1.
UEFA
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The Union of European Football Associations is the administrative body for association football in Europe, although several member states are primarily or entirely located in Asia. It is one of six continental confederations of world footballs governing body FIFA, UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Until 1959 the main headquarters were located in Paris, and later in Bern, in 1995, UEFA headquarters were transferred to Nyon, Switzerland. Henri Delaunay was the first general secretary and Ebbe Schwartz the first president, UEFA was founded on 15 June 1954 in Basel, Switzerland after consultation between the Italian, French, and Belgian associations. The European football union began with 25 members, that number doubled by the early 1990s, UEFA membership coincides for the most part with recognition as a sovereign country in Europe, although there are some exceptions. Some UEFA members are not sovereign states, but form part of a recognized sovereign state in the context of international law. Some UEFA members are transcontinental states, countries which had been members of the Asian Football Confederation were also admitted to the European football association, particularly Israel and Kazakhstan. Additionally some UEFA member associations allow teams from outside their associations main territory to take part in their domestic competition, saarland Football Union 1954–1956 German football association of the German Democratic Republic 1954–1990 Football Federation of the Soviet Union 1954–1991, in 1992 became Russian Football Union. The newly independent 14 Soviet Republics created their own football associations, Football Association of Yugoslavia 1954–1992, became Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia became independent, Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro 1992–2006, became Football Association of Serbia. Montenegro, which became independent, created its own football association, the main competition for mens national teams is the UEFA European Football Championship, started in 1958, with the first finals in 1960, and known as the European Nations Cup until 1964. It is also called UEFA or the EURO, UEFA also runs national competitions at Under-21, Under-19 and Under-17 levels. For womens national teams, UEFA operates the UEFA Womens Championship for senior sides as well as Womens Under-19. UEFA also organized the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup with CAF for youth teams in an effort to boost youth football, UEFA launched the UEFA Regions Cup, for semi-professional teams representing their local region, in 1999. In futsal there is the UEFA Futsal Championship and UEFA Futsal Under-21 Championship, the Italian, German, Spanish and French mens national teams are the sole teams to have won the European football championship in all categories. A second, lower-ranked competition is the UEFA Europa League and this competition, for national knockout cup winners and high-placed league teams, was launched by UEFA in 1971 as a successor of both the former UEFA Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. A third competition, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, which had started in 1960, was absorbed into the UEFA Cup in 1999, in womens football UEFA also conducts the UEFA Womens Champions League for club teams. The competition was first held in 2001, and known as the UEFA Womens Cup until 2009, the UEFA Super Cup pits the winners of the Champions League against the winners of the Europa League, and came into being in 1973
2.
Solna Municipality
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Solna Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in south-east Sweden, located just north of the Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area, the municipality is a part of Metropolitan Stockholm. None of the area is considered rural, which is unusual for Swedish municipalities, Solna is the third smallest municipality in Sweden in terms of area. There are two parishes in Solna Municipality, Råsunda and Solna, Solna is divided into eight traditional parts with no administrative functions, Bergshamra, Haga, Hagalund, Huvudsta, Järva, Råsunda, Skytteholm and Ulriksdal. The largest districts are Råsunda, Hagalund and Huvudsta, with the Solna Centrum in between them, the final matches of both the 1958 FIFA World Cup and the 1995 FIFA Womens World Cup were played at Råsunda Stadium, the national football stadium from 1937 to 2012. Solna has very low tax rates and has attracted a range of companies and authorities. Among the most important employers are the medical university Karolinska Institutet, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute are also located in Solna. As with all 290 municipalities of Sweden, Solna has a municipal assembly, an executive committee is appointed by its members. It was served by trams until 1959, trams returned after 54 years of absence when Tvärbanan was extended from Alvik to Solna centrum. A further extension will be opened in 2014, skanska has its head office in Solna. NextJet has its office in Solna. Mall of Scandinavia has opened in November 2015 and is located in Solna, the head office of Scandinavian Airlines and SAS Group is located in Solna. The airline head office was located on the property of Stockholm Arlanda Airport in Sigtuna Municipality. Haga Park, part of the Royal National City Park, was initiated by king Gustav III, the city features three of Swedens royal palaces. Friends Arena, the Swedish national arena of association football, the Solna Church was constructed in the 12th century. For defensive purposes, it was built as a round church, the following football clubs are located in Solna, AIK Blue Hill KF Råsunda IS Vasalunds IF Solna Gymnasium is the senior high school/sixth form college of Solna
3.
