Swedish Floorball has in recent years placed great emphasis on integration work. The Swedish Floorball Federation has also decided to allocate funds to support further integration efforts and has now decided to support a total of 13 integration projects around Sweden.

The long-term vision plan of the Swedish Floorball Federation “Swedish Floorball Wants” (Svensk Innebandy Vill) clearly states that floorball should be a sport that everyone can get involved in. Floorball shall be welcoming, bold and open.

An important part of this vision plan is to offer floorball games for everyone, and that is why the project “Sports – a way towards better integration” (Idrott – en väg till bättre integration) was launched two years ago. Already now, over 120 projects have been started and completed.

Through a collaboration with the Postcode Foundation, over 330,000 SEK will now be distributed to 13 projects that run integration initiatives at the local level.

– The Swedish club life is a good way to integrate newcomers into Swedish society, it provides a social context where everyone works towards reaching the same goal. Team sports where everyone, regardless of background, is involved and cooperates for the best of the team is a natural platform for integration. I hope that we can take further steps and offer a fun and meaningful leisure time activity for those who may need it the most, says Märit Bergendahl, President of the Swedish Floorball Federation.

Here are the initiatives that will receive support:

Club: Bergsjön SK
Description: All activities of Bergsjön SK is about integration and cannot be treated as a single project. The Swedish Floorball Federation has chosen to continue to support Bergsjön SK’s work, which takes place in an exposed area on the outskirts of Gothenburg. The club wants to continue its efforts to expand sports in the district among both foreign-born adults and children.

Club: FBC Bollnäs
Description: During the 2019/20 season, FBC Bollnäs will reach towards young people with an immigrant background and some form of functional variation. The club plans to reach young people primarily through schools. They will have training in a centrally located venue, where they will initially offer one training per week. Two players with a foreign background, who represent the club, are coaches and are seen as positive role models.

Club: Frölunda IBK
Description: The club will carry out two integration projects. In one, they will offer two training sessions a week for young people over the age of 15 with an immigrant background. The second project is about the rules, including referee training or training the leaders, and to organise “rule nights” to create a better understanding of the game.

Club: FBC Lerum
Description: FBC Lerum’s integration team was in the “First League” in Gothenburg during the 2018/19 season. The grant helped them cover their costs for leadership fees, transport of participants, material costs and arranging a closing evening where the team was given the opportunity to attend an SSL match.

Club: FBC Lerum
Description: FBC Lerum has an integration team that annually participates in the “First League”. The Swedish Floorball Federation supports continued development work and recruitment.

Club: FBC Lerum
Description: FBC Lerum is working on an existing project called “Young Leadership Academy” (Unga Ledarakademin – ULA). Since many players from the integration team are not as active anymore, but want to continue with floorball, the club will train these to become leaders and referees.

Club: Hallands IBF
Description: Halland’s IBF will look for schools in Hyltebruk, Laholm and Halmstad where many asylum residents are places and run floorball sessions in connection with school time, or alternatively during the school’s physical education lessons. They will then collaborate with local floorball clubs to try to get interested girls and boys into regular activities. The integration project is aimed for all school children in the low and middle school.

Club: Onyx IBK
Description:  “A sweater for everyone” is a five-year project that will increase the interest in sports and club life amongst young people in vulnerable areas. Try the sport opportunities are offered locally as the playing areas are built on place. 

Club: Skogås/Trångsunds IBK
Description: Skogås/Trångsunds IBK want to increase the number of active girls aged 7-14 in the club. The target group is girls with foreign background and those who have newly arrived. The training sessions will take place once a week for three years, with the intention that the players then become part of the regular activities.

Club: Täby FC
Description: Täby FC will take floorball to an accommodation for newly arrived in Täby. There they offer try-on opportunities that aims towards having the children start playing floorball in the club. They should be able to experience floorball, have the possibility to participate and the chance to jointly support the women’s SSL team. The possibility to attend a floorball camp will be offered.

Club: Wårgårda IBK
Description: Wårgårda IBK has already invested a great deal in the integration team, however, younger members with a foreign background or foreign-born parents are missing, and the aim is to change this. Players from the club who have similar backgrounds shall themselves play in school yards to generate interest and in turn also recruit children to start playing. The goal is that ten girls and ten boys will start playing floorball.

Club: Örebro Floorball Federation
Description: In several different municipalities around Örebro county, the project “Floorball for us”, will get children aged 7-12 years with foreign backgrounds to start playing floorball. By try the sport sessions 1-2 times a week, inviting parents 2-3 times, initiating leadership training and teaching children and adults about club life should make the children become part of the club. The goal is to get the target group to try floorball and to increase the number of participants.

Club: Östra SK
Description: In Jönköping there are some vulnerable areas where other clubs have chosen to activate themselves and Östra SK has chosen to do this in the Österängen. Two leaders shall twice a week, for almost a year, conduct training in the school premises. The goal is for the organisation to become a club in the Österängen as well as to sponsor the children with equipment and membership fees so that the children can experience the joy of movement.

Source & more information: Swedish Floorball Federation