WFC2022 Final Sweden vs Czech Republic 03 Winners

Sport is considered a national pastime in Sweden, and about half of the population actively takes part in

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

s activities. The most important all-embracing organisations for sports in Sweden are the

Swedish Sports Confederation The Swedish Sports Confederation (, RF) is the umbrella organisation of the Sport in Sweden, Swedish sports movement founded in 1903. Through its member organisations, it has three million members in 22,000 clubs. Its present chair, since 2024, i ...

, and the

Swedish Olympic Committee The Swedish Olympic Committee (SOC; (, SOK) is the Swedish National Olympic Committee (NOC). The Swedish Olympic Committee organize the Swedish participation in the Olympics, choose the participants and run a support program for swedish elite a ...

. 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 Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

floorball Floorball (also known by other names) is a sport played with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. It is played indoors with sticks and a hollow plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three periods. The sport of bandy also playe ...

equestrian sports Equestrian sports are sports that use horses as a main part of the sport. This usually takes the form of the rider being on the horse's back, or the horses pulling some sort of horse-drawn vehicle. General * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

, while the sports with the largest number of television spectators are football,

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, handball,

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

, golf,

motor sport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms ''automobile ...

(especially

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

and

Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

) 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

gained large popularity in the 1990s amongst participants, spectators grew in the last five years to outnumber other

team sport A team sport is a type of sport where the fundamental nature of the game or sport requires the participation of multiple individuals working together as a team, and it is inherently impossible or highly impractical to execute the sport as a s ...

s amongst the spectators. Other popular sports include

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

and

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

. Except for basketball, the American sports have not gained much popularity, although

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

are practised. The Canadian sport of

ringette Ringette is a winter team sport played on an ice rink using ice hockey skates, straight sticks with drag-tips, and a blue, rubber, pneumatic ring designed for use on ice surfaces. While the sport was originally created exclusively for female c ...

has attracted a following and continues to grow, but is not as popular as it is in Canada and Finland. Popular

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for happiness, enjoyment, amusement, ...

al sports and activities include

brännboll Brännboll (), known as rundbold in Denmark, Brennball in Germany, and sharing the names slåball and brentball with longball in Norway, is a bat-and-ball game similar to longball, played at amateur level throughout Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denm ...

(popular in schools), boule,

kubb Kubb (pronounced in Swedish and Gutnish) is a lawn game where the objective is to knock over wooden blocks () by throwing wooden batons () at them. Kubb can be described as a combination of bowling and horseshoes. Play takes place on a sma ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion by which humans and other animals move quickly on foot. Running is a gait with an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is in contrast to walkin ...

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

dancing Dance is an art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire of movements or ...

, and

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

. Sweden was considered in 2017 to be the fifth best per capita country in the world and world-leading in two sports,

and

. 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 Pehr Henrik Ling (15 November 1776 – 3 May 1839) pioneered the teaching of physical education and gymnastics in Sweden. He is considered the Father of Physical Therapy in Sweden. Although his procedures included friction, kneading, stroking, cu ...

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 The history of orienteering begins in the late 19th century in Sweden, where it originated as military training. Over the course of the late 19th and early 20th century, orienteering emerged first as a military competition in Nordic countries and th ...

). Today, orienteering is one of the most popular sports in Sweden, attracting more than 100,000 runners.

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.

Prominent athletes, teams and competitions

For an average sized nation, Sweden has top results in many different sports.

Football

Some current internationally acclaimed football players from Sweden include

Emil Forsberg Emil Peter Forsberg (; born 23 October 1991) is a Swedish professional Association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls and the Sweden men's nat ...

Zlatan Ibrahimović Zlatan Ibrahimović (born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Ibrahimović is known for his acrobatic strikes and Volley (association footba ...

Victor Lindelöf Victor Jörgen Nilsson Lindelöf (; born 17 July 1994) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a defender for and captains the Sweden national team. He is currently a free agent. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a right-back ...

