Damallsvenskan Newsblog -

Some other Damallsvenskan players in international action this weekend: Hammarby's Marijke Callebaut scored for Belgium as they fell 2-4 at home to Spain. Djurgården/Älvsjö striker Laura Kalmari, celebrating her 100th appearence for the Finnish national team, got a hattrick when Finland defeated Poland 5-1. Sanna Valkonen and Anne Mäkinen (Umeå), Jessica Julin (Göteborg) and Anna-Kaisa Rantanen (Linköping) also started and Bälinge's Minna Mustonen joined as a second half substitute.

2006-04-22 @ 16:05:52 Permalink National team Comments (0) Trackbacks ()

Club cooperation agreements important for development

Since the Swedish FA introduced new rules this year, making it easier to loan players on short notice between Damallsvenskan clubs and lower division clubs, several cooperation agreements have been signed. The latest between Sunnanå and the local Skellefteå 2nd division side Morön BK.

Six of Sunnanå's younger players, among them Anna Bodén, Linnea Gjersvold and Emma Jonsson, are named in the agreement with Morön. The longtime objective is to establish Morön as a 1st division club. This will make the conditions for player development in the region much better. "We need to let our talents get better match experience to establish ourselves in the top of Damallsvenskan", says Sunnanå's Sören Gustafsson.

Other Damallsvenskan clubs have also signed this kind of deals. Umeå IK has agreement with 1st division sides Umeå Södra FF and Själevad's IK. In the 1st division openers last weekend Umeå's June Pedersen played for Umeå Södra (3-3 draw against Sundsvall) and Emma Berglund for Själevad (1-0 win over Ornäs), both making major contributions to their host teams.

In Uppsala the newly promoted 1st division club Danmarks IF has signed a similar deal with Bälinge. There are also extensive cooperation agreement between Djurgården/Älvsjö and 1st division club Bollstanäs as well as between Malmö FF and Husie, but as far as I know these do not yet include player loan deals.

Västerbottens Folkblad: Sunnanå och Morön skriver utlåningsavtal

2006-04-22 @ 12:11:55 Permalink Events Comments (0) Trackbacks ()

Dennerby: It's essential that we defeat Czech republic

- "This match is extremely important. The team that wins will be in a very good position to qualify for the World Cup in China", says national team head coach Thomas Dennerby before the qualifier against Chech republic on Saturday. Should Sweden fail to qualify to the World Cup, interest for the women's game would surely drop significantly, he emphasizes.

Dennerby expects the Chech to defend deep on their own side, so the key to success is keep up pace and movement. It's also important to be able to keep the ball to the ground and avoid high balls to the forwards, since the Chech backline is rather tall.

The starting line-up will not be released until an hour before the match, but Dennerby says that the team that played the Algarve Cup match against France is pretty much what comes to mind. Except injured Hanna Ljungberg, where he toys wth the idea of playing Lotta Schelin in her position.

Dagens Nyheter: VM-kvalet blir elddopet för Dennerby

2006-04-22 @ 11:33:20 Permalink National team Comments (1) Trackbacks ()

Match-day 1 opinions: It can only get better

Almost nothing is good in the land of Swedish women's football. Västerbottens Folkblad's Magnus Johansson writes that Umeå's 2-0 victory over Malmö "almost felt like a defeat". Umeå had the ideas and organisation on the field, but had huge problems playing into positions to score from. Malmö could work themselves back into the match against a frustrated Umeå. Umeå's coach Jeglertz even had to bring in Elaine (substituting young debutant Lisa Dahlqvist) from the bench to win the midfield battle. But the big problem was Umeå's inefficiency in Malmö's defensive area. Klaveness was very ambitious, but mostly just ran into Malmö's solid defense, and Marta was nice to watch but unproductive. Umeå's problems to score made Malmö a real threat all the way until the final minutes of the match.

In KIF Örebro's local newspaper, Nerikes Allehanda, columnist Anders Uddling found one good thing to note about Pia Sundhage's team: the won. But all reports about their goalscoring problems turned out to be true. Louise Östman needs scores of good opportunities to get one in goal and Hodan Siid-Ahmed must have been put in the attack by mistake (but she did good when moved back to the midfield after halftime). Örebro's players fired away loads of shots against Jitex' goal, but very rarely anything remotely dangerous. Maybe Sundhage's encouraging her players to dare to try to score should be moderated by a "but only if you see a real opportunity".

Göteborgsposten's Mats Härd had more reason to be downhearted. He's seen three of the four Göteborg teams in the men's and women's top leagues disappointing heavily in their home openers. Kopparbergs/Göteborg underperformed hugely for a team that plans to challenge the top. They had lots of possession, but not much quality. It was easier to find traces of decent football in Bälinge's few attacking attempts.

I did find one happy camper though, Håkan Wikström in Upsala Nya Tidning, Bälinge's local. "There is something about Nera Smajic" headlines his column, praising the robust outside defender, who was moved by coach Wikman from her usual position to the left to take care of Göteborg's Lotta Schelin at the right. When Smajic got tired in the second half, and Schelin began to feel a little bit to fast, she almost turned brutal and was subbed out by her coach before the first red card of the season would appear. It wasn't a beautiful game - a crappy field, a limping play and the favourites from Göteborg feeling the pressure - but Maja Åström was inspired in goal and Fanta Cooper played wonderful defense and Håkan Wikström hopes for much more fun when the grass has turned greener and the foreign forwards has began to understand how their coach wants them to play.

Västerbottens Folkblad: Mästartakter - i en halvlek
Nerikes Allehanda: Seger - men med många frågetecken

Göteborgsposten: Det kan bara bli bättre, Göteborg

Upsala Nya Tidning: Det är något speciellt med Nera Smajic ...

2006-04-18 @ 23:14:57 Permalink League matches Comments (10) Trackbacks ()

