Svenska cupen is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams compete, comprising the 16 teams from Allsvenskan and the 16 teams of Superettan together with 64 teams from lower tiers of the league system. The winners qualify for the qualifying stages of the UEFA Europa Conference League. The winner is awarded the Gustaf VI Adolf cup.
Friends Arena, Solna - venue for the 2013 and 2014 Svenska cupen finals
Association football is the most popular sport in Sweden, with over 240,000 licensed players with another 240,000 youth players. There are around 3,200 active clubs fielding over 8,500 teams, which are playing on the 7,900 pitches available in the country. Football was first played in Sweden in the 1870s, the first championship was decided in 1896 and the Swedish Football Association was founded in 1904. Despite being a relatively small country population-wise, both the men's and women's national teams and the club teams have gained rather large success from time to time.
Friends Arena in Solna
The first Swedish national team in 1908.
Image: Friends Arena (7751335978)
Image: Tele 2 Arena Globen