Viktor Gyökeres Viktor Einar Gyökeres (; born 4 June 1998) is a Swedish professional association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP and the Sweden men's national football team, Sweden ...

and

Alexander Isak Alexander Isak (born 21 September 1999) is a Swedish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United and the Sweden men's national football t ...

. Historically acclaimed football stars include the trio of players known as

Gre-No-Li Gre-No-Li is a contraction of the surnames of three Swedish footballers: Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm. The denomination was colloquially used after these players composed a formidable trio of attacking players while playing for ...

, who still enjoy legendary status for Italy's

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. Gre-No-Li were the 1950s football players called Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl, and Nils Liedholm. Other previously active footballs stars include

Henrik Larsson Edward Henrik Larsson (; born 20 September 1971) is a Swedish professional association football, football coach and former player who played many times for the Sweden men's national football team, Swedish national team. A Striker (association f ...

Glenn Strömberg Glenn Peter Strömberg (; born 5 January 1960) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Starting his career in 1979 with IFK Göteborg, he helped the club win the 1981–82 UEFA Cup before signing with Benfica in ...

and

Freddie Ljungberg Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg ( ; born 16 April 1977) is a Swedish former professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. He is also a former Manager (association football), manager, and was most recent ...

. The

Sweden men's national football team The Sweden men's national football team () represents Sweden in men's international Association football, football and it is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body of football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Strawb ...

has seen some success at the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, finishing second when they hosted the tournament in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

, and third twice, in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. Their best showing in the

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

came as Sweden hosted

Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having been inv ...

. They reached the semi-finals. Something Swedes are proud of is that

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

did not defeat Sweden from 1968 until 2011. Revered in Italy and England is

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; 5 February 1948 – 26 August 2024) was a Swedish association football, football player and Coach (sport), manager. After a playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management ...

, the Swede who led the England national team until his resignation after the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams represe ...

. They also hosted the

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, losing out in the semi-finals on penalties against England. Only one Swedish club has won a major

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

competition –

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or Blåvitt, is a Swedish professional Football team, football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it ...

– who won the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

and

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

. In 1979,

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening (), commonly known simply as Malmö FF or MFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö, Scania. They compete in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football, and play home matches at the Eleda S ...

reached the final of the

1978–79 European Cup The 1978–79 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won by English champions Nottingham Forest in the final against Swedish side Malmö FF. Forest, enjoying a great run of success under Brian Clough, had defeated defending two- ...

(now known as the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

), but they lost 1–0 to

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Ice hockey

The men's national hockey team has won the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

eleven times, and Olympic gold medals in 1994 and 2006. The women's national hockey team won bronze medals in the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

and the

2005 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships The 2005 IIHF World Women's Championships was held April 2–9, 2005, in Linköping, at Cloetta Center (now called the Saab Arena), and Norrköping, at Himmelstalundshallen, in Sweden. USA won their first gold medal at the World Championships ...

, and a silver medal in the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

. Famous Swedish

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

hockey players include

Peter Forsberg Peter Mattias Forsberg (; born 20 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and former assistant general manager of Modo Hockey. Nicknamed "Peter the Great" and "Foppa", Forsberg was known for his on-ice vision and physical pl ...

Mats Sundin Mats Johan Sundin (; born 13 February 1971) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), retiring in 2009. Originally drafted List of NHL first overall draft choice ...

Nicklas Lidström Erik Nicklas Lidström (; born 28 April 1970) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman and current vice president of hockey operations for the Detroit Red Wings. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detr ...

Markus Näslund Markus Sten Näslund (born 30 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and former general manager for Modo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL, formerly named Elitserien). He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

Daniel Alfredsson Daniel Alfredsson (; born 11 December 1972), nicknamed "Alfie", is a Swedish-Canadian former professional ice hockey player and assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators. He spent 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), primarily with the ...