Matchday 1: Bälinge upsets Göteborg

Djurgården/Älvsjö - Sunnanå SK 3-0 (2-0)
Djurgården: Bente Nordby - Linda Lekander, Kristin Bengtsson, Therese Brogårde, Ann-Marie Norlin (88 Malin Engdahl) - Katrine Pedersen(79 Anna Hall), Linda Fagerström, Elin Ekblom - Laura Kalmari, Victoria Svensson, Sara Thunebro(84 Sofia Simonsson)
Sunnanå: Åsa Berglund - Alexandra Nilsson, Rebecca Smith, Hanna Marklund, Sandra Berggren - Lina Johansson, Kicki Wiklund, Carina Holmberg, Sanna Frostevall(74 Johanna Lindahl) - Marie Nordbrandt, Medelaine Edlund
Goals: 1-0 Victoria Svensson (16), 2-0 Katrine Pedersen (35), 3-0 Ann-Marie Norlin (70)
Attendance: 626
When a really long Katrine Pedersen throw-in managed to find it's way into the net via a misjudged attempt to grab the ball from Sunnanå goalkeeper Åsa Berglund, making it 2-0, it showed Djurgården/Älvsjö had both the skill and luck needed to win. Djurgården/Älvsjö pretty much owned the match, much thanks to their superior pace, often passing the ball on the first touch. This also created a quite a lot of misplaced passes, but was still more than the usually reliable Sunnanå defense could cope with. Victoria Svensson had a good day, scoring the opener with a nice chip after recieving a well played pass from Linda Fagerström and heading the ball to Ann-Marie Norlin, who could score 3-0 from point blank range.
Dagens Nyheter: Dif/Älvsjö gjorde mål på inkast
Djurgården/Älvsjö: pictures
_{Just a small footnote here btw. Pedersen's throw-in goal really should be taken down as an own goal by Sunnanå's Berglund, since you cannot score directly from a throw-in. But the Swedish FA's website attributes the goal to Pedersen, so I stick with that. Until further notice, at least.}
KIF Örebro - Jitex BK 1-0 (0-0)
KIF Örebro:
Jitex: Anna Rehnlund - Jenny Ringqvist, Amelie Rybeck, Emma Herbring, Caroline Lindblad - Lisa Christensson, Jennie Svenson, Malin Normelli, Therese Björk (75 Kajsa Tornfalk), Linda Fyhr (75 Sofia Skog) - Therese Bjurenlind (85 Katya Salguero)
Goals: 1-0 Lena Andersson (85)
Attendance: 925
The home team dictated the play large parts of the match, but once again showed their weakness in the attack. Jitex created more than they have managed during the preseason, but their defense started to weaken and fall back during the later parts of the match. KIF's Pia Sundhage made some changes at halftime and managed to build more preassure against the Jitex goal. It still wasn't until the last minutes of the match that the newly signed midfield talent Lena Andersson headed in the gamewinner on a cross from substitute Emilia Erixon.
Göteborgsposten: Jitex utan poäng i Örebro
Nerikes Allehanda: KIF Örebro vann, match pictures

Kopparbergs/Göteborg - Bälinge 0-1 (0-1)
Göteborg: Maria Edman - Maria Nilsson (80 My Hjelm), Frida Höglund, Sofia Dammström, Camilla Schelin (75 Frida Thydén) - Marlene Sjöberg, Rebecca Ljungdahl, Jessica Julin, Lotta Schelin - Salina Olsson, Sofie Andersson
Bälinge: Maja Åström - Nera Smajic (Anna Bergendahl), Lina Andersson, Fanta Cooper, Carolina Mats - Linda Sembrant, Maria Thuré, Julianne Sitch - Minna Mustonen (Mona Najib), Emma Lindqvist, Kacey White.
Goals: 0-1 Maria Thuré (39)
Attendance: 653
Göteborg had most of the possession and created more forward than Bälinge, but suffered from the same inability to control the match against weaker opposition that had them lose to teams like Mallbacken last season. Bälinge's defense, with Nera Smajic and Fanta Cooper excelling aginst Lotta Schelin and Salina Olsson, and great goalkeeping from Maja Åström kept them in the match when Göteborg escalated their attack in the second half. Bälinge's initial 4-3-3 formation also began to look a lot like 4-5-1 towards the end of the game. Göteborg had four starters on the sick-list (among them Sweden's U21 defender Maria Karlsson, who is probably out of action for the rest of the season with a serious knee injury), but should still have been able to show a better play, both technically and tactically. Bälinge's midfielder Maria Thuré scored the winner on a shot from some 30 meters out.
Uppsala Nya Tidning: Maria Thuré matchvinnare i premiären
Göteborgsposten: Trög start för Göteborg

Umeå IK - Malmö FF 2-0 (1-0)
Umeå: Sofia Lundgren - Maria Bergkvist (Johanna Frisk), Sanna Valkonen, Karolina Westberg, Anna Paulson - Anna Sjöström, Malin Moström, Lisa Dahlqvist (Elaine), Anne Mäkinen - Marta, Lise Klaveness
Malmö: Caroline Jönsson - Jenny Engwall, Malin Levenstad, Therese Jönsson, Dora Stefansdottir - Emma Wilhelmsson (70 Lina Nilsson), Nilla Fischer, Therese Sjögran, Frida Nordin - Therese Lundin, Asthildur Helgadottir
Goals: 1-0 Malin Moström (14), 2-0 Lise Klaveness (90 + 1)
Attendance: 1,843
On a cold and foggy Gammliavallen (still a decent crowd showed up) Umeå had Malmö on the defense for the better part of the match. Umeå played composed, comfortable with the ball, excellent passes and Anne Mäkinen doing great in the midfield. But the Umeå domination (10-1 in corners the first half) did not result in much. Malin Moström's early goal was a give-away from Malmö's otherwise good defense and Asthildur Helgadottir had a goal denied on a not all that obvious offside call. The decision from Umeå's coach André Jeglertz to go for a 4-4-2 instead of Umeå's usual 4-3-3 might have been made more to prevent Malmö from challenging midfield possession than lack of forwards. Malmö's Therese Sjögran and Nilla Fischer proved in the second half, when Malmö managed to push up the team from only defending, that they were able to do that. But Umeå's Valkonen and Westberg centre defense kept Malmö's attack from most dangerous situations. In the last part of the match Malmö yet again broke the Umeå dominance to charge heavily for an equaliser and made Umeå a bit stressed, but Umeå's Lise Klaveness, one of the two forwards for the day, managed to score what she called "a crap goal" as an otherwise good Caroline Jönsson in Malmö's goal misjudged her chip attempt. All in all a good opening match with a fair result was national team manager Thomas Dennerby's verdict.
Sydsvenskan: Premiärförlust – men MFF ger inte upp
Dagens Nyheter: Säker premiärseger för Umeå
TV4: Umeå bäst i dimman (video clip)
Sveriges Radio: Malin Moström interview (audio clip)

The Linköping - Hammarby and Mallbacken - Qbik matches has been postponed due to unplayable match fields. They will be played May 24.

The traditional match-day sum-up can be found at Svensk Fotboll, as can the current results and standings.

2006-04-17 @ 18:13:08 Permalink League matches Comments (10) Trackbacks ()

The champions and the challengers

Umeå IK
Everything points in favour of Umeå - organisation, finances and of course players. Every single player in Umeå's starting eleven would be a key player in almost any other team. It will take a lot for Umeå to fail. Not even longer injuries for one or two players should hurt the team much. A minor reservation though; UIK had, player for player, a better team than Djurgården/Älvsjö, but still lost the championship both 2003 and 2004 and lost the cup final 2005.

