Denmark

FOOTBALL IN DENMARK For decades footballwas considered an amateur sport in Denmark. But about thirty years ago some of the most talented Danish footballers were tempted, perhaps as a consequence of the high taxes and duties in Denmark, into earning their keep at high-paying Italian clubs, and others have followed since so that Denmark has become an exporter of players to top European clubs. Denmark is now a nation of avid football fans. There are about 300,000 active soccer players, ranging from 5-year old youngsters to experienced veterans in the old boys’ clubs. The whole country therefore follows the exploits of the national team and rejoiced when the Danish team won the European Cup in summer 1992. THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY In the 1998 version of thisWorld Cup book we stated that the international fortune of the Danish national team leads the state of the economy, according to an unscientific correlation analysis carried out at the time. This “model” seems to have held up with average GDP growth in Denmark since 2002 being above trend and only a little lower than the European average (2.4% compared to 2.7%). That said, the Danish economy, as elsewhere in Europe, slumped last year on the back of weaker foreign demand for exports, but also as a consequence of Danish economic policy that has aimed to avoid the economy overheating after the boom in the late 1990s. The recovery is like to be sluggish on the back of poor prospects for the export sector and weak income growth and rising unemployment, due to restrained private consumption. THE STATE OF THE NATION With its small population of just over five million inhabiting a relatively small European country, Denmark in terms of inhabitants counts for very little at the global level. But perhaps precisely for these reasons there has developed among Danes, a strong inclination to seek international contact and co-operation. That said, the Danes remain fiercely protective of their sovereignty and perhaps more importantly, their welfare state. Indeed, for these reasons, the Danes rejected EMU membership at a referendum in September 2000 and have distanced themselves from the most Euro-enthusiastic ideas of accelerating integration. The Danes are likely to have the chance to vote again on EMU membership before the 2006 World Cup. But it is unlikely that the current improvement in the Danes attitude to EMU will mean that the world champions, France, will take it easy on them in their first round match on 11th June!! THE 2002 WORLD CUP Little Denmark was the surprise package of the 1990s, punching above its weight in football terms. Surprise winners of the European championship in 1992, the country also performed well in the lastWorld Cup, eventually losing 3-2 in a closely fought quarterfinal contest against Brazil. Denmark finished the qualifying phase unbeaten but now faces a tough challenge, placed in the same group as current world champions France. Qualification for the second phase will hinge on the encounter with Uruguay. The international retirements of Peter Schmeichel and the Laudrup brothers means that the players to watch include tricky winger Jesper Gronkjaer and prolific striker Ebbe Sand (scoring 9 of the 22 goals in the qualifiers). Previous Appearances: 2 1986 and 1998