Sport is considered anational pastimein Sweden, and about half of the population actively takes part insports activities. The most important all-embracing organisations for sports in Sweden are theSwedish Sports Confederation, and theSwedish Olympic Committee. In total over 2 million people (about 20% of the total population) are members of a sportsclub.
The sports with most participants arefootball,floorball,equestrian sports,handball,golf,gymnastics andathletics, while the sports with the largest number of television spectators are football,ice hockey, handball,bandy, golf,motor sport (especiallyspeedway andFormula 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, whilefloorball gained large popularity in the 1990s amongst participants, spectators grew in the last five years to outnumber otherteam sports amongst the spectators. Other popular sports includebandy,basketball,orienteering,tennis andtable tennis. Except for basketball, the American sports have not gained much popularity, althoughAmerican football andbaseball are practised. The Canadian sport ofringette has attracted a following and continues to grow, but is not as popular as it is in Canada and Finland.
Popularrecreational sports and activities includebrännboll (popular in schools),boule,kubb,skiing,swimming,gymnastics,walking,running,cycling,dancing, andhunting.
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] andorienteering.[3] The very strong Swedish sport floorball was not a part of the list.
The Swedish sport movement can be traced back to the early 19th century and thePehr 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 (seehistory of orienteering). Today, orienteering is one of the most popular sports in Sweden, attracting more than 100,000 runners.[4]
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]
For an average sized nation, Sweden has top results in many different sports.
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Some current internationally acclaimed football players from Sweden includeEmil Forsberg,Zlatan Ibrahimović,Victor Lindelöf,Viktor Gyökeres andAlexander Isak. Historically acclaimed football stars include the trio of players known asGre-No-Li, who still enjoy legendary status for Italy'sMilan. Gre-No-Li were the 1950s football players calledGunnarGren,GunnarNordahl, andNilsLiedholm. Other previously active footballs stars includeHenrik Larsson,Glenn Strömberg andFreddie Ljungberg.
TheSweden men's national football team has seen some success at theFIFA World Cup, finishing second when they hosted the tournament in1958, and third twice, in1950 and1994. Their best showing in theUEFA European Championship came as Sweden hostedEuro 1992. They reached the semi-finals. Something Swedes are proud of is thatEngland did not defeat Sweden from 1968 until 2011. Revered in Italy and England isSven-Göran Eriksson, the Swede who led the England national team until his resignation after the2006 World Cup. They also hosted theUEFA European Under-21 Championship in2009, losing out in the semi-finals on penalties against England. Only one Swedish club has won a majorUEFA competition –IFK Göteborg – who won theUEFA Cup in1982 and1987. In 1979,Malmö FF reached the final of the1978–79 European Cup (now known as theUEFA Champions League), but they lost 1–0 toNottingham Forest inMunich.
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Themen's national hockey team has won theWorld Championships eleven times, and Olympic gold medals in 1994 and 2006. Thewomen's national hockey team won bronze medals in the2002 Winter Olympics and the2005 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships, and a silver medal in the2006 Winter Olympics. Famous SwedishNHL hockey players includePeter Forsberg,Mats Sundin,Nicklas Lidström,Markus Näslund,Daniel Alfredsson,Henrik Sedin,Daniel Sedin,Börje Salming,Henrik Zetterberg,Nicklas Bäckström,Henrik Lundqvist,Johan Franzen,Niklas Kronwall,Patrik Berglund,Thomas Steen,Bengt-Åke Gustafsson,Håkan Loob,Mats Näslund,Kent Nilsson,Erik Karlsson andPelle Lindbergh.
TheSwedish Hockey League was founded in 1975. Counting from 1922, when the firstSwedish championships were played,Djurgårdens IF is the most successful team with 16 championship titles, followed byBrynäs IF with 13, then asFärjestad BK andIK Göta with 9.
Bandy has a special status in Sweden, enjoying almost a cult following by some of its supporters. The annualnational 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 theBandy World Championship a number of times and theWomen's Bandy World Championship every time except one. It is also a big coach exporter. As of 2018 the national teams ofChina,[6]Slovakia,[7] theNetherlands,[8]Somalia[9] andUkraine[10] all have Swedish leaders involved. There are more indoor venues than in all other countries combined.[1] Bandy is a game belonging to thehockey 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]
Inskiing sports,Ingemar Stenmark,Pernilla Wiberg andAnja Pärson have all dominatedalpine skiing at some point, and so haveSixten Jernberg,Gunde Svan andThomas Wassberg incross-country skiing. Inski jumping,Jan Boklöv revolutionised the sport with his newV-style technique. InbiathlonMagdalena Forsberg was the dominant female athlete in the late 1990s and early 2000s, while subsequentlyHelena Ekholm andHanna andElvira Öberg have been among the top competitors in women's biathlon.
