Göran Harnesk started his position as the Secretary General of the Swedish Floorball Federation in 2011 and this summer he retires. Harnesk is proud of the development nationally and also thinks that the focus on spreading the sport to new countries has been worth the effort. He still feels that more could be done, especially by the strong countries, to reach the next step in Europe.
During his time at the Swedish Floorball Federation he has aimed to develop the Swedish Floorball Federation’s organisation in terms of quality and professional thinking. Early on, Harnesk focused clearly on the vision and goals. He quickly introduced customer service that would provide clubs and district associations services.
– It is with pride that I look back on these years. It has been very stimulating and fun to develop a sport with so much potential and that has grown so much in a relatively short period, he says in innebandy.se’s interview.
Although Göran Harnesk has not officially been involved in the work of the International Floorball Federation, he shared his thoughts about the international development of floorball with the IFF:
– I think the focus on growing in other parts of the world has been good. However, we can’t see the level of growth in Europe that one was hoping for. I believe that the bigger countries have not taken the steps necessary to make floorball the sport that it deserves to be, he says and continues:
– I have consciously kept a low profile as I believe that the international growth demands decisions made by politicians. Therefore, I made an active decision not to mix these things – which I regret today! The international office has struggled in expanding due to a lack of professional involvement from me and others.
Regarding the future development of international floorball, Harnesk feels that strengthening the economy is the key:
– First and foremost I believe that the IFF needs a strong economy. It is never good if you cannot go for a developmental plan due to economic reasons.
– I also think one has to re-evaluate the focus on floorball becoming an Olympic sport. Without by any means claiming that I know what is right or wrong, I do believe that one has to look into this. A lot of energy and work has been made by the IFF’s representatives, leaving other important things somewhat neglected. The network created during this time period is impressive but I do not know whether or not it benefited the IFF or individual people, he concludes.
Floorball will continue to be a big part of Harnesk’s life in the future, as he has sons who play, but also because he thinks it is an amazingly entertaining sport. During his retirement, he looks forward to spending more time with his grandchildren, but also several board assignments and hikes in Italy.
The IFF wishes to thank Göran Harnesk for the good cooperation and for the excellent job done for developing Swedish Floorball.