FIFA
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The Fédération Internationale de Football Association is the international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer. FIFA is responsible for the organisation of major international tournaments, notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930. FIFA was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden. Headquartered in Zürich, its membership now comprises 211 national associations, although FIFA does not control the rules of football, it is responsible for both the organization of a number of tournaments and their promotion, which generate revenue from sponsorship. In 2013, FIFA had revenues of over 1.3 billion U. S. dollars, for a net profit of 72 million and those among these officials who were also indicted in the U. S. are expected to be extradited to face charges there as well. Many officials were suspended by FIFAs ethics committee including Sepp Blatter, in early 2017 reports became public about FIFA president Gianni Infantino attempting to prevent the re-elections of both chairmen of the ethics committee during the FIFA congress in May 2017. The need for a body to oversee association football became apparent at the beginning of the 20th century with the increasing popularity of international fixtures. The French name and acronym are used even outside French-speaking countries, the founding members were the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Also, that day, the German Association declared its intention of affiliating through a telegram. The first president of FIFA was Robert Guérin, Guérin was replaced in 1906 by Daniel Burley Woolfall from England, by then a member of the association. Membership of FIFA expanded beyond Europe with the application of South Africa in 1909, Argentina in 1912, Canada and Chile in 1913, and the United States in 1914. During World War I, with players sent off to war and the possibility of travel for international fixtures severely limited. Post-war, following the death of Woolfall, the organisation was run by Dutchman Carl Hirschmann and it was saved from extinction, but at the cost of the withdrawal of the Home Nations, who cited an unwillingness to participate in international competitions with their recent World War enemies. The Home Nations later resumed their membership, the FIFA collection is held by the National Football Museum at Urbis in Manchester, England. The first World Cup in the world was in 1930 in Montevideo, FIFA is headquartered in Zürich, and is an association established under the Law of Switzerland. FIFAs supreme body is the FIFA Congress, a made up of representatives from each affiliated member association. Each national football association has one vote, regardless of its size or footballing strength, the Congress assembles in ordinary session once every year, and extraordinary sessions have been held once a year since 1998. The congress makes decisions relating to FIFAs governing statutes and their method of implementation and application, only the Congress can pass changes to FIFAs statutes
4.
Karl-Erik Nilsson (referee)
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Karl-Erik Nilsson is the president of the Swedish Football Association, a post he has held since 23 March 2012. Nilsson is also a football referee. Nilsson was born on 6 May 1957 in Emmaboda, Sweden and he studied to become an elementary school teacher, a profession he practised during the 1970s. Nilsson also worked in the system of Sweden. Nilsson was the chairman of the board of Emmaboda Municipality between 1994 and 2006. In the 1980s Nilsson started his career as a football referee. Nilsson supervised his first Allsvenskan match in 1992 and became a FIFA certified referee in 1994 and he is best known for supervising matches during the UEFA Champions League. He was also a choice for leading international matches in the 1990s. Nilssons other official competitions included qualifiers for Euro 1996, Euro 2000, and he also worked as a fourth official during UEFA Euro 1996. After his career as a referee Nilsson remained in football and served as the chairman of Bohusläns Fotbollförbund until 2012. Nilsson was also active as a member of the boards of directors at the Swedish Football Association before he was elected president of the association on 23 March 2012 after Lars-Åke Lagrell resigned
5.
Braathens Regional Aviation
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In the process the airline changed its name to the current Braathens Regional Aviation and ceased its own network-operations. The company was established in 1981, operating as a training school. The company was sold to CityAir Scandinavia on 11 February 1992, a new company Malmö Aviation Schedule was formed on 16 April 1993 under the ownership of Wiklund Inter Trade. Braathens of Norway acquired full control in August 1998 and in early 1999 integrated Braathens Sweden into Malmö Aviation, in December 2001 it became an independent airline owned by Braganza AS/Bramora. This was the result of the Scandinavian Airlines acquisition of Braathens in which Malmö Aviation and it is now wholly owned by Braathens Aviation. In September 2014, Malmö Aviation stated that it would no longer be the Bombardier CS100s launch customer as previously planned and this role has since been taken over by Swiss Global Air Lines. In March 2016, the part of Malmö Aviation was merged into BRA Braathens Regional Airlines together with Sverigeflyg. Braathens Regional Aviation does not operate flights under its own name, instead the aircraft are used to operate flights for sister airline BRA Braathens Regional Airlines. As of April 2016 the Braathens Regional Aviation fleet consists of the following aircraft, media related to Malmö Aviation at Wikimedia Commons Official website
6.