Sweden have won four world championships (WC) (1954, 1958, 1990, 1999) and hold, along with Romania and France, the record number of titles. They have also won three WC silver (1964, 1997, 2001), four WC bronze (1938, 1961, 1993, 1995), five European championship gold (1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2022) and four Olympic silver medals (1992, 1996, 2000, 2012). The Swedish National Handball team is considered to be the most successful in the history of the sport.Famous Swedish handball players include:Magnus Wislander,Stefan Lövgren,Staffan Olsson,Peter Gentzel,Ola Lindgren,Tomas Svensson,Kim Andersson,Magnus Andersson,Mattias Andersson,Marcus Ahlm,Jonas Källman,Kim Ekdahl Du Rietz andMagnus Jernemyr.
Three SwedishFormula One drivers have collected wins:Ronnie Peterson,Jo Bonnier andGunnar Nilsson. Peterson scored ten wins and was runner-up in the F1 World Championship in the 1971 and 1978 seasons.
In rallying,Björn Waldegård won theWorld Rally Championship in 1979, theSafari Rally in 1977, 1984, 1986, 1990, theMonte Carlo Rally in 1969 and 1970, as well as the BritishRAC Rally in 1977.Stig Blomqvist won the 1984 WRC. Also,Erik Carlsson won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1962 and 1963.
Other notable drivers are: two time DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) andRace of Champions winnerMattias Ekström, multipleSpeedway World ChampionTony Rickardsson;British Touring Car ChampionRickard Rydell,IRL champion andIndianapolis 500 winnerKenny Bräck, and Indianapolis 500 winnerMarcus Ericsson.
TheSwedish Rally, first held in 1950, is part of the World Rally Championship since 1973. Meanwhile, theAnderstorp Raceway hosted the Formula OneSwedish Grand Prix from 1973 to 1978, theSwedish motorcycle Grand Prix from 1971 to 1977 and 1981–1990, theEuropean Touring Car Championship from 1985 to 1987, theSuperbike World Championship in 1991 and 1993, theFIA GT Championship in 2002 and 2003, and theWorld Touring Car Championship in 2007.
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 clubM7 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 theNBA. In 2012,Jeffery Taylor, the second Swedish player, followed. They both represented Sweden at the2013 EuroBasket and secured a surprising victory against former championRussia. 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 bothhigh school andcollege basketball in the U.S. Jerebko has played ten seasons in the NBA, first with theDetroit Pistons (2009–2015),Boston Celtics (2015–2017),Utah Jazz (2017–2018), andGolden State Warriors (2018–2019), where he made the2019 NBA Finals with an injured Warriors team, but were defeated by theToronto Raptors in six games. On August 14, 2019, Jerebko then signed withKhimki of theVTB United League and theEuroLeague.[12] But on January 23, 2021,Khimki terminated the contract of Jerebko.[13] Taylor played three seasons with theCharlotte Hornets (2012–2015) before returning to Europe and signing withReal Madrid. In May 2018, Real Madrid won the2017–18 EuroLeague championship, after defeatingFenerbahçe Doğuş in thefinal game with 85–80.[14] Over 34 EuroLeague games, Taylor averaged 5.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
A number of Swedes have been internationally successful intrack and field. In the 1940s runnersGunder Hägg,Arne Andersson, andLennart Strand dominatedmiddle-distance running. In recent years, stars includehigh jumpers such as World Champion and European record holderPatrik Sjöberg, Olympic gold medalistLudmila Engquist, World Champion and Olympic medallistKajsa Bergqvist, Athens Olympic gold medallistStefan Holm, and Tokyo Olympic champion and World Championship medallistArmand Duplantis. Two other Swedish athletes won gold medals in the2004 Olympic Games:heptathleteCarolina Klüft andtriple jumperChristian Olsson. Susanna Kallur is the World record holder for the indoor 60m hurdles set in 2008.
Electronic sports are also gaining momentum in Sweden since the launch ofStarCraft II with Swedish national televisions coveringDreamhack events throughout the year. Notable names areJonathan "Jinro" Walsh for his performances South Korea, and Marcus "Thorzain" Eklöf andJohan "NaNiwa" Lucchesi for being two of the top non-Korean players during 2011–2013.