Player transfers: They lost most of their bench, but replaced those players with another bunch of talented youngsters, some of the best they could find in Sweden and Norway. Frida Östberg and Jessica Julin (who left already last summer) was pushed out from their preferred midfield positions by the competition from Mäkinen and Elaine, and has now moved to Linköping and Kopparbergs/Göteborg, where they are important players. Norwegian national team star Lise Klaveness was signed after Umeå had closed the door, just because they couldn't turn down such a great player.
In: Lise Klaveness (Asker), Lisa Dahlqvist (KIF Örebro), Johanna Frisk (Bälinge IF), June Pedersen (Grand Bodö), Emma Berglund (Umedalen)
Out: Maria Nordbrandt (Sunnanå SK), Kristina Wiklund (Sunnanå SK), Emma Lindqvist (Bälinge IF), Frida Östberg (Linköpings FC)

Preseason: Somewhat limited matching due to the cold winter. Undefeated against regular competition (Jitex, Göteborg, Sunnanå), dominating without scoring any huge numbers. Lise Klaveness has impressed in an Anne Mäkinen midfield position. With Hanna Ljungberg still on the injury list, they have even tried a 4-4-2 once, but they've got enough good forwards to be able to go with their usual 4-3-3.

Video clip: Umeå training in horrible weather and Malin Moström saying that the team is better than ever. Coach André Jeglertz says the championship stays in Umeå.

The challengers:

Djurgården/Älvsjö
The former champions had a tough season last year (finishing 3rd in the league, playing UEFA Cup final and winning the domestic cup would have been a glorious season for almost anybody else) with tired players, lots of injuries and sometimes a lack of real dedication. A large number of players retired or semi-retired after the season, but the club found some great replacements in Norway, where they picked up Bente Nordby, Katrine Pedersen and Dorte Dalum Jensen. That should take care of the defense, but their major problem last year was goalscoring. The team depends very much on Victoria Svensson in the offense, and she must be (and stay) fit. Djurgården's coach Benny Persson promises she's been better than ever this preseason. They really should find someone to replace Sara Johansson, though.

Player transfers: Loads of skill and experience in Nordby, Pedersen and Jensen. Definitely a step up compared to the leaving goalkeeper Maja Åström and retiring defenders like Jenny Curtsdotter and Helen Fagerström. The rest of the new players are young ones, mostly from Djurgården's cooperation clubs in the Stockholm area.
In: Bente Nordby (Asker), Dorte Dalum Jensen (Asker), Katrine Pedersen (Flöya), Malin Engdahl (Bollstanäs), Pernilla Ebberyd (Bollstanäs), Mimmi Nordlander-Andersson (Älvsjö), Jenny Dannberg (Älvsjö), Sofia Simonsson (Alviks IK)
Out: Maja Åström (Bälinge IF), Sara Johansson (Hammarby IF), Jenny Curtsdotter (retiring), Helen Fagerström (retiring), Venus James (back to USA), Malin Nykvist (retiring), Jill Buchwald (AIK), Annica Svensson (Hammarby)

Preseason: Undefeated over 7 matches, including Norway's champions and runners-up, and scoring big numbers against lower level teams. Major problem seems to be losing both Dorte Dalum and Jane Törnqvist to injury.

Video clip: Djurgården/Älvsjö will try to get bigger crowds (a disappointing 622 avarage last year) by trying internationally themed matches.

Malmö FF
After losing three starters and national team players (and not being able to replace any of them) before the 2005 season and battling with troubled finances, almost everyone had Malmö a long way from a title challenge. But they made their best season since their title winning one some 12 years ago. Team spirit seems to have played a big part. A seasoned player like Malin Andersson said she's never had so much fun playing and wouldn't have exchanged that experience for a gold. This year they are losing 4 starters, three of them national team players, and are still troubled by their finances. A new coach, Jörgen Petersson, has introduced a more fitness-based training and wants to have a faster game pace with more players pushing forward in the attacks than Malmö traditionally has had. The team is in a generation change and their success will depend a lot on how players like Malin Levenstad (17 years) and Dora Stefansdottir (20) manages to replace retired seniors like Denise Reddy and Malin Andersson.

Player transfers: With Malmö's financial situation it is surprising that they managed to present Everton's and England's Rachel Unitt with what she thought was a great offer. She still turned it down to focus in England's World Cup qualification campaign. Malmö did not move on to other big names; "If you need a left-footed defender, you don't suddenly sign a forward instead", coach Petersson commented. Malmö has mostly signed young local players, several from their own youth program, but also Iceland's Dora Stefansdottir.
In: Dora Stefansdottir (Valur), Emma Wilhelmsson (Öster), Matilda Åkerberg (Gislaved), Lina Nilsson (Sjöbo), Johanna Rosén (Kristanstad/Wä), Emelie Ölander and Lina Rehov (Malmö FF youth)
Out: Charlotte Persson (Husie), Malin Andersson (retiring), Sara Stålhammar (retiring?), Formiga (back to Brazil), Denise Reddy (retiring)

Preseason: Lost their first match, against Norwegian champions Kolbotn, but defeated Denmark's Brøndby and Scotland's national team. Doesn't really look very good playing, but still manages to win. Some of the youngsters have been impressing, though, Levenstad for one.

Video clip: Malmö training in reasonable weather, talk about the new team, questions from the fan club chair(wo)man to players.

Linköping FC
So far Djurgården and Malmö has been the only teams in Damallsvenskan that goes to Umeå with the intention to win. If Linköping wants to join them as challengers, they need get rid of the feeling of inferiority that makes them grateful for the lesson after losing to Umeå. Instead they should be angry and disappointed. I guess this is part of the reason why the club signed Frida Östberg. The other part is of course that they needed a defensive midfielder. The team, more or less unchanged, is a year older and a year more experienced than last year and contributes to the national team with more players than any other club. With a bit more attitude on the pitch (you can find loads of it off-pitch) they might move from winning the race in the middle to actually competing with the top.

Player transfers: Frida Östberg from Umeå IK, in competition with among others KIF Örebro, is their most important signing since they promoted. Apart from that, they've replaced a retiring experienced defender (Malin Gustafsson) with a younger but still experienced defender from Qbik and picked up a few talents, Petra Larsson the most promising.
In: Marie-Louise Skålberg (QBIK), Frida Östberg (Umeå IK), Petra Larsson (Ornäs BK), Camilla Johansson (BK Kenty), Frida Carlswärd (BK Kenty)
Out: Therese Andersson (Jitex), Malin Gustafsson (retiring)

Preseason: Linköping has played most of the middle and lower Damallsvenskan teams and all wins except one draw, but with rather close numbers. Defense seems to have worked better than attack so far.

Video clip: Svt talks to Frida Östberg on why she moved to Linköping ("a new challenge, new motivation"), and Linköpings chances ("looking very good") and the future ("a world cup gold and hopefully one with Linköping too).

