Last year, both the girls’ and boys’ teams in the 16-year-old class took home the win in the PSG soccer cup. Both teams went undefeated through the group stage, despite the tough opposition and the racist slurs the teams experienced, both on and off the field. Håkan Kuorak believes that the reason for the success comes from the players’ individual attitude and the group’s cohesion.
– We take care of each other, encourage each other, he says,
Important to raise the subject
But even though the harassment seems to have had the opposite effect, Kuorak believes it is important that the topic be raised. He thinks it is incomprehensible that the Swedish Sami Parliament does not want to get more involved in the issue.
– It feels as if they are not at all interested in Sami sports at the Sami Parliament, says Håkan Kuorak.
“Distancing from racism”
The Sámi Parliament stated in a press release last year when the incident took place:
– The Sámi Parliament rejects all forms of racism and demands that the Swedish Football Association take strong measures to counter racism against Sámi football players, said Sámi Parliament chairman Håkan Jonsson at the time.
Håkan Jonsson says to SVT Sápmi today that he is adamant that the football association should act on the matter. At the same time, the Sami Parliament has also taken measures during the year.
Money for the sports committee
– Sami sports are prioritized by this board. Therefore, we have decided that the Health, Elderly and Sports Committee will receive special money for Sami sports, so that they will have financial resources to work on these issues.
In order for this to be possible, the committee’s delegation order and working order must first be changed.
– Naturally, hate crimes against the Sami will be a priority issue. We are working on this, but the policy is a bit sluggish, says Håkan Jonsson.
Two teams this year
This year’s football cup starts on Friday and lasts all weekend. FA Sápmi has two teams registered, girls aged 16 and boys aged 16. The first match for both teams takes place on Friday at 18:00. FA Sápmi’s boys meet Kungnäs FC and FA Sápmi’s girls meet Tromsö IL.
A total of 795 teams are registered.