Piteå is forced to reduce player budget: "Need to bring in more money"

North of Uppsala, this season there is only one football team in the highest league. Piteå won the Swedish Championship in 2018, but since then the financial conditions have become increasingly tough.

– We have very positive support in the local business community, but we lack large partners with substantial resources if you compare with the big hockey teams north and south of us, says Per Embertsen chairman of Piteå IF.

Flies a total of 2288 miles

Since Piteå is located where it is, the team has a very long way to their away games. Flights are a must and cost SEK 1.5 million every year.

– Unfortunately, Umeå went out, where we could go by bus which took 3 hours. The derby, says Leif Strand, sports director of Piteå IF and laughs.

Piteå IF is making its 13th straight season in the top flight and has produced several national team players.

"A lot of people have had a very good football development up here. It is important to work with other things when you cannot be the greatest financially and Piteå has done well for many years, says player Fanny Andersson.

LFC chairman: 'Don't just want to survive'

Piteå is not the only club that has had a tough time financially.

Last autumn, Linköpings FC warned that there were no millions in the budget. Now the situation is better but still tough, according to chairman Johan Ladenberg.

"We sorted it out and ended up with a weak plus result in the end. But it remains challenging. The fact that women's football has become more professionalized with higher player salaries is positive, but then the revenue must be up as well. You don't just want to survive all the time, you want to build a sustainable association," he says.

Clubs are influenced by the world situation

Things have also been tough in Vittsjö, where rising fuel and energy prices have been one of the challenges.

"We are careful about costs and player salaries. When it comes to travel, we always look at the cheapest option, but we would not put ourselves so cheaply that it would be bad for the players, says sports director Erika Nilsson.