Henrik Sedin Henrik Lars Sedin (born 26 September 1980) is a Swedish ice hockey executive and former centre who played his entire 17-season National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Vancouver Canucks from 2000 to 2018. He additionally served as the Canuc ...

Daniel Sedin Daniel Hans Sedin (born 26 September 1980) is a Swedish ice hockey executive and former winger who played his entire 17-season National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Vancouver Canucks from 2000 to 2018. Born and raised in Örnsköldsvik ...

Börje Salming Anders Börje Salming ( ; 17 April 1951 – 24 November 2022) was a Swedish ice hockey player. He was a defenceman who played professionally for 23 seasons, for the clubs Brynäs IF, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and AIK Hockey, AIK. H ...

Henrik Zetterberg Henrik Zetterberg (; born 9 October 1980) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey forward. He played his entire National Hockey League career, from 2002 to 2018, with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. Bursting onto the ...

Nicklas Bäckström Nicklas Bäckström (; born 23 November 1987) is a Swedish professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bäckström was selected fourth overall by the Capitals at the 2006 ...

Henrik Lundqvist Henrik Lundqvist (; born 2 March 1982) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers. Before winning the Vezina Trophy in 2012, he was nominated in each ...

, Johan Franzen,

Niklas Kronwall Hans Niklas Kronwall (; born 12 January 1981) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman, who currently serves as an advisor to the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings. He previously played for the Red Wings of the National Hock ...

Patrik Berglund Patrik Berglund (born 2 June 1988) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres. He was drafted 25th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2006 NHL ...

Thomas Steen Anders Thomas Steen (born June 8, 1960) is a Swedes, Swedish former professional ice hockey player and coach. Steen is the former city councillor for the Winnipeg ward of Elmwood, Winnipeg, Elmwood-East Kildonan. Steen played professional ice hock ...

Bengt-Åke Gustafsson Bengt-Åke Gustafsson (born 23 March 1958) is a Swedish professional ice hockey coach and former ice hockey player. Gustafsson is the former head coach of the Sweden men's national ice hockey team, Sweden senior team, a post he held from February ...

Håkan Loob Håkan Per Loob (born 3 July 1960) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player for Färjestad BK of the Elitserien and the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the head of European Scouting for the Calgary Flames af ...

Mats Näslund Mats Torsten Näslund (born 31 October 1959), nicknamed "Le Petit Viking", is a Swedish former ice hockey player. He played as a left winger. Despite his small size at only five feet and seven inches, Näslund is best known for being one of th ...

Kent Nilsson Kent Åke Nilsson (born 31 August 1956) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Winnipeg Jets, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta and Calgary Flames, Minnes ...

Erik Karlsson Erik Sven Gunnar Karlsson (; born 31 May 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Karlsson was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Ottawa Senators at th ...

and

Pelle Lindbergh Göran Per-Eric "Pelle" Lindbergh (; 24 May 1959 – 11 November 1985) was a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender who played five seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the first European-born goalt ...

. The

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

was founded in 1975. Counting from 1922, when the first Swedish championships were played,

Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Djurgårdens IF is an s ...

is the most successful team with 16 championship titles, followed by

Brynäs IF Brynäs IF is a Swedish professional ice hockey team from Gävle. The club currently plays in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), promoted from the HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of ice hockey in Sweden, following the 2023–24 season. The ...

with 13, then as

Färjestad BK Färjestad Bollklubb (; abbreviated as FBK) is a Swedish professional ice hockey team based in Karlstad. Färjestad has had 21 Swedish Championship final appearances, winning ten times since the Swedish Hockey League (SHL; formerly Elitserie ...

and

IK Göta Idrottsklubben Göta, commonly known as IK Göta, is a sports club in Stockholm, now active in ice hockey, that was successful in several sports such as sport of athletics, athletics, association football, football, handball, field hockey, ice h ...

with 9.

