After Russia’s war in Ukraine, the sport of bandy has collapsed internationally.
The WC was recently canceled at short notice – and here at home the audience can’t really find the matches.
But the conservative sport is now working to renew itself. Indoor rinks and skating leisure should attract the young people back.
– If we are to survive in the long term, we have to start with the young people. And we have to start now, says Bollnäs GIF’s chairman Sofia Nordell
Swedish bandy lives a hidden existence. National team operations are almost invisible and the highest leagues are struggling with both finances and audience numbers.
When the WC was canceled earlier this fall, the Swedish national team management received the notification five days afterwards.
The former federation captain in athletics, Karin Torneklint, is now the director of sport in the Swedish Bandy Federation and has a solid task ahead of her, to navigate into a new era, not least internationally when the sports giant Russia is suspended and gone.
Bandyn’s rescue
She believes that indoor halls in metropolitan areas can be the sport’s salvation.
– A bandy hall has a limited surface, unlike outdoor sports on snow and ice. Alpine, for example, I think will have big problems due to climate change, she says.
– Everything starts with skating. Never mind dividing the smallest children into ice hockey or bandy, we need to teach them to skate correctly and smoothly, Torneklint continues.
Bollnäs GIF is one of the associations that narrowly avoided bankruptcy three years ago. Now the club has a new indoor hall and the future prospects are bright.
– For several years, we have invested in something we call Bandy fun for children and young people. So we grow from below – just like we have to do, says club president Sofia Nordell.