Sport is considered a national pastimein Sweden, and about half of the population actively takes part in sports activities. The most important all-embracing organisations for sports in Sweden are the Swedish Sports Confederation, and the Swedish Olympic Committee. In total over 2 million people (about 20% of the total population) are members of a sports club.
The sports with most participants are football, floorball, equestrian sports, handball, golf, gymnastics and athletics, while the sports with the largest number of television spectators are football, ice hockey, handball, bandy, golf, motor sport (especially speedway and Formula 1) and athletics. Ice hockey and football are the main sports. Winter sports are also popular, both in the number of participants and in spectators, while floorball gained large popularity in the 1990s amongst participants, spectators grew in the last five years to outnumber other team sports amongst the spectators. Other popular sports include bandy, basketball, orienteering, tennis and table tennis. Except for basketball, the American sports have not gained much popularity, although American football and baseball are practised. The Canadian sport of ringette has attracted a following and continues to grow, but is not as popular as it is in Canada and Finland.
Sweden was considered in 2017 to be the fifth best per capita country in the world[1] and world-leading in two sports, bandy[2] and orienteering.[3] The very strong Swedish sport floorball was not a part of the list.
History
The Swedish sport movement can be traced back to the early 19th century and the Pehr Henrik Ling gymnastics, a recreational movement that would keep its position as the largest fitness activity in Sweden many years into the 20th century. It was also the main sport activity practiced in schools through half that century. The sport movement took its first steps in the 1880s and 1890s, when for example football, bandy and athletics took its first steps in Sweden towards becoming modern sports.
The first public orienteering competition in Sweden was held in 1981 (see history of orienteering). Today, orienteering is one of the most popular sports in Sweden, attracting more than 100,000 runners.[4]
Organization
Unlike the United States, organized sports even for younger people isn't connected to schools the same way. Also, many sports club in Sweden compete in more sports than one.[5]
Prominent athletes, teams and competitions
For an average sized nation, Sweden has top results in many different sports.
Bandy has a special status in Sweden, enjoying almost a cult following by some of its supporters. The annual national bandy championship final is a traditional event followed not only by the usual bandy fans. Sweden is one of the leading bandy playing nations, having won the Bandy World Championship a number of times and the Women's Bandy World Championship every time except one. It is also a big coach exporter. As of 2018 the national teams of China,[6]Slovakia,[7] the Netherlands,[8]Somalia[9] and Ukraine[10] all have Swedish leaders involved. There are more indoor venues than in all other countries combined.[1] Bandy is a game belonging to the hockey family and played with a small ball and short curved sticks. In terms of licensed athletes, it is the second biggest winter sport in the world.[11]
Three Swedish Formula One drivers have collected wins: Ronnie Peterson, Jo Bonnier and Gunnar Nilsson. Peterson scored ten wins and was runner-up in the F1 World Championship in the 1971 and 1978 seasons.
Basketball has gained attention in Sweden through a series of internationally significant events. In 1999, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, one of the best basketball players in world history, bought the club M7 Borås and played several games there.
Later, several Swedish basketball teams competed at international tournaments.
Ten years after Magic Johnson's first games in Sweden, Jonas Jerebko became the first person born and raised in Sweden to play in the NBA. In 2012, Jeffery Taylor, the second Swedish player, followed. They both represented Sweden at the 2013 EuroBasket and secured a surprising victory against former champion Russia. Yet, they were not enough to help their country proceed from the preliminary round.
Both Jerebko and Taylor are sons of American basketball players who settled in Sweden after finishing their professional careers in the country, and Taylor left Sweden at age 17 to play both high school and college basketball in the U.S. Jerebko has played ten seasons in the NBA, first with the Detroit Pistons (2009–2015), Boston Celtics (2015–2017), Utah Jazz (2017-2018), and Golden State Warriors (2018-2019), where he made the 2019 NBA Finals with an injured Warriors team, but were defeated by the Toronto Raptors in six games. On August 14, 2019, Jerebko then signed with Khimki of the VTB United League and the EuroLeague.[12] But on January 23, 2021, Khimki terminated the contract of Jerebko.[13] Taylor played three seasons with the Charlotte Hornets (2012–2015) before returning to Europe and signing with Real Madrid. In May 2018, Real Madrid won the 2017–18 EuroLeague championship, after defeating Fenerbahçe Doğuş in the final game with 85–80.[14] Over 34 EuroLeague games, Taylor averaged 5.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
"Swedish football" in the nineteenth century was a variant of association football with some rugby elements. By 1900, Swedish football clubs were using The Football Association's rules with no rugby influence. However, rugby union proper was introduced into Sweden between the world wars by visiting British vessels.
Rugby league
Rugby league is played at a local/amateur level, the sport has real promise of growth at a rapid pace in all Nordic countries. Sweden is currently ranked 31 on the RLIF rankings.
Electronic sports are also gaining momentum in Sweden since the launch of StarCraft II with Swedish national televisions covering Dreamhack events throughout the year. Notable names are Jonathan "Jinro" Walsh for his performances South Korea, and Marcus "Thorzain" Eklöf and Johan "NaNiwa" Lucchesi for being two of the top non-Korean players during 2011-2013.
Another sport growing in interest in Sweden is mixed martial arts. Arguably the most famous fighter out of Sweden is Alexander Gustafsson, who is rapidly approaching a title shot in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of December 2012, Gustafsson is ranked the #6 light heavyweight in the world by Sherdog.[17] He is headlining the UFC's next show in Sweden, UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Mousasi, which sold out in hours on the first day tickets were made available to the public.[18]
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