Bandy

Bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

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 The Bandy World Championship is a competition for the men's teams of bandy-playing nations. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy. It is distinct from the Bandy World Cup, a club competition, and from the ...

a number of times and the

Women's Bandy World Championship The Women's Bandy World Championships is an international sports tournament for women and the premier international competition for women's bandy among bandy-playing nations. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy ...

every time except one. It is also a big coach exporter. As of 2018 the national teams of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

all have Swedish leaders involved. There are more indoor venues than in all other countries combine

Bandy is a game belonging to the

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

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.

Skiing

sports,

Ingemar Stenmark Jan Ingemar Stenmark (; born 18 March 1956) is a Swedish former FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, World Cup Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer. He is regarded as a legendary skier and one of the most prominent Swedish athletes ever, having won several Oly ...

Pernilla Wiberg Pernilla Wiberg (born 15 October 1970) is a Swedish former alpine ski racer and businesswoman. She competed on the World Cup circuit between 1990 and 2002, where she became one of the few all-event winners. Having won two Olympic gold medals, f ...

and

Anja Pärson Anja Sofia Tess Pärson (; born 25 April 1981) is a Swedish former alpine skier. She is an Olympic gold medalist, seven-time gold medalist at the World Championships, and two-time overall Alpine Skiing World Cup champion. This included winn ...

have all dominated

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

at some point, and so have

Sixten Jernberg Edy Sixten Jernberg, known as "Sixten", (6 February 1929 – 14 July 2012) was a Swedish cross-country skier and one of the most successful cross-country skiers of all time. Between 1952 and 1964 he took part in 363 ski races, finishing within ...

Gunde Svan Gunde Anders Svan (born 12 January 1962) is a Swedish former cross-country skier and auto racing driver. During his cross-country skiing career he won a total of four gold, one silver and one bronze medals at the Winter Olympics. Svan won a total ...

and

Thomas Wassberg Lars Thomas Wassberg (born 27 March 1956) is a Swedish former cross-country skier. A fast skating style – push for every leg – is still called "Wassberg" after him in several countries. Wassberg's skiing idols when growing up were Sixten ...

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

. In

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

Jan Boklöv Jan Mauritz Boklöv (born 14 April 1966) is a Swedish former ski jumper who won the 1988–89 World Cup season. He also dominated the Swedish national championships during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is best known for popularising the now ...

revolutionised the sport with his new

V-style The sport of ski jumping has seen the use of numerous different techniques, or "styles", over the course of its more than two-hundred-year history. Depending on how the skis are positioned by an athlete, distances have increased by as much as wit ...

technique. In

biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

Magdalena Forsberg Magdalena "Magda" Forsberg (née Wallin; born 25 July 1967) is a Swedish former cross-country skier and biathlete. She was the dominant female biathlete from 1997 to 2002, when she retired, winning the Biathlon World Cup for six years straight. ...

was the dominant female athlete in the late 1990s and early 2000s, while subsequently

Helena Ekholm Helena Ekholm (née Helena Jonsson) (born September 6, 1984 in Helgum) is a former Swedish biathlete. She was born in Helgum, Sollefteå Municipality. She is the 2009 world champion in pursuit and the 2011 world champion in individual. She als ...

and

Hanna Öberg Hanna Öberg (born 2 November 1995) is a Swedish biathlete who is double Olympic champion and three-time world champion. She is the elder sister of fellow biathlete Elvira Öberg. Career In 2017 she won the IBU Female Rookie of the Year Awa ...

have been among the top competitors in women's biathlon.

Handball

Players of Sweden during the national anthem

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 Hans Einar Magnus Wislander (born 22 February 1964) is a Swedish former handball player, who has been voted ''Handball Player of the Century'' and is widely regarded as one of the best players ever. Since his debut in the national team in 1985 h ...

Stefan Lövgren Lars Stefan Lövgren (born 21 December 1970) is a Swedish former handball player. He was born in Gothenburg. Making his debut in the national team in 1993, he played a total of 268 games and scored 1138 goals. He was included in the European ...