Allsvenskan
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Allsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for mens association football clubs. It was founded in 1924, and is the top flight of the Swedish football league system, operating on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan. Seasons run from late March or early April to the beginning of November, with the 16 clubs all meeting each other twice, resulting in a 30-match season, Allsvenskan is ranked 20th in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last five years. As it stands now, Allsvenskan is ranked highest of the leagues in Scandinavia, the current champions are Malmö FF, who won the title in the 2016 season. Allsvenskan started in the 1924–25 Allsvenskan season and the first winner was GAIS, the one-league twelve team Allsvenskan replaced the Svenska Serien, consisting of a southern and northern group that was held before. In 1931, the league started to decide the Swedish football champions, in the early years, Norrland and Gotland teams were not allowed to play on higher levels in the league system, which was gradually changed to include the Norrland and Gotland teams on higher levels. In the 1955–56 season, Lycksele IF became the first Norrland team to play in an Allsvenskan promotion play-off, for the 1959 Allsvenskan, the season start was changed from autumn to spring to be played in one calendar year. In 1973, it was expanded to contain 14 teams. C, from the 1982 season, the league introduced a play-off to determine the Swedish football champions. In the late 1980s, Malmö FF were dominant, winning the five times in a row. The 1990 season saw the introduction of three points per win, the play-off season years were followed by two years of continuation league, named Mästerskapsserien. The 1993 season saw a return to the format, again with 14 teams. IFK Göteborg won five Allsvenskan league titles in the 1990s, in the early 2000s, Djurgårdens IF won three titles. In 2004, Örebro SK lost its place in the due to financial problems. Since 2008, the league consists of 16 teams, the champions of the Allsvenskan are considered Swedish champions and gold medal winners. The runners-up are awarded the Large Silver medal, the third positioned team are awarded the Small Silver medal, there have been seasons with exceptions when the winners of Allsvenskan wasnt considered Swedish champions as well. The years 1982 through 1990 are also exceptions, the title was decided through play-offs during these years. The same was true for the years 1991 through 1992 when the title was decided through a league called Mästerskapsserien. Historically, there is though a big difference between the Allsvenskan winners before 1931 compared to the period between 1982 and 1992, since 2008 there are 16 clubs in Allsvenskan
7.
GAIS
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Göteborgs Atlet- och Idrottssällskap, commonly referred to as GAIS or Gais, is a Swedish football club based in Gothenburg. The club is affiliated to the Göteborgs Fotbollförbund and play their games at Gamla Ullevi. Fans also refers to the club as Grönsvart or The Mackerels because of the shirt colours. GAIS is one of the oldest football clubs in Sweden, the club was a founding member of Allsvenskan and also the first champions of the league. They have won a total of four championship titles, five league championship titles. The club thus gained the reputation of being a club, constantly going up. After their promotion in 2005 the club played seven seasons in Allsvenskan which was a feat not achieved since the degradation in 1955. After relegation in 2012 they finished seventh in Superettan in 2013 and has remained there since, GAIS was founded 11 March 1894 at Ehdlunds Café in the Gothenburg city centre. The founders had created the club for patriotic purposes and to all kinds of sports. Its main activities were athletics and an assortment of strength sports, the football section was formed in 1897 and played their first official game against local rivals Örgryte IS in 1903. GAIS first appearance in the highest league at the time, Svenska Serien, was in 1915/16 where they finished in fourth place, in 1919 the club won its first national championship beating Djurgårdens IF away in the finals. The same procedure would be repeated in 1922, this time against another Stockholm team, GAIS won the first season of the new first tier league Allsvenskan in 1924/25, two points ahead of local rivals IFK Göteborg. The feat was to be repeated in 1926/27, this time three points ahead of IFK Göteborg, unfortunately the league champions was not recognised as national champions until the 1930/31 season. GAIS won this year as well, six ahead of AIK. During the 1930s GAIS slowly lost the dominance the club had exercised over Allsvenskan since its foundation, having spent three years in the second division GAIS returned with a vengeance for the 1941–42 Allsvenskan where the club finished in second place. Later in 1942 they won Svenska Cupen for the first, and until today, the club then stayed in Allsvenskan throughout the 1940s and the early 1950s. They quite unexpectedly won their national championship one single point ahead of Helsingborgs IF in the season of 1953/54. The clinching game was the last one of the season, a nail biting no score draw at Stadsparksvallen in Jönköping, the following year, equally unexpectedly, disaster struck when the club finished third last and was relegated
8.
