chebbah says now she knows it is not age that should push her to retire, but when “I feel like I cannot run, I cannot enjoy, I cannot see myself like the best always.”

“Loved to even fall down and have scratches everywhere”

Since discovering handball, Chebbah has always simply loved to play. She started on a bitumen court with no resin, dreaming of one day being on the biggest stage in the world.

“I just loved to play, I loved to enjoy, loved to even fall down and have scratches everywhere on my body. But I loved the sport and I was dreaming. My dream, it was too much for me and people were laughing — I was dreaming to go to play in Denmark,” says Chebbah.

“It was not easy to find a club and to go out from Tunisia, from Africa, to have the visa and everything. Also, I didn't have too much money to pay my flight tickets and then everything. My father, he helped me. My mum. They encouraged me to go there. The beginning, it was really, really hard.”

Saying goodbye at the start of the European adventure was difficult and Chebbah found herself promising her parents, “I will go just for a year and come back. And now, I am 24 years out from my house. I am far away from my country, my friends, all of them.

“My nieces, the kids of my sisters, they grew up so much and I didn't see them grow up, even their birthday. I didn't share these things with them and of course, it's so hard to be far away from your country, from your friends, from your family.

“But I choose. I make this sacrifice to go and follow my dream to become like, one name of world handball.”

“To not see my father before he died — these are things how we pay”

Some of the sacrifices have been very big. Chebbah was not there when her father passed away suddenly.

“I was in the Champions League with the Turkish team [Kastomonu]. I just turned off the call with my father in the night and the next day I played the game, and then I had a call that I lost my father. It was so hard for me to not see my father before he died. These are things how we pay, because I chose — I chose to be far away.

“I wanted to have a nice career, a great career, and also earn some money to help my family and let them live a good life.”

When Chebbah was considering the contract that would have her back on the Champions League court right after she had decided to quit, her father encouraged her to keep going.

“My father, he said to me to, ‘go. Don't stop, if there is a chance to play in this age Champions League again,’” recalls Chebbah. “He said to me, ‘You will be the only one who played Champions League again at 40 years old.’ And I followed his words, but after that, I just didn't see him again.”

Chebbah is not the only one to have played Champions League aged 40 or more, but it is certainly very rare. Now 44, she is among those pushing the barrier — changing the tradition.

“It's not easy to win your place on the court”

When Chebbah first left Tunisia, she saw it as a huge adventure — leaving home without knowing what her living situation would look like; with no manager or agent to help with her contracts. Gaining those things was closely tied to gaining understanding and respect.

“You have to prove yourself because it's not easy to win your place on the court,” says Chebbah — a sentiment that is especially true for someone not of the same place as the majority of her teammates, and in Chebbah’s case, a country, continent and religion that can mean facing some prejudice.

“Of course, they say, ‘She's from Africa. She's coming here just maybe to earn some money, and that's all.’ But I proved to everyone I'm coming here to be number one and they started to respect me and they changed all the conditions.”

Proving herself on the court, Chebbah initially also took charge of negotiating her contracts, creating a more professional setup for herself as she demanded attention with the ball in her hand. By the time she left France for Denmark, Chebbah was much more established — but there was still plenty of proving herself ahead.

Proving not only that she was focused on an elite athletic career the same as any of her teammates, but that the cultural barriers some might perceive were not so big.

“I was the only African, Tunisian, Muslim”

“In Denmark, it was not easy at all because I was the only African, Tunisian, Muslim. Some people, they knew where Tunisia is, but they didn't really know where I'm coming from. And I proved myself and I showed all of them who I am and really, I just found respect.”

Chebbah knows that one of the greatest successes in her career is helping to change some people’s minds about Muslim women. Crucially, it is only they who can tell of their experience — or show it, as Chebbah has.

“It was the best power in my career, to change the mind of people, how they are looking toward the Muslim woman,” says Chebbah.

“I think some people, they have only…how we can say…the front of the things, you know, from media, from maybe political things.

“They have some ideas, like a woman, she doesn't go out from the house and so much, like maybe the man forced her to put certain clothes. But they don't know the real life, the real reason, maybe, for many things in our religion.

“Maybe you see some stupid things writing or media or saying, ‘the woman, she has to be like this.’ No, we are not. Like, really, when I was in Denmark, I changed many minds, like, I play with shorts. Also, I'm travelling everywhere.

“I say to them, ‘It’s not only how we are dressing, but more important in the religion is to be good with the people — respect people, never lie, never cheat.’

“I changed the mind of how they are looking at Muslim and Arabian and Tunisian.”

Opening the door for others

On the flipside, Chebbah has helped broaden the minds of girls and young women from a background like hers. On the handball court for almost 30 years, Chebbah has brought the dream that took her to Europe all those years ago closer to girls like she once was.

“I opened the door for many players. They are playing in Europe now — they are also from Egypt, from Tunisia, from Africa.

“And this makes me happy, so much,” says Chebbah, who has also overheard Tunisian girls express sentiments like, “‘I wish to be like one day training hard and playing in Europe like Mouna, she did.’”

Once Chebbah was dreaming of playing in Europe like the blonde Danish girls. She has helped girls like her continue to dream of playing in Europe, but they can dream of doing it looking and acting exactly like themselves.

Photos © EHF archive; Mouna Chebbah private archive; Kastamonu; CS Rapid; Györi Audi ETO KC; Team Esbjerg; Metz Handball