2006-04-17 @ 15:36:59 Permalink Events Comments (12) Trackbacks ()

More of the last of the preseason matches

Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC - Jitex 2-1 (1-0)
Göteborg: Maria Edman - Marlene Sjöberg, Frida Höglund (65 Maria Nilsson), Sofia Dammström, Camilla Schelin - Rebecca Ljungdahl, Frida Thydén, Jessica Julin (45 Sofie Andersson), Lotta Schelin - My Hjelm (75 Hanna Wadefalk), Salina olsson
Goals: 1-0 Salina Olsson, 2-0 Sofie Andersson, 2-1 Kajsa Tornfalk (PK)
In spite of the fairly close result, Kopparbergs/Göteborg showed they were the clearly better team and Jitex will have to rely a lot on their hard working defense if they are going to avoid relegation. Salina Olsson was Göteborg's player of the match, behind most events in the offense, scoring the opener on a direct free-kick and setting up Sofie Andersson's 2-0.

Svt: Göteborgsderby inför dampremiären (video clip)

Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC: Seger mot Jitex BK
Göteborgsposten: Genrep i högt tempo

Bälinge - Gusk 5-1 (3-1)
Goals: 1-1 Julianne Sitch, 2-1 Kacey White, 3-1 Nera Smajic, 4-1 Julianne Sitch
In their last warm-up, Bälinge played the local 2nd division club Gusk and used the opportunity to score a lot and get a good feeling before the Damallsvenskan opener against Kopparbergs/Göteborg. Bälinge's attack had their new Americans White and Sitch as the driving force.

Uppsala Nya Tidning: Bälinge vann klart

2006-04-17 @ 12:57:36 Permalink Events Comments (3) Trackbacks ()

SEK 750,000 in TV revenues for every club

9 of the 10 millions in yearly TV revenues will be equally divided between the Damallsvenskan clubs, SEK 750,000 per club. Of the remaining million, SEK 200,000 will be used as victory premium for the league winners and SEK 100,000 for the Cup winners. The league numbers 2-4 and the Cup runners-up will also get cash premiums as well as the winners of the two 1st division series.

The Swedish Football Association's general secretary Sune Hellströmer also reveals that the market value for the TV rights to Damallsvenskan originally was valued to SEK 5 millions a year, but that the FA decided to "sponsor" the women's league with the same amount.
Göteborgsposten: Damerna får bara två procent av tv-pengarna

Dagens Nyheter: TV-avtal ger damklubbarna 750.000

2006-04-17 @ 12:55:48 Permalink Events Comments (3) Trackbacks ()

Record number of foreign players in Damallsvenskan

Last year 20 foreign players found a place in a Damallsvenskan team. This year it's 29. So far - there are usually a few more signings during the summer transfer window. Most players and coaches still thinks this is a good thing.

- "It is really good for Swedish women's football", says Umeå's coach André Jeglertz. "We just have to be carefull that we don't start signing many average quality players"

Djurgården/Älvsjö's start Victoria Svensson agrees: "It shows that Damallsvenskan is a world class league and so far almost only world class players have come here."

KIF Örebro's Pia Sundhage says that she prefers to work longtime with her players, something that wasn't possible with the Americans Kristin Lilly and Kate Markgraf last year. "Where we are now, it is more interesting to work with players, that will stay for several years."

Foreign players in Damallsvenskan 2006

Bälinge: Fanta Cooper, Julianne Sitch and Kacey White (USA), Minna Mustonen and Heidi Matinlassi (Finland)
Djurgården/Älvsjö: Bente Nordby (Norway), Katrine Pedersen and Dorte Dalum Jensen (Denmark), Laura Kalmari (Finland)
Hammarby: Marijke Callebaut (Belgium), Caitlin Fisher (USA)
Jitex: no one
KIF Örebro: Kelly Schmedes and Keeley Dowling (USA)
Kopparbergs/Göteborg: Jessica Julin (Finland)
Linköping FC: Anna-Kaisa Rantanen (Finland)
Mallbacken: Erla Arnardottir (Iceland)
Malmö FF: Asthildur Helgadottir and Dora Stefansdottir (Iceland)
Qbik: Faith Ikidi, Yinka Kudaisi and Maureen Mmadu (Nigeria), Jennifer Meier and Anja Mittag (Germany)
Sunnanå: Rebecca Smith (New Zealand)
Umeå IK: Marta and Elaine (Brasil), Anne Mäkinen and Sanna Valkonen (Finland), Lise Klaveness and June Pedersen (Norway)

Västerbottenskuriren: Umeå IK - rena rama främlingslegionen
Svt: Rekormånga utländska spelare i damallsvenskan

2006-04-14 @ 12:03:40 Permalink Events Comments (10) Trackbacks ()

- Umeå should be ashamed if they don't win

At the annual Damallsvenskan season kick-off event, 65 % of the present players, coaches and other people in the business voted Umeå IK most likely to win the Swedish championship. The rest probably just happened to push the wrong voting button, because it was almost impossible to find anyone willing to go on record as favoring any other team for the championship.

Not even Djurgården/Älvsjö's head coach Benny Persson (25 % of the votes) seemed confident about his team's chances: "If Umeå don't take home the championship, they should be ashamed of themselves. In any given league, the club with the most money wins. Umeå has a budget that is three times as big as anyone else."

Voted most likely to be relegated was newcomer Jitex and, as usual, Mallbacken. These are also the clubs that has made the least spectacular signings before this season.

Svensk fotboll: Tränare och spelare tror på nytt Umeå-guld
Västerbottenskuriren: "Umeå borde skämmas om de inte vinner"
Västerbottens Folkblad Umeå IK tippas i topp vid upptaktsträff
Göteborgsposten: Umeå tippas etta - Jitex åker ur

2006-04-14 @ 10:49:53 Permalink Events Comments (1) Trackbacks ()

FC Indiana seeks cooperation with Göteborg

The USA club FC Indiana, WPSL champions 2005, has contacted Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC to discuss possible cooperation betwwen the clubs. Göteborg FC's Peter Bronsman, who recieved a call from FC Indiana's head coach Shek Borkowski, says he's happy to meet with them.

FC Indiana, that has signed former Swedish U21 player Yolanda Odenyu (ex Bälinge and AIK) for the 2006 season, already has cooperation agreements with Domina Neapolis in Italy and Spartak Moscow in Russia.
Göteborgsposten: USA-klubb söker utbyte i Göteborg

Am I just vain here, or might this April 6 blog entry have played some role: Göteborg's chairman: We're aiming for the top

2006-04-13 @ 14:57:44 Permalink Events Comments (17) Trackbacks ()

Sara Johansson replaces Hanna Ljungberg on national team squad

Hanna Ljungberg is still suffering from repercussions after the serious concussion she recieved in the last Algarve Cup match and will not participate in the Damallsvenskan opener nor the Swedish World Cup qualification match against Czech republic next week. National team coach Thomas Dennerby says he needs a speedy forward to replace Hanna and chose Hammarby's Sara Johansson.