Staffan Olsson Erik Staffan Olsson (born 26 March 1964) is a Swedish handball coach and former player. Olsson, who always played with no 13, was a left-handed right backcourt player with one of the most feared shots of all the elite players. Later in his care ...

Peter Gentzel Hans Peter Ludvig Gentzel (born 12 October 1968) is a Swedish former handball player who competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics. He was named Swedish male player of the year in 1998 and in 2003 he was number two in the IHF World player of the ye ...

Ola Lindgren Per Ola Markus Lindgren (born 29 February 1964) is a Swedish former handball player and current coach. He has been the head coach for IFK Kristianstad since 2012 and was the head coach for Sweden from 2008 to 2016. As a player, he won two Worl ...

Tomas Svensson Tomas Runar Svensson (born 15 February 1968) is a Swedish former professional handball goalkeeper who is currently goalkeeping coach of the Swedish men's national handball team, and an assistant coach for FC Barcelona. Career Growing up in Esk ...

Kim Andersson Kim Andersson (born 21 August 1982) is a Swedish former handball player who last played for Ystads IF. He was voted into the ''All-Star Team'' as ''Best right back'' at the 2008 European Men's Handball Championship, where Sweden finished 5th. H ...

, Magnus Andersson, Mattias Andersson, Marcus Ahlm,

Jonas Källman Jonas Källman (born 17 July 1981) is a Swedish handball coach and former player. Honours and awards BM Ciudad Real * Liga ASOBAL 2003–2004, Liga ASOBAL 2006-07, 2006–2007, Liga ASOBAL 2007-08, 2007–2008, Liga ASOBAL 2008-09, 2008–2009, ...

, Kim Ekdahl Du Rietz and Magnus Jernemyr.

Motorsports

Three Swedish

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

drivers have collected wins:

Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Superswede", Peterson twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in an ...

Jo Bonnier Karl Jockum Jonas "Joakim" Bonnier (31 January 1930 – 11 June 1972), commonly known as Jo Bonnier, was a Swedish racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Bonnier won the 1959 Dutch Grand Prix with BRM. ...

and

Gunnar Nilsson Gunnar Axel Arvid Nilsson (20 November 1948 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nilsson won the 1977 Belgian Grand Prix with Lotus. Born and raised in Helsingborg, Nilsson initially studie ...

. Peterson scored ten wins and was runner-up in the F1 World Championship in the 1971 and 1978 seasons. In rallying,

Björn Waldegård Björn Waldegård (12 November 1943 – 29 August 2014) was a Swedish rally driver, and the winner of the World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979. His Swedish nickname was "Walle". Career Waldegård, who came from Rimbo, had a career that ...

won the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

in 1979, the

Safari Rally The Safari Rally is an automobile rally held in Kenya. It was first held in 1953 as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The event was part of the World Rally Championship from 1973 until 2002, before returning in 2021. It is h ...

in 1977, 1984, 1986, 1990, the

Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the rally ...

in 1969 and 1970, as well as the British

RAC Rally Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) cal ...

in 1977.

Stig Blomqvist Stig Lennart Blomqvist (born 29 July 1946) is a retired Swedish rally driver. He made his international breakthrough in 1971. Driving an Audi Quattro for the Audi factory team, Blomqvist won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1984 an ...

won the 1984 WRC. Also,

Erik Carlsson Erik Hilding Carlsson (5 March 1929 – 27 May 2015) was a Swedish rally driver for Saab. He was nicknamed "''Carlsson på taket''" ("Carlsson on the roof" in reference to Astrid Lindgren's children's book character) as well as ''Mr. Saab'' ...

won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1962 and 1963. Other notable drivers are: two time DTM (

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, commonly abbreviated as the DTM, is a sports car racing series sanctioned by ADAC. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The series currently races a modified version of Group GT3 gra ...