Swedish players have also been successful in other competitive video games. The Alliance wonThe International forDota 2 in 2013, winning ~$1.4 millionUSD.[15] Sweden was the highest ranking country in terms of results and prize money won inCounter-Strike.Emil "HeatoN" Christensen andPatrik "f0rest" Lindberg were two of the foremost players in the history of the game, both of whom later became involved in theCounter-Strike: Global Offensive team "Ninjas in Pyjamas".[16]
Sweden has nearly half a million active golfers andSwedish golf players have won over 100European Tour and 25PGA Tour events. Nine have been selected to the European team at theRyder Cup:Joakim Haeggman,Per-Ulrik Johansson,Jesper Parnevik,Robert Karlsson,Jarmo Sandelin,Pierre Fulke,Niclas Fasth,Peter Hanson andHenrik Stenson. Karlsson and Stenson (twice) have won the European TourOrder of Merit/Race to Dubai. Stenson rose to second on theworld ranking after winning the PGA Tour's championship trophy theFedEx Cup in 2013. Fasth and Parnevik (twice) have been runner-up in the British Open, which Stenson won in record-breaking fashion in2016, shortly before securing anOlympic silver medal.
Annika Sörenstam is aWorld Golf Hall of Fame member and dominated her sport 1995–2005, with ten major tournament wins and 72LPGA Tour wins. In addition to Sörenstam,Liselotte Neumann,Helen Alfredsson andSophie Gustafson (four times) have won theLadies European Tour Order of Merit. Other notable female players areAnna Nordqvist,Maria Hjorth,Carin Koch andCatrin Nilsmark.
TheScandinavian Masters is part of theEuropean Tour since 1991. Previously, the circuit sanctioned theScandinavian Enterprise Open held from 1973 to 1990 and thePLM Open from 1986 to 1990. Meanwhile, theScandinavian TPC hosted by Annika was part of theLadies European Tour from 1996 to 2008. The country hosted other LET events, as well as the 2003 and 2007Solheim Cup.
Sweden is the most successfulorienteering country in history.
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Successfultennis players include three former World No. 1's in singles,Björn Borg (eleven Grand Slam titles),Mats Wilander (seven) andStefan Edberg (six), as well as two former World No. 1's in doublesJonas Björkman (nine) andAnders Järryd (eight).
Other famous Swedish athletes include theheavyweightboxing champion andInternational Boxing Hall of Famer -Ingemar Johansson; Olympic gold medal-winning fencerJohan Harmenberg; and multiple World Championships and Olympics medalist intable tennis -Jan-Ove Waldner. Other popular Swedish table tennis players includeMattias Falck,Jörgen Persson andTruls Möregårdh.
Arne Borg,Gunnar Larsson,Anders Holmertz,Stefan Nystrand,Therese Alshammar,Anna-Karin Kammerling,Emma Igelström,Lars Frölander andSarah Sjöström are some of the renowned swimmers, who have been successful inOlympics and/orWorld Championships.
Sweden has also been internationally successful inequestrian (Malin Baryard,Rolf-Göran Bengtsson) and speed-skating (Tomas Gustafson).
Incycling Sweden has the 1971Giro winnerGösta Pettersson, two-time Giro runner upTommy Prim,1982 Vuelta podium finisherSven-Åke Nilsson, 2004Paris–Roubaix winnerMagnus Bäckstedt and 1976 Olympic road race championBernt Johansson as well as several other top professional cyclists including current ridersEmma Johansson,Thomas Lövkvist,Gustav Larsson,Fredrik Kessiakoff andEmilia Fahlin.
Another sport growing in interest in Sweden ismixed martial arts. Arguably the most famous fighter out of Sweden isAlexander Gustafsson, who is rapidly approaching a title shot in the light heavyweight division of theUltimate Fighting Championship. As of December 2012, Gustafsson is ranked the #6 light heavyweight in the world bySherdog.[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]
For the first time, Sweden will feature a national team at the 2022Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships.[19]
The greatest spectator sports in Sweden arefootball (Allsvenskan) andice hockey (Swedish Hockey League).Handball andfloorball come close, together with regional specialties such asbandy andspeedway. There are a dozen indoor arenas for bandy.[2]
Media related toSports in Sweden at Wikimedia Commons
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