In March next year, the Arctic Winter Games (AWG) will be held in Alaska in Canada. But after several trips back and forth it is now clear, only players from the Norwegian side will represent the futsal team (indoor soccer) for boys and girls born in 2008/2009.
There is simply not enough money at FA Sápmi to be able to send any players from the Swedish side.
– It has become unfortunate. It is under the auspices of the Sami Sports Association, they receive a pot from the Sami Parliament which is set aside for AWG. But it has become quite a lot more expensive, it is a long way to Alaska and you can see that the money is not enough, says the association’s chairman Håkan Kuorak.
Instead, it is intended that Swedish and Finnish participants pay their own costs.
– This means that the Sami players on the Swedish side are affected because then FA Sápmi is supposed to contribute money, but that money is not available. It would cost about 40,000 to send players to Alaska.
“To have a united people”
What do you say to players who are disappointed?
– It’s just to be sorry. Hopefully this is the last time it will be like this, in the future we will make sure that we are a united people.
FA Sápmi has received SEK 200,000 from the Sami Parliament’s cultural committee. But they have long since been used up.
How to solve this in the future?
– It’s all about finances, without money you can’t run a business. We are trying to get a bigger pot from the Sami Parliament so we can send players on different missions, says Håkan Kuorak.
“Will give more money”
The Sámi Parliament hopes that FA Sápmi will be able to get more money in the future.
– I understand their frustration and we will deal with this, it is one of the board’s priority issues, says the Chairman of the Sami Parliament, Håkan Jonsson, and continues:
– One of my goals is that we should give Sami sports more money and my hope is to be able to finance so that we can send Swedish participants to the Arctic Winter Games next year.
How much more money would that be?
– I cannot answer that at the moment.