) and

Race of Champions The Race of Champions (ROC) is an international motorsport event held at the start or end of each year, featuring some of the world's best racing and rally drivers from Formula One, World Rally Championship, IndyCar, NASCAR, sports car racin ...

winner

Mattias Ekström Bengt Mattias Ekström (born 14 July 1978) is a racing and rally driver from Sweden. He competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for Audi from 2001 until his retirement in 2018, and has been competing in the FIA World Rallycross Championship ...

, multiple Speedway World Champion

Tony Rickardsson Jan Tony Sören Rickardsson (born on 17 August 1970) is a Swedish former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He competed in the Speedway World Championships from 1989 to 2006 and won six Speedway World Championship titles in 15 attempts. ...

; British Touring Car Championship, British Touring Car Champion Rickard Rydell, Indy Racing League, IRL champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Bräck, and Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson. The Swedish Rally, first held in 1950, is part of the World Rally Championship since 1973. Meanwhile, the Anderstorp Raceway hosted the Formula One Swedish Grand Prix from 1973 to 1978, the Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix from 1971 to 1977 and 1981-1990, the European Touring Car Championship from 1985 to 1987, the Superbike World Championship in 1991 and 1993, the FIA GT Championship in 2002 and 2003, and the World Touring Car Championship in 2007.

Basketball

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 National Basketball Association, 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 national basketball team, 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 Hobbs High School, high school and Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball, 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 BC Khimki, Khimki of the VTB United League and the EuroLeague. But on January 23, 2021, BC Khimki, Khimki terminated the contract of Jerebko. Taylor played three seasons with the Charlotte Hornets (2012–2015) before returning to Europe and signing with Real Madrid Baloncesto, Real Madrid. In May 2018, Real Madrid won the 2017–18 EuroLeague championship, after defeating Fenerbahçe Men's Basketball, Fenerbahçe Doğuş in the 2018 EuroLeague Final Four, final game with 85–80. Over 34 EuroLeague games, Taylor averaged 5.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

Track and field

A number of Swedes have been internationally successful in track and field. In the 1940s runners Gunder Hägg, Arne Andersson, and Lennart Strand dominated Middle distance track event, middle-distance running. In recent years, stars include high jumpers such as World Champion and European record holder Patrik Sjöberg, Olympic gold medalist Ludmila Engquist, World Champion and Olympic medallist Kajsa Bergqvist, Athens Olympic gold medallist Stefan Holm, and Tokyo Olympic champion and World Championship medallist Armand Duplantis. Two other Swedish athletes won gold medals in the 2004 Olympic Games: heptathlon, heptathlete Carolina Klüft and triple jumper Christian Olsson. Susanna Kallur is the World record holder for the indoor 60m hurdles set in 2008.

Electronic sports

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 Walsh, Jonathan "Jinro" Walsh for his performances South Korea, and Marcus "Thorzain" Eklöf and Johan Lucchesi, Johan "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 won The International (Dota 2), The International for Dota 2 in 2013, winning ~$1.4 million United States dollar, USD. Sweden was the highest ranking country in terms of results and prize money won in Counter-Strike. Emil Christensen, Emil "HeatoN" Christensen and Patrik Lindberg, Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg were two of the foremost players in the history of the game, both of whom later became involved in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team "Ninjas in Pyjamas".