Dennerby also sees the squad he picked, with several fairly unproven players like Maria Aronsson, Maria Bergkvist, Caroline Näfver and Stina Segerström, as another step in the generation change.

Goalkeepers: Caroline Jönsson, Malmö FF, Hedvig Lindahl, Linköping.
Defenders: Maria Bergkvist, Umeå, Sara Larsson, Linköping, Hanna Marklund, Sunnanå, Caroline Näfver, Kif Örebro, Stina Segerström, Kif Örebro, Frida Östberg, Linköping.
Midfielders: Linda Fagerström, Djurgården/Älvsjö, Malin Moström, Umeå, Lotta Schelin, Göteborg, Caroline Seger, Linköping, Therese Sjögran, Malmö FF, Anna Sjöström, Umeå.
Forwards: Maria Aronsson, Linköping, Sara Johansson, Hammarby, Therese Lundin, Malmö FF, Victoria Svensson, Djurgården/Älvsjö

Aftonbladet: Sara Johansson ersätter Hanna Ljungberg
Corren: LFC-kvintett i VM-kvaltruppen
Göteborgsposten: Schelin Göteborgs bidrag till VM-truppen
Västerbottens Folkblad: Inget VM-kval för Karolina Westberg

2006-04-13 @ 14:36:37 Permalink National team Comments (0) Trackbacks ()

Helgadottir stays with Malmö FF

Malmö FF today announced, rather pleased, that their target player Asthildur Helgadottir will stay with the club for at least the three first Damallsvenskan matches. "And we are negotiating for more matches", says MFF's Kenny Jönsson.

Malmö FF says that the deal has been possible thank's to Helgadottir's committment to the club and to the cooperation from her Icelandic club, Breidablik.

Malmö FF: Påskpresent till alla MFF DAM-fans
Damfotboll.com: Asthildur premiärspelar med Malmö FF

2006-04-13 @ 14:28:18 Permalink Transfers Comments (3) Trackbacks ()

The last of the preseason friendlies

Linköping - Qbik 2-1 (0-0)
Linköping: Hedvig Lindahl - Maria Karlsson, Sara Larsson, Marie-Louise Skålberg, Frida Östberg - Anna-Kaisa Rantanen, Petra Larsson (60 Eva Skärby), Caroline Seger, Josefine Öqvist - Maria Aronsson, Ann Westermark (74 Lotta Runesson).
Qbik: Maria Busk - Elina Johansson, Jenny Hallstensson, Faith Ikidi, Charlotte Nygren - Anna Nilsson, Elin Sandgren, Linda Gull (65 Josefine Johansson), Rebecca Jonsson - Jennifer Meier, Maureen Mmadu
Goals: 1-0 Anna-Kaisa Rantanen, 2-0 Ann Westermark, 2-1 Jennifer Meier
Linköping kept Qbik mostly on the defense, but needs to sharpen their attack. Both coaches were rather pleased with their defense, were both tested new combinations, and the difference between strength of the teams is much smaller than last season.
Qbik
Linköping: Seger hemma mot QBIK
Damfotboll.com: Knapp seger för Linköping mot QBIK

Bälinge - Hammarby 1-3 (1-2)
Hammarby: Kattis Wicksell - Annica Svensson, Sara Andersson, Jossan Christensen, Caitlin Fisher - Marijke Callebaut, Therese Sandström, Jennie Jonsson, Lollo Fors - Sara Johansson, Linda Forsberg
Goals: 1-0 Emma Lindqvist, 1-1 Louise Fors, 1-2 Linda Forsberg, 1-3 Linda Forsberg
A somewhat bigger win for Hammarby than the play would have suggested. Hammarby, that just like Bälinge came to the match with what looks like their first choice team, didn't manage to get a hold on the match until after Linda Forsberg's 2-1 goal. Hammarby's En Perlskog was very pleased with how the coooperation between forwards Forsberg, back from a year long injury, and Sara Johansson worked. Bälinge started with all their five foreigners and Minna Mustonen on the midfield made the best impression.
Uppsala Nya Tidning: 1-0 blev 1-3 för Bälinge mot Bajen
Damfotboll.com: Hammarby-seger över Bälinge

Malmö FF - Husie 3-1 (0-0)
Malmö: Caroline Jönsson - Jenny Engwall, Therese Jönsson, Malin Levenstad, Dora Stefansdottir - Linda Blom (46 Johanna Rosén), Lina Nilsson, Therese Sjögran, Frida Nordin (46 Emelie Ölander) - Emma Stålhammar (46 Anna Mörstam), Mia Westerblad (46 Therese Lundin)
Goals: 1-0 Dora Stefansdottir (63), 1-1 Isabelle Refthagen (70), 2-1 Lina Nilsson (72), 3-1 Therese Sjögran (80)
Malmö's third match in a week was again played in rainy, windy and cold weather, this time against their local Malmö rivals, 1st division side Husie IF. A rather mediocre match from Malmö, where things shaped up a bit after extensive substitutions in half time. Coach Petersson was most pleased with the fact that the players physical fitness was good enough to get the job done and dominate their opposition in the second half, only two days after the Scotland match.
Malmö FF
Damfotboll.com: Tredje matchen på en vecka för Malmö FF Dam

Holmalund - Mallbacken 3-4 (0-2)
Goals: 0-1 Maja Johansson, 0-2 Sandra Andersson, 1-3 Linda Ranström, 3-4 Helena Nilsson
Mallbacken started with a pacy attacking game and had initially success against the 1st division side. In the second half Holmalund was invited back into the match by a less than focused Mallbacken defense.
Mallbacken: Målrikt i matchen mot Holmalund

Sunnanå - Grand Bodö 3-1 (1-0)
Sunnanå: Åsa Berglund - Sandra Berggren, Hanna Marklund (Linnea Gjersvold), Rebecca Smith, - Sanna Frostevall (Lina Johansson), Kicki Wiklund, Carina Holmberg, Alexandra Nilsson - Madde Edlund, Maria Nordbrandt
Goals: 1-0 Madde Edlund (4), 2-0 Carina Holmberg, 3-1 Lina Johansson
Norwegian opposition for Sunnanå on a wet and heavy pitch. A good defense that gave the norwegians few opportunities, but some problems with the forward play, where the team seemed to lack real pace.
Sunnanå: Sunnanåtjejerna vinnare mot norska Tromsö
Norra Västerbotten: Bodö orkade inte med Sunnanå

Umeå IK - Mariehem P17 (boys) 5-1 (3-0)
Goals: Marta (2), June Pedersen (2), Maria Bergkvist.
Umeå's last warm-up match before the season opener against Malmö FF next Monday. A good rehearsal against a boy's team: "We created a lot, played well and are feeling strong", commented assistant coach Hans Aggling.
Umeå: Seger i genrepet

2006-04-09 @ 17:51:12 Permalink Matches Comments (0) Trackbacks ()

QBIK after Mittag: We are no longer just trying to avoid relegation

- "We worked on the transfer of Anja Mittag for several months. She's a world class player and we are extremely happy to be able to get her to the club." Qbik chairman Lars-Inge Hallstensson contuinues to say that with Mittag on the team, the club will no longer just be trying to avoid relegation.

