It has been a turbulent spring and summer for the Swedish cross country team. At the end of March, the news came that Rikard Grip, national team manager during Sweden's perhaps most successful period ever in cross-country skiing, has unexpectedly resigned.

Instead, Jonas Pettersson, previously CEO of Craft, came in, one of the ski association's sponsors.

Four months later, the union announced that Pettersson had been fired. Former head of education, Lars Selin, and head of education, Karin Ersson, today share the role of acting national team managers.

But behind the scenes, the hunt for a permanent solution has been ongoing. SVT Sport can now reveal that one of the respondents is Winterstudios expert Mathias Fredriksson.

"Want to support the children"

- At first, I was very surprised that Jonas had to leave and realized that there was no dream summer for the union. But I answered directly that they may try to find someone else, it does not fit into my life situation right now. But I was attracted by the challenge, I must admit, says Mathias Fredriksson.

What made you say no?

- I have three children that I want to support fully. The driving force to help them in their sport is a greater driving force than working as a length manager. And to combine both I think had become too difficult, says Fredriksson.

No suggestion on who's taking over

It is still unclear who will take over the role of national team manager on a permanent basis. Fredriksson currently has no suggestion of who it could be, just what qualities the person should have.

- Don't have a name, unfortunately. But the person needs to be prestigious with a drive to develop Swedish skiing and get time to get into the business before any major decisions are made.