Sweden seek to bounce back with new suburban soccer HQ

Plans announced by the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) on Thursday for a new national football centre in a Stockholm suburb are as much about integration as innovation as they seek to rebuild following a disastrous World Cup qualifying campaign.

World Cup runners-up on home soil in 1958 and third in 1994, the men’s national team finished bottom of their qualifying group for the 2026 event and face a tricky playoff path if they are to reach the finals in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

They face Ukraine in a playoff semi-final in March.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s women, always among the favourites in international competitions, are in danger of being swallowed up by the chasing pack, with England, Spain and Italy all making huge strides in recent years.

“In order for us to continue to compete on an international level, we need to create conditions for our players to be able to prepare properly,” SvFF head of football Kim Kallstrom told Reuters.

“We also need to have a home for Swedish football where everyone feels that this is where Swedish football starts.”

New pitches at Kista campus

The federation aims to build four grass pitches, one artificial pitch and an indoor pitch, as well as moving its offices to the new campus in Kista (pronounced “shee-sta”), around 12 km north-west of Stockholm’s city hall.

For 43-year-old former Sweden midfielder Kallstrom, the development represents a chance to lay new foundations after recent struggles, particularly for the men’s senior team.

“We shouldn’t draw a nailed-on parallel there but if we look at this over a longer period of time I think that this will be a very vital and central piece in the continued development of Swedish football,” he said.

A detailed study awaits before the project can be given the green light, but the choice of location says a lot about where Sweden is at the moment in terms of football and politics.

Split in two by the blue line of Stockholm’s metro, Kista is something of a bellwether for the almost constant discussion around immigration and integration in the Nordic country.

To the east of the tracks are innovative tech companies like Ericsson that generate billions of euros in global revenues every year; to the west, apartment blocks that house people, many from immigrant backgrounds, whose wages are lower and risk of unemployment higher than the averages in Stockholm.

While work might be hard to come by for some locals, football is not, and the area has produced several notable professional players such as defender Isak Hien, who captained Sweden in their recent World Cup qualifier away to Switzerland.

‘Perfect place’ for football centre

The proposed location is right beside the E4 motorway, with the city’s international airport about 20 minutes’ drive away and the Strawberry Arena, where Sweden play their home games, about 10 minutes in the opposite direction.

“Kista is the perfect place to establish a football centre, it’s a strategic location in the city with very good communications,” Stockholm’s financial controller Karin Wanngard told reporters.

“The Swedish sports movement is the country’s largest popular movement, and it’s a driving force in giving more people meaningful leisure time. A national football centre in Kista will be a strong and clear investment in sport, but above all in football,” she added.

Stockholm suburbs like Kista and neighbouring Husby and Rinkeby are often referred to as “particularly vulnerable”, a euphemism for unsafe, and Kallstrom and Wanngard are aware of the effect a new national soccer centre might have on their reputation.

“It’s like this – football makes brothers and sisters of us all, and it’s something we can all gather around,” Kallstrom said when asked if he had a message for locals who have often felt ignored in the past.

“I hope we can make this happen, and I hope that you will welcome us with open arms and that we can collaborate together for many, many years to come.”