I understand that the conditions are tough for many sports associations.
If we look at elite hockey in the country, there are incredible differences. Of course, everyone wants the television rights money in the SHL, which is about 60 million per year.
In the hockey allsvenskan, the clubs only get 6 million per year and in the hockey league you barely get enough money to cover the match production, which they have to pay for themselves.
In addition, the audience and the sponsors are let down. It’s an equation that just doesn’t add up.
What do the clubs do then? Well, they often take chances and put everything on the line!
They speculate, hope – and become speed blind
They speculate, hope, get blindsided and naively believe that an expensive investment will pay off in the long run.
“If we bring in this player for this (over)price, it could lead to us possibly going up and then the sponsors and the audience will come back. Then we can make this much money and save the club, pay our debts and go from loss to surplus.”
Then all it takes is for one player to sprain their foot and the whole castle in the air falls flat.
Unfortunately, there are too many people in management positions who do not have a real grasp of the finances, or who are dragged along by certain club visionaries.
It is the same way in municipalities, county councils and the country as a whole. What is it that says that some politically elected are experienced enough to manage billion dollar budgets?
Just because they’ve been in a youth association and learned rhetoric, and maybe taken an economics course at university.
It’s not really wise.
Several clubs forcibly relegated
If we look at the hockey allsvenskan, only 4 out of a total of 14 teams had a positive result last season. The White Horse from Norrköping went bankrupt in 2023, and this year the threat hangs over Mora, Tingsryd, Västervik and Almtuna. However, the Uppsala club was saved by an individual contributor.
In the hockey league, several clubs have been forcibly relegated because they did not pass the elite license requirement, and even more clubs have refused to play in the league because they simply cannot afford it.
It is a big problem for hockey and Swedish talent development. Many think the series system is too tough and only benefits the already rich clubs. Because it is much easier to fall down than to climb up.
The money from television rights has had its peak and will not generate as much in the long term. This means that clubs, associations and leagues have to work harder in the future to draw in money.
More clubs will succumb
It is easy to blame one or the other, and I understand those who feel unfairly treated by the hockey association’s licensing board. In Karlskrona, which was relegated from the hockey allsvenskan in 2020, it is believed, for example, that big clubs, from other parts of the country, had never been treated in the same way.
The money in Swedish hockey should perhaps be distributed in a different way, but no one has presented a better alternative.
But in the end, clubs and associations must take responsibility for their finances and stop living beyond their means.
Otherwise, clubs will continue to succumb and Swedish talents will be disadvantaged, which ultimately means that the ice hockey product deteriorates in the country.