Qbik's contact with Anja Mittag began when she came to Karlstad last summer to visit her long-time friend Jennifer Meier, who had just moved to the club. "We just said hello then, but when Jennifer decided to accept a new deal with Qbik for the 2006 season, we realised that there was a real possibility to get Mittag too."

Anja Mittag has signed a contract from July 1 to the end of the Swedish season. Lars-Inge Hallstensson, who intends to play the Potsdam forward in a midfield position, tells that the club has managed to finance the deal with support from a couple of sponsors.

Anja herself says at her website, that it was not an easy decision to leave Turbine Potsdam and she thought about it a lot. But she says she is looking forward to get to know new people, a new country and a new language. "I think I will develop both as an athlete and as a person. I've been in Potsdam for four years and I don't think it's wrong with a change of air."

Anja finally comforts her Turbine fans: "I will return to Turbine once my stay in Sweden is over."

Värmlands Folkblad: Qbik förstärker med tysk landslagsstjärna

anja-mittag.de: 4-monatiges Gastspiel von Anja in Schweden

2006-04-08 @ 11:11:17 Permalink Transfers Comments (2) Trackbacks ()

European Champion signs for QBIK

In a surprise move, QBIK's chairman Lars-Inge Hallstenson could today announce that the club has signed a deal bringing Turbine Potsdam's young star Anja Mittag to the Karlstad club. The 20 year old Mittag, often named as one of Europe's most promising young players, was part of Germany's European Championship winning team last year.

"We are very happy to present this new transfer. Anja will arrive in Karlstad on July 1, after the German Bundesliga season is finished", Hallstensson announced. He has now signed 5 foreign professionals to the team, three Nigerian national team players and two with German national team experience, besides Mittag also Jennifer Meier, who joined the team last summer.
Damfotboll.com: EXTRA: Europamästare spelar för QBIK

2006-04-07 @ 22:00:52 Permalink Transfers Comments (1) Trackbacks ()

Training matches April 4-7

Jitex - Vallen 1-0 (1-0)

Jitex: Annika West - Sophia Lindorsson, Amelie Rybeck, Helena Fock, Caroline Lindblad - Ann Johansson (45 Linda Fyhr), Therese Andersson (65 Kajsa Tornfalk), Jennie Svensson, Sofia Skog - Lisa Christensson (Emma Herbring), Therese Björk (65 Therese Bjurenlind)
Goals: 1-0 Therese Andersson (28)
Jitex tried out a 4-5-1 formation, where the wingers were supposed to provide a lone striker, against the 2nd division side Vallens IF. But Vallen defended good and Jitex didn't create much, except for the goal. It worked better after a change to 4-4-2 in halftime and the team created a lot of chances, but no goal.
Jitex

Kopparbergs/Göteborg - Vallens IF 5-0 (4-0)

Göteborg: Maria Edman - Marlene Sjöberg, Camilla Schelin, Sofia Dammström, Linnea Löving - Johanna Almgren (35 Caroline Broqvist), Rebecca Ljungdahl, Jessica Julin, Lotta Schelin (46 Frida Thydén) - Salina Olsson (46 Pernilla R), My Hjelm
Goals: 1-0 Marlene Sjöberg (10), 2-0 Lotta Schelin (20), 3-0 Lotta Schelin (23), 4-0 My Hjelm (35), 5-0 My Hjelm (60)
Vallen played their second match against Damallsvenskan competition in only a few days. Göteborg, struck by sickness after returning from their Turkey training camp, had to bring in players from their farm team Sandarne to be able have any back-up on the bench. Göteborg lived up to their ambition to practise their attacking game in the beginning of the match, but then seemed to lose interest and pace in the cold wind and rain.
Kopparbergs/Göteborg: Seger mot Vallens IF

Malmö FF - Scotland 2-0 (0-0)

Malmö: Caroline Jönsson - Jenny Engwall, Therese Jönsson, Malin Levenstad, Dora Stefansdottir - Frida Nordin, Johanna Rosén, Therese Sjögran, Lina Nilsson (75 Anna Mörstam) - Therese Lundin, Linda Blom (50 Emma Stålhammar)
Goals: 1-0 Therese Lundin (58), 2-0 Emma Stålhammar (75)
In spite of first half that coach Jörgen Petersson called "mediocre", Malmö managed to defeat Scotland's national team, currently ranked 17 in Europe. "We worked harder in the second half". Comforting news for Malmö was also that 19 year old Malin Levenstad has started to grow into retired Denise Reddy's shoes. The defender acted with great confidence and was her team's best. Scotland, on training camp in southern Sweden, was missing their main star, Arsenal striker Julie Fleeting, who stayed behind with a knee injury.

Damfotboll.com: Malmö FF Dam besegrade Skottland

Malmö FF: Malmö FF besegrade Skottlands landslag i brittiskt väder!

Viksjö - Hammarby 3-9
Hammarby: Cattis Wicksell – Elin Härén (46 Therese Dahlberg) , Jossan Christensen, Elin Sölveskog, Annica Svensson – Marijke Callebaut (46 Lisa Björkvik), Jennie Johnsson, Therese Sandström, Lollo Fors – Linda Forsberg (46 Emma Lundh), Jessica Landström:

Goals: 3-1 Linda Forsberg 3 - 1-3, 2-3 och 9-3. 3-2 Linda Forsberg, 3-3 Therese Sandström, 4-3 Therese Sandström, 3-5 Jennie Johnsson, 3-6 Emma Lundh, 3-7 Emma Lundh, 3-8 Lollo Fors, 3-9 Linda Forsberg
In the Stockholm regional competition Victoria Cup, the lower ranked team is awarded as many penalty kicks as the difference between the teams in divisions. The 3rd division club IFK Viksjö managed their advantage well and was 3-0 up as long as 20 minutes in the match. Then Hammarby's superior pace, strength, passing, well everything, paid off.
Hammarby: Seger i Victoria Cup

2006-04-07 @ 21:52:12 Permalink Matches Comments (1) Trackbacks ()

Göteborg's chairman: We're aiming for the top

- Our goal is to become one of the world's top clubs, says Peter Bronsman, president of Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, the club's major sponsor and the owner of the breweries that is behind the first part of the club's name.

Bronsman has extended the sponsor contract til 2009 and has great ambitions for the club. "The club is exclusively a senior project. We aim to find talents, develop them and make Göteborg FC one of the top clubs in the world." But the club is still fairly small, their SEK 2,7 million annual turnover dwarfs them beside a club like Umeå IK. Bronsman's ambition is to narrow that gap.