Swedish language
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Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken natively by more than 9 million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, where it has equal legal standing with Finnish. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish, along with the other North Germanic languages, Swedish is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era. It is currently the largest of the North Germanic languages by number of speakers, Standard Swedish, spoken by most Swedes, is the national language that evolved from the Central Swedish dialects in the 19th century and was well established by the beginning of the 20th century. While distinct regional varieties descended from the rural dialects still exist. The standard word order is, as in most Germanic languages, V2, Swedish morphology is similar to English, that is, words have comparatively few inflections. There are two genders, no cases, and a distinction between plural and singular. Older analyses posit the cases nominative and genitive and there are remains of distinct accusative and dative forms as well. Adjectives are compared as in English, and are inflected according to gender, number. The definiteness of nouns is marked primarily through suffixes, complemented with separate definite and indefinite articles, the prosody features both stress and in most dialects tonal qualities. The language has a large vowel inventory. Swedish is also notable for the voiceless velar fricative, a highly variable consonant phoneme. Swedish is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages, by many general criteria of mutual intelligibility, the Continental Scandinavian languages could very well be considered dialects of a common Scandinavian language. In the 8th century, the common Germanic language of Scandinavia, Proto-Norse, had some changes. This language began to undergo new changes that did not spread to all of Scandinavia, the dialects of Old East Norse that were spoken in Sweden are called Runic Swedish while the dialects of Denmark are referred to as Runic Danish. The dialects are described as runic because the body of text appears in the runic alphabet. Unlike Proto-Norse, which was written with the Elder Futhark alphabet, Old Norse was written with the Younger Futhark alphabet, from 1200 onwards, the dialects in Denmark began to diverge from those of Sweden. An early change that separated Runic Danish from the dialects of Old East Norse was the change of the diphthong æi to the monophthong é. This is reflected in runic inscriptions where the older read stain, there was also a change of au as in dauðr into a long open ø as in døðr dead
9.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
10.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
11.
Swedish football league system
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Below those five levels, additional regional levels numbered six to ten exist but these lower leagues are controlled by the regional associations and not by the nationwide association. There is, however, promotion and relegation to and from all levels, as of 2013, there were a total of 2510 teams in the Swedish league system of which 299 of them were reserve teams. The table below shows how the current system works, for each division, its Swedish name and number of clubs is given. For level 6 to level 10, the number of clubs are as of 2013, in 2013 the two second tier divisions were combined in the new Elitettan
12.
Damallsvenskan
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The Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ladies all-Swedish, is the highest division of womens football in Sweden. It is also referred as to the womens Allsvenskan, this term being used alone to refer to the mens division, the division consists of a league of 12 teams. From 2013, the Damallsvenskan began operating on a system of promotion and relegation with the Elitettan, the two lowest placed teams are relegated to the Elitettan, and the two highest placed teams from the Elitettan are promoted in their place. The first Swedish womens national championship was played in 1973, since its inception, the Damallsvenskan has featured star players like Marta, Daniela, Nadine Angerer, Lisa De Vanna, Hope Solo and Hanna Ljungberg. The top two teams in the Damallsvenskan qualify for the UEFA Womens Champions League, note,1 According to each club information page at the Swedish Football Association website for Damallsvenskan. Games from the 2013 Damallsvenskan are broadcast on the Swedish sports television channel, the list of Swedish champions and winners of the Damallsvenskan, From 1988 to 1992 a play-off round was played. The top four teams after the season played a semi-final and final. Malmö FF, LdB FC Malmö and FC Rosengård are the same club, the following is a list of top scorers by season. Lena Videkull has won the award a record five times, while Hanna Ljungberg holds the record for most goals in a season with 39. Svenska Cupen Womens football around the world Diamantbollen List of sporting events in Sweden Media related to Damallsvenskan at Wikimedia Commons Swedish Football Association – Damallsvenskan
13.
