The low-down on Damallsvenskan 2022
Catch up on the Swedish women's league 2022, and a reminder that the smokin' hot Euros countdown is on - 5 weeks to go!
If you’re anything like me, who’s been looking forward to the football season ending so that you can finally claim back some of that free-time to do non-football related stuff, only to realise that … you kinda don’t want to - I’ve got you covered. It’s time to get properly hyped about our big fat football summer, as we’ve got the Euros kicking off in 5 weeks, as well as the Swedish women’s league season rolling out ahead of us like a gorgeous carpet.
Whereas other league have steadily been increasing in popularity and recognition, Sweden’s Damallsvenskan has stagnated and has struggled to keep up with other international leagues like Women’s Super League in England, D1 Arkema in France and Primera Iberdrola in Spain. This is particularly curious considering that Damallsvenskan was one of the trailblazing leagues back in the 90s and early 2000’s. But the league that used to host international superstars ranging from Marta and Michelle Akers to Christen Press, Formiga and Ramona Bachmann, has struggled to present itself as an attractive option for internationals for the last few years, and as other leagues and clubs are growing, so do the amount of Swedish talent that decide to try their wings elsewhere (and can afford to do so.)
However, a new broadcasting deal and a restructuring of the league are bound to have a positive effect as it’s getting easier to access, and will be more competitive and exciting containing more teams and more games.
DAMALLSVENSKAN 2022
Current league table as we’re in the middle of gameday 12:
Three of these teams has a female coach (which unfortunately is still seen as quite a high number lol), namely: Rosengård - Renée Slegers, Kristianstad - Elisabet Gunnarsdottir, Eskilstuna United - Elena Sadiku, and I’ll mention AIK - Maiju Ruotsalainen, who was fired a few weeks into the season following a poor start to the campaign and unrest in the club.
What’s happened so far this season?
There’s a new structure, with 14 teams instead of the previous 12. Relegation involves two teams going down (rather than one team in the previous structure) and an added element of a play-off round where the 12th placed team has to qualify to stay up. This is a change that’s been in the works for several years, with many of the clubs, players and the Swedish national team coach Peter Gerhardsson amongst the people asking for the league to be expanded.
The season kicked off on the 26th March with Hammarby against Eskilstuna, and game-day one made sure to include some immediate drama, as the game between Umeå IK v Häcken had to be paused multiple times due to snowstorm chaos (watch the highlights here and you’ll understand why) and they even had to go out to source a new football that would be more visible on the ground (it was said to not even have been an official match ball.)
Highlights from all the games are available to watch here.
There was some exciting drama in the Swedish Cup final, which was played out between two of the top contenders of the league, Rosengård and BK Häcken. The scoreboard said 1-1 at full-time, forcing the game over into extra-time where Rosengård managed to put in a controversial 2-1 goal that would end up the final score. The discussion went around whether the full ball was over the line or not, with Häcken thinking it was NOT and were understandably very upset with the decision - it’s hard to make out (see image below lol) from the camera angles available and a tough decision to make on the spot, but I think that it’s not unreasonable to argue that the full ball is not over the line. With a similar incident occurring on match-day 12 (again involving Rosengård), the case for introducing goal-line technology is growing even stronger.
What happened last season?
Rosengård won the league convincingly with 57 pts, 10 pts ahead of second-placed Häcken, who in turn were 12 pts ahead of third-placed Kristianstad. Between third and eighth place it was very tight, with only a five points difference between the spots. Piteå and AIK were at the bottom, but it was Växjö that had to leave after only picking 11 pts across the season.
It was Häcken’s first season as a merged team with Kopparbergs/Göteborg, who was 2 hot seconds from totally dissolving (I want to talk more about that in a separate newsletter as that whole story is pure mental, but I reported on it back when it happened here) and despite all the chaos and uncertainty throughout the winter, with players not knowing if they had a club or not, they managed to do really well in the end.
40 players left the league, many of them big names in the big teams, which in turn has caused a massive reshuffle/restructuring, like Häcken’s big star and Golden Boot winner Stina Blackstenius who joined Arsenal in the winter whilst her teammate Filippa Angeldahl went to Manchester City. Emma Kullberg och Julia Zigiotti Olme left for Brighton, Natalie Björn, Anna Anvegård and Hanna Bennison went to Everton.
Bennison’s transfer to Everton was a record-breaking one, as she signed a four-year contract (unheard of in women’s football) for a “substantial six-figure sum”. Her move also made it the biggest affair (by far) in Damallsvenskan. To top that off, she won NXGN 2021 Best Young Player award last season, making it to the top of a list with a lot of exciting names.
Are there any exciting players to keep an eye on?
A lot of people will probably recognise Andrine Stolsmo Hegerberg, the big sister of Ada Hegerberg. She was previously in Roma but didn’t get a lot of playing time due to an knee injury, and is hoping to start fresh in Häcken, alongside Elin Rubensson (who is back from maternity leave), goalkeeper Jennifer Falk (who turned down a move to Manchester City), Stine Larsen, and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd. Rosa Kafaji is another big name and a major young talent in this star-studded team, but she’s currently out with a broken leg.
Rosengård, who many believe are going to win the league this year as well, have the likes of experienced Caroline Seger, Emma Berglund, Mimmi Larsson, and Olivia Schough at their disposal.
Tabby Tindell for Kristianstad is currently spearheading the top-goalscorer chart, with eight goals in 11 games, alongside Amalie Jørgensen Vangsgaard in Linköping!
☕ TAKEAWAY FROM THIS: SWEDEN HAS A LOT OF TALENT, MUCH OF WHICH IS MOVING ABROAD AT THE MINUTE, EARNING MONEY AND EXPERIENCE WHICH THEY WILL HOPEFULLY BRING BACK TO THE LEAGUE TOWARDS THE END OF THEIR CAREERS. THIS LEAGUE HAS HISTORY, AND JUST MAYBE IT CAN RETURN TO ITS FORMER GLORY.