A part of the longtime plan has been to find the team a home field. After this summer they will move in at the downtown Vallhalla stadium where the club will also have their office.

The last year's Bronsman has been a vocal critic of the Swedish FA's and their financial support to the women's league. No more so: "I'm very satisfied with the new agreement. We will probably get about SEK 1 million this year. Last year we got SEK 100,000."

Göteborgsposten: Bronsman vill föra Göteborg till toppen

2006-04-06 @ 20:44:01 Permalink Events Comments (3) Trackbacks ()

Field turf failure might cost Umeå SEK 1,5 million

Umeå's failure to get their home field approved for international matches might cost the club SEK 1,5 millions in missed revenues. Umeå's general manager Roland Arnqvist calculates that the club will miss SEK 500,000 in gate fees and other incomes for every match that they will have to move out of town, 1,5 million if they go all the way to the finals.

It is possible to change the artificial turf during the summer recess in Damallsvenskan, but it's not certain that the city of Umeå, that owns the field, is willing to take the cost.

Arnquist also comments on the recently decided distribution of the TV revenues. The deal is supposed to give SEK 600,000 to every Damallsvenskan club with a possibility to earn an additional SEK 400,000 for a club that wins both the league and the Swedish Cup as well as gets the best attendance. Arnquist says that he would have liked a bigger performance based part, but is still fairly satisfied with the settlement.
Expressen: Umeå hotas av miljonsmäll
Västerbottenskuriren: UIK kan vinna en miljon

2006-04-05 @ 23:19:58 Permalink Events Comments (22) Trackbacks ()

Increasing wages in Damallsvenskan

The biggest stars in Damallsvenskan, like Marta and Hanna Ljungberg, makes between SEK 700,000 and SEK 800,000 a year. This according to Göteborg daily Göteborgsposten, quoting an unnamed source.

The biggest earners gets a large part of their income from other sources than club wages, mainly personal sponsor contracts and stipends from the Football Association and the Olympic Committee. The Göteborgsposten article continues to state that players on Swedish national team level typically earns around SEK 230,000 to SEK 240,000 while good players outside the national team makes just below SEK 100,000.

Umeå IK's manager Roland Arnqvist refuses to comment on player compensation, but says that the increasing wages and growing club economy in Damallsvenskan is fundamental for the continued development of the women's game. Umeå, with a SEK 11 millions a year budget, has 6 foreign professionals on the squad. "Our policy is that the core of the team shall consist of players from northern Sweden. The other players we chose carefully, since our goal is to have the best team in Europe."

Newly promoted Bälinge's chairman Conny Sjöberg, who also has signed a lot of foreign players, has a somewhat different reasoning: "We got better players for the money if we turned abroad." He says it's hard for a just promoted club to persuade good Swedish players to sign for them and the biggest clubs have money to offer. "The difference between now and when we got relegated 2004 is huge, and the biggest increase in wages is for good players, just outside the national team."
Göteborgsposten: Högre löner i damallsvenskan

2006-04-05 @ 22:28:50 Permalink Events Comments (13) Trackbacks ()

Mallbacken - QBIK opener postponed

The Damallsvenskan opener between the neighbour clubs Mallbacken and QBIK, scheduled for April 17, has been postponed. Yesterday Mallbackens home field Strandvallen was covered with a 25 centimeters thick layer of snow. No new date has been set, since the clubs so far hasn't managed to agree.
Värmlands Folkblad: Ingen premiär

2006-04-05 @ 22:02:33 Permalink Events Comments (0) Trackbacks ()

Training matches March 30 - April 4

KIF Örebro - Örebro SK P90 (boys) 1-1 (0-1)
Goals: 1-1 Louise Östman
A local team of 16 years old boys provided a good test for Pia Sundhage's team. The boys' speed on the field forced KIF's players to train their cooperation and anticipation, all to Sundhage's satisfaction.
KIF Örebro

Husqvarna FF - Linköping FC 0-7
Linköping: Hedvig Lindahl - Maria Lindström, Lotta Rohlin (45 Marie-Louise Skålberg ), Sara Larsson (45Eva Skärby ), Petra Larsson - Anna-Kaisa Rantanen, Frida Östberg, Caroline Seger (65 Sandra Landberg ), Lotta Runesson - Maria Aronsson (70 Josefine Öqvist ), Ann Westermark.
Goalscorers: Sara Larsson, Maria Aronsson, Caroline Seger, Josefine Öqvist, Marie-Louise Skålberg, Sandra Landberg and Ann Westermark
Linköping stopped by at Husqvarna on their way to a training camp in the southern Sweden countryside. Everyone on the team that was fit to play got time and Linköping didn't really need to use their best to defeat this 2nd division side.
Linköping FC: Enkelt för LFC
Corren: Väntad storseger för Linköpings FC

Jitex - Mallbacken 0-0 (0-0)
Jitex: Annika West - Linda Fyhr (75 Caroline Lindblad), Amelie Rybeck (65 Sophia Lindorsson), Emma Herbring, Jenny Ringquist (65 Helena Fock) - Therese Bjurenlind (75 Ann Johansson), Malin Normelli, Jennie Svensson, Therese Andersson (75 Lisa Christensson) - Therese Björk, Kajsa Tornfalk (65 Sigrid Olsson)
Jitex and Mallbacken needs to learn how to get the upper hand against the other team if they are going to survive this Damallsvenskan season. In this Saturday warm-up game they mostly showed how to keep each other scoreless, even if Mallbacken seemed to create more scoring opportunities.
Damfotboll.com
Jitex
Mallbacken: OAVGJORT MOT NYKOMLINGARNA JITEX
Värmlands Folkblad: Firma Fernström och Stolpe satte stopp för Jitex

Husie IF - Bälinge IF 0-1 (0-3)
Goals: 0-1 Julianne Sitch (32), 0-2 Kacey White, 0-3 Mona Najib (62)
Bälinge, on camp in southern Sweden, has now been joined by their three US players. Sitch and White made a big impression in the training match against 1st division side Husie, scoring one goal each and White assisting the third. "A big step in the right direction", commented a pleased coach Wikman.
Uppsala Nya Tidning: Amerikansk prägel på Bälinge

QBIK - Hammarby 1-1 (0-0)
QBIK: Maria Busk - Lovisa Ericsson, Yinka Kudaisi, Jenny Hallstensson, Charlotte Nygren - Elina Johansson (65 Linda Gull), Elin Sandgren, Maureen Mmadu, Rebecca Jonsson -  Anna Nilsson, Jennifer Meier
Goals: 1-0 Anna Nilsson, 1-1 Louise Fors
QBIK and Hammarby, both on camp at Cyprus, played a friendly that accordning to the sparse reports were mostly dominated by Hammarby. QBIK still got the first goal, while Hammarby equalised late in the match with a Louise Fors goal.
QBIK: Träningsmatch mot Hammarby IF DFF på Cypern 1-1
Hammarby: Cypernmatch
Värmlands Folkblad: Qbik nära vinst mot Hammarby

