Damallsvenskan's plan: derby village and away tours

The idea of ​​starting the damall Swedish season at the end of May-June was scrapped, and thus the plan to maintain the previously laid out game schedule.

But by moving forward the premiere a few more weeks also opens up opportunities to completely change the playing order. The clubs 'interest organization Elite football team (EFD) is looking forward to a scheme whereby initially the number of trips for the clubs is minimized, both to reduce the spread of infection and to save the associations' stressed finances.

The start of the season, if it gets underway, may for that reason contain an unusually large number of derbies. In addition, a kind of away tours are proposed for teams like Piteå and Umeå, who have a long way to go to their opponents.

- You are looking at making sure that you do not get so long trips during the initial rounds, that you try to keep travel short. And when it comes to the Norrlandslagen you also want to see if they have the opportunity to puzzle away matches, so that you take a couple in a sweep and do not have to go up and down, up and down. It's going to be a bit of an NHL tour, ”said Tomas Hoszek, secretary general of the EFD.

The gentleman Swedes are also considering changing the rules of the game, with geographical considerations, says Hoszek, but concludes that even such solutions cannot prevent a bit of a step 22 for the Norrlandslagen.

- Either they buy fraudulent air tickets, if possible, and then it will cost as much as possible. Or they can take a bus and stay overnight. And this is not a full-time professional in many ways, so it is lost work earnings that the club has to support. However they do, it becomes expensive, says Hoszek.

Piteå's chairman Rikard Fahlman is clear that it will not be very good for the club no matter how you turn and turn it around. But he supports the EFD's proposal.

- There are bad alternatives, and worse alternatives, says Fahlman.

- We have to deal with an economy that is going to go together, and then this is probably the only possibility, which I consider it. Of course, that is a sporting disadvantage, and it feels boring that way. But what to do?

During the corona pandemic, flying is both unsafe and expensive, says Fahlman. Therefore, there will be a lot of bus rides for Piteå's players. He laughs well at the latest newspaper headlines that claim that General Malmö FF can be forced into a 30 hour bus ride for a away match.

- It's a match, against Östersund. If we count low we have 40 hours in bus to Skåne, three times this season (Rosengård, Kristianstad, Vittsjö). So we have 120 hours on the bus just at the three away matches. Then we go down to Växjö and it does not differ significantly in time. And the girls should be able to work as well. In Malmö FF, for example, every player is a full-time professional. Our girls work half-time aside and will be able to work out beyond that.

But if the proposal for away trips becomes a reality, it would be less stressful for the players. Playing a match on Sunday and then another Wednesday after that could work, he says.

- Optimum for us would be if we could play against two Skånelag on one trip, one Skånelag and Växjö on one trip and then Gothenburg and Linköping on one trip. But I understand that it poses to a puzzle without its equal to the Swedish Football Association. We can't ask for the entire series to be built according to our wishes, but as much as possible of what we get in would be good.