Golf

Sweden has nearly half a million active golfers and List of Swedish professional golfers, Swedish golf players have won over 100 European Tour and 25 PGA Tour events. Nine have been selected to the European team at the Ryder Cup: Joakim Haeggman, Per-Ulrik Johansson, Jesper Parnevik, Robert Karlsson, Jarmo Sandelin, Pierre Fulke, Niclas Fasth, Peter Hanson and Henrik Stenson. Karlsson and Stenson (twice) have won the European Tour Harry Vardon Trophy, Order of Merit/Race to Dubai. Stenson rose to second on the OWGR, world ranking after winning the PGA Tour's championship trophy the FedEx Cup in 2013. Fasth and Parnevik (twice) have been runner-up in the British Open, which Stenson won in record-breaking fashion in 2016 Open Championship, 2016, shortly before securing an Golf at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's individual, Olympic silver medal. Annika Sörenstam is a World Golf Hall of Fame member and dominated her sport 1995–2005, with ten major tournament wins and 72 LPGA Tour wins. In addition to Sörenstam, Liselotte Neumann, Helen Alfredsson and Sophie Gustafson (four times) have won the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit. Other notable female players are Anna Nordqvist, Maria Hjorth, Carin Koch and Catrin Nilsmark. The Scandinavian Masters is part of the European Tour since 1991. Previously, the circuit sanctioned the Scandinavian Enterprise Open held from 1973 to 1990 and the PLM Open from 1986 to 1990. Meanwhile, the Scandinavian TPC hosted by Annika was part of the Ladies European Tour from 1996 to 2008. The country hosted other LET events, as well as the 2003 and 2007 Solheim Cup.

Orienteering

Sweden is the most successful Orienteering#World_rankings, orienteering country in history.

Others

Successful

players include three former World No. 1's in singles, Björn Borg (eleven Grand Slam titles), Mats Wilander (seven) and Stefan Edberg (six), as well as two former World No. 1's in doubles Jonas Björkman (nine) and Anders Järryd (eight). Other famous Swedish athletes include the heavyweight boxing champion and International Boxing Hall of Famer - Ingemar Johansson; Olympic gold medal-winning fencer Johan Harmenberg; and multiple World Championships and Olympics medalist in

- Jan-Ove Waldner. Other popular Swedish table tennis players include Mattias Falck, Jörgen Persson and Truls Möregårdh. Arne Borg, Gunnar Larsson (swimmer), Gunnar Larsson, Anders Holmertz, Stefan Nystrand, Therese Alshammar, Anna-Karin Kammerling, Emma Igelström, Lars Frölander and Sarah Sjöström are some of the renowned swimmers, who have been successful in Olympics and/or FINA World Aquatics Championships, World Championships. Sweden has also been internationally successful in Equestrianism, equestrian (Malin Baryard, Rolf-Göran Bengtsson) and speed-skating (Tomas Gustafson). In cycle sport, cycling Sweden has the 1971 Giro d'Italia, Giro winner Gösta Pettersson, two-time Giro runner up Tommy Prim, 1982 Vuelta a España, 1982 Vuelta podium finisher Sven-Åke Nilsson, 2004 Paris–Roubaix winner Magnus Bäckstedt and 1976 Olympic road race champion Bernt Johansson as well as several other top professional cyclists including current riders Emma Johansson, Thomas Lövkvist, Gustav Larsson, Fredrik Kessiakoff and Emilia Fahlin. 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. 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. For the first time, Sweden will feature a national team at the 2022 Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships.Record 23 lacrosse teams to play at Men's Under-21 World Championship
Ali Iveson (Inside the Games), 30 May 2021. Accessed 9 June 2021.

Spectator sports

The greatest spectator sports in Sweden are

(Allsvenskan) and

(

). team handball, Handball and

come close, together with regional specialties such as

and Motorcycle speedway, speedway. There are a dozen indoor arenas for band

International championships hosted by Sweden

Events

* Open to everyone ** Gothia Cup (football) ** Göteborgsvarvet (running) ** Lidingöloppet (running) ** O-Ringen (orienteering) ** Stockholm Marathon ** Vansbrosimningen (swimming) ** Vasaloppet (cross-country skiing) ** Vätternrundan (bicycle racing) * Open to elite only ** Swedish Open (tennis) ** DN Galan (track and field) ** Sweden Hockey Games (ice hockey) ** Bandy World Cup * Elite leagues ** Allsvenskan (association football) **

(ice hockey) ** Elitserien (bandy), Elitserien (bandy) ** Swedish Basketball League (basketball)

References

External links

Swedish Sports Confederation

Swedish Olympic Committee
{{Sport in Europe Sport in Sweden,