Halmstads BK P16 (boys) - Linköping FC 3-1 (1-1)
Goal: 1-1 Ann Westermark
A high paced game, as usual when playing good boy's teams, that provided a good test for Linköping. Coach Per-Johan Karlsson commented that the first half was then team's best so far this year.
Linköping: Förlust i högt tempo
Corren: Bra insats av LFC – men stryk mot HBK

Umeå - Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC 2-0 (0-0)
Umeå: Sofia Lundgren (46 Johanna Baecklund)- Maria Bergkvist (46 Emma Berglund), Sanna Valkonen, Karolina Westberg, Anna Paulson - Marta, Malin Moström, Lisa Dahlqvist (46 Elaine), Anna Sjöström - Johanna Andersson (46 Erika Karlsson), Lise Klaveness
Göteborg: Maria Edman - Marlene Sjöberg, Frida Höglund, Sofia Dammström, Camilla Schelin - Rebecca Ljungdahl (30 Maria Nilsson), Jessica Julin, Johanna Almgren (46 Hanna Wadefalk), Lotta Schelin (80 Frida Thydén) - Salina Olsson, Sofie Andersson (80 My Hjelm)
Goals: 1-0 Marta (80), 2-0 Lise Klaveness (85)
Umeå tried an unusual 4-4-2 formation, maybe caused by the absence of Hanna Ljungberg, and let everyone that was fit to play get at least half a match. They mostly kept Göteborg away from any dangerous situations, but didn't manage to score until late in the game.
Umeå IK: Seger i träningsmatchen mot Göteborg ,
UEFA: Impressive Umeå ready for new season

Malmö FF - Kristianstad/Wä 5-0 (2-0)
Malmö: Caroline Jönsson - Dora Stefansdottir (80 Lina Rehov), Therese Jönsson, Emma Wilhelmsson, Johanna Rosén (60 Jenny Engwall) - Frida Nordin, Therese Sjögran, Nilla Fischer (65 Linda Blom), Lina Nilsson (Anna Mörstam) - Emma Stålhammar (60 Mia Westerblad), Therese Lundin
Goals: 1-0 Therese Lundin (28), 2-0 Emma Wilhelmsson (37), 3-0 Lina Nilsson (55), 4-0 Nilla Fischer (70), 5-0 Frida Nordin (80)
Malmö continues to experiment with their starting line-up, appearently trying to find out where all the new youngsters do best. In pouring rain on an artificial turf field outside town, they had no problems with Kristianstad/Wä, a 1st division team. Good attacking combinations and a lot of runs down the wings pleased coach Petersson.
Malmö FF, pictures, more pictures

Senini Bardolini - Djurgården/Älvsjö 2-4 (1-4)
Djurgården/Älvsjö, on camp in Italy, played last years Italian champions Senini Bardolini, presently on 2nd place in the league. Djurgården/Älvsjö dominated the first half with two goals each from Laura Kalmari and Elin Ekblom, but the tough training schedule showed in the second half.
Damfotboll.com: Djurgården/Älvsjö slog italienskt topplag

Antalaya P17 (boys) - Umeå IK 3-5 (0-4)
Umeå: Sofia Lundgren - Anna Paulson (Johanna Frisk 55), Karolina Westberg (Emma Berglund 62), Sanna Valkonen, Maria Bergkvist - Malin Moström (Erika Karlsson 62), Lisa Dahlkvist, Elaine - Anna Sjöström, Lise Klaveness, Marta (Johanna Andersson 45)
Goalscorers: Anna Sjöström 3, Lise Klaveness, Sanna Valkonen
Umeå, back to their usual 4-3-3, played a local boy's team. Good movement forward helped them overcome the stronger and faster boys. Minor injuries kept Anne Mäkinen and June Pedersen from the pitch, otherwise everyone got their minutes. Some of the substitutions might have contributed to a somewhat less successfull second half, but the team also lost focus a bit when they were 5-0 up.
Västerbottens Folkblad: Killarna hade ingen chans mot UIK

2006-04-01 @ 17:39:27 Permalink Matches Comments (0) Trackbacks ()

QBIK on BBC

A little piece from BBC Sport on QBIK's three Nigerian players.

BBC Sport: Breaking new barriers

2006-04-01 @ 17:38:21 Permalink Events Comments (0) Trackbacks ()

TV4 acquires Damallsvenskan broadcasting rights

TV4, one of the two major networks in Sweden, has aquired the broadcasting rights for the Damallsvenskan and the Swedish women's national team matches for the next 5 years. TV4 has profiled themselves towards women's football the last years and has aired both national team and Damallsvenskan matches. The network, that also recieved rights for some of the men's premier league matches, has not yet announced how they are going to program the Damallsvenskan matches.

Dagens Nyheter: Tröga förhandlingar - TV4 skrev på natten till fredagen

2006-04-01 @ 17:33:03 Permalink Events Comments (1) Trackbacks ()

Malmö FF and Sunnanå facing possible relegation

Malmö FF and Sunnanå SK has for the second consecutive year failed to comply with the Swedish Football Association's financial requirements and are at risk getting relegated after the 2006 season.

Both Malmö and Sunnanå showed negative net assets already last year and had to present a financial plan to the Swedish FA's licensing board. Both clubs managed to show a positive result for 2005, but the surplus has not been big enough to get their figures in the black. Malmö's debts are SEK 500,000 compared to 700,000 a year ago while Sunnanå has managed to halve their depts to SEK 800,000.

The two clubs now have 5 months to show a positive equity. "The situation for Malmö and Sunnanå is worrying", says the board's charirman Kenneth Tallinger. "They must present a financial statement by August 31. If they are still in debt by then, they will lose their Damallsvenskan license ."

Sunnanå's chairman Catrine Lundström is still hopefull: "We own a company that owns our training facilities, but since the company's main activity is not football related, we cannot use it in the club's balance sheet." She says she's confident the club will be able to work this out.

Malmö FF has cut down a lot on expenses - you can notice it e.g. in their player transfers - and also got substantial support from the Malmö FF men's side last year. This has proved to be insufficient, but club treasurer Lars Lanker is still hopefull: "We are facing a couple of tough months, but I am confident we will work this out."

Expressen: Sunnanå och MFF riskerar kastas ut

2006-04-01 @ 11:30:11 Permalink Events Comments (2) Trackbacks ()

Damallsvenskan Newsblog

News and events from the Swedish women's premier football league.

Match-day 2: Malmö stuns Djurgården

Westberg back on national team for Portugal match

Pavlina Scasna rumour confirmed

Training matches: Qbik draws Kolbotn

Czech star to Örebro?

World Cup Qualifier: Czech republic - Sweden