Paradoxes of football professionalization in Sweden: A club approach

Career paths of Swedish top-level women soccer players

“…The players again felt that accepting the higher level club offers was natural, however, this time, their acceptance also meant that they had to leave an appreciated school environment, close classmates and family. Thus, although the routine that followed was confirmatory, it was also socializing as the players had to adapt to new contexts and form new athletic goals (Figure 3, Blue line age [16][17]. Their quick and unproblematic adjustment to the new contexts, however, suggests that the players were able to draw on their previous transfer experiences to settle into the new elite environment.…”

“…6 As a result, Sweden has managed to create a soccer player environment that makes the sport most popular for girls, and which produces more professional female soccer players than in most other nations. 7 This environment is supported by 'sport schools' specializing in soccer, which are spread throughout the country and have four academic levels: elementary (age 10-12), secondary (age [13][14][15], high school (age [16][17][18] and university (age 18+). 8 The Swedish sport system conceptualizes sport schools as to assist the combination of education and (sub) high-performance sport and support athletes' transitions into university or professional education.…”

“…With regard to professionalization, women's soccer has developed from a socially unaccepted sport to a well-established profitable business that contains a multi-level league organization. 17 With regard to gendered socialization, Eliasson's research on young soccer players' experiences shows that girls and boys develop gendered behaviour. 18 What this study shows particularly well is that from a young age, both girls and boys develop their performance towards an idealized male standard.…”

‘Power in the arm, steel in the will and courage in the breast’ – a historical approach to ideal norms and men’s dominance in Swedish club sports

“…9 Swedish sport can thus be regarded as a social movement that supports public health and societal democracy and can be seen as a democratic people's movement in which everyone can participate. This democratic ethos can help to explain why the Swedish amateur rules were not dissolved (initially in the Swedish Football Association) until 1967 10 and why this decision opened up a commercialisation process that was accompanied by a de-amateurisation process in Swedish football and other sports. 11 In contrast to this idealised description, research also shows that the voluntary and non-profit nature of the Swedish sports movement should not be overstated, in that as early as the 1920s some sport clubs employed coaches, invested economic capital and used commercial techniques to support elitism and increase the opportunities for sporting successes.…”

“…Given that in the past, Swedish sport was regarded as a democratic, nonprofit, voluntary people's movement, the appointment of a (well-)paid foreign-born coach was frowned on. 91 As Hodgson was in such position and also an incomer to the club, his engagement and club feelings proved challenging. This may have been why he was initially portrayed in a members' magazine holding the club badge in his hands and with the club's prize collection in the background and a pictorial link between Hodgson and ÖSK (see Figure 2).…”