Sweden national football team
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The Sweden national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for football in Sweden. Swedens home ground is Friends Arena in the Stockholm urban area, Sweden made their first World Cup appearance in 1934. Sweden has made eleven World Cup appearances and five appearances in the European Championships and they finished second in the 1958 FIFA World Cup, and third in both 1950 and 1994. Swedens accomplishments also include a medal in the 1948 Summer Olympics. They reached the semi-finals in UEFA Euro 1992, Sweden has traditionally been a strong team in international football, with 11 World Cup appearances and 3 medals in the Olympics. The Swedish team finished second in the 1958 World Cup, when it was the host team, Sweden has also finished third twice, in 1950 and 1994. Sweden played its first international game against Norway on 12 July 1908, other matches in 1908 were played agaisnt England, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Belgium, Sweden lost all five matches. In the same year, Sweden competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics for the first time, Sweden, however, lost a game in the Olympics against the Great Britain 1–12, the biggest loss in the Swedish national teams history. In 1916, Sweden defeated Denmark for the first time, Sweden played in the 1912 Olympics, the 1920 Olympics, and in the 1924 Olympics, where Sweden took the bronze and their first medal ever. The 1938 World Cup was Swedens second qualification for the World Cup, in the first round, they were scheduled to play against Austria, but after Germanys occupation of Austria, the Austrian team could not continue playing in the tournament. Instead, Sweden went straight to the match against Cuba. They beat Cuba 8–0 with both Harry Andersson and Gustav Wetterström scoring hat-tricks, in the semi-final match against Hungary, Sweden lost 1–5. Swedens next match was the match against Brazil. In that game the Swedes lost 2–4, and ended in fourth place for the first, in the first round, Sweden played against Austria. The Austrian team had qualified without their professional players, which was a surprise since the Austrian league had many players who were allowed to play in the tournament. The match was played at White Hart Lane in London and Sweden won 3–0, in the second game, Sweden played against Korea and won 12–0, one of the two largest margin wins Sweden has ever had. In the semi-final Sweden met their archrivals from Denmark beating them 4–2, the final was played at legendary Wembley Stadium in London. The attendance was around 40,000 people which was high for a game in those days
14.
Sweden women's national football team
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Sweden womens national football team officially represents Sweden in womens association football. Sweden won the European Competition for Womens Football in 1984, a success the team has not managed to repeat, the team has participated in six Olympic Games, seven World Cups, as well as nine European Championships. Sweden won the medal at the 2011 FIFA Womens World Cup. The 2003 World Cup-final was the second most watched event in Sweden that year, lotta Schelin is the top goalscorer in the history of Sweden with 85 goals. Schelin surpassed Hanna Ljungbergs 72-goal record against Germany on 29 October 2014, the player with the most caps is Therese Sjögran, with 214. Sundhages contract goes into effect in December 2012, after winning the two qualifying matches against Denmark for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the Swedish Olympic Committee approved of record increases in investments for the womens team. The new budget granted over a million SEK for the team and 150,000 SEK per player for developing physical fitness, the new grants are almost a 100% increase of the 2005 and 2006 season funds. The developments and conditions of the Sweden womens national team can be seen in the Sveriges Television documentary television series The Other Sport from 2013. *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks, **Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil, the following is a list of matches in 2016 The following is a list of matches in 2017 Squad for the 2017 Algarve Cup. Caps and goals as of 24 January 2017
15.
Superettan
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Superettan is a professional league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish mens football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Allsvenskan, seasons run from April to October, with teams playing 30 matches each, totalling 240 matches in the season. The league was created in 2000, the second tier of Swedish football had previously consisted of a varying number of regionalized leagues operating under the Division 2 and Division 1 names. There are 16 clubs in Superettan, during the course of a season each club plays the other twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 30 games. The top two teams in Superettan are promoted to Allsvenskan and the two lowest placed teams from Allsvenskan are relegated in their place, the third placed team in Superettan plays a promotion/relegation play-off against the third lowest team in Allsvenskan. The Swiss corporation Kentaro has owned the TV rights for Superettan since 2006, the current license agreement is valid from 2011 to 2015. 1 Correct as of end of 2015 season The current managers in Superettan are, the highest attendance ever recorded at a Superettan match is 31,074. The leagues best season attendance-wise was 2014 when Hammarbys average attendance reached a level that was extraordinary for Superettan, sports attendances Allsvenskan Swedish Football Association - Superettan
16.
Friends Arena
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Friends Arena is a retractable roof multi-purpose stadium located next to the lake Råstasjön in Solna, just north of Stockholm City Centre. Since its opening it has served as Swedens national stadium for football, the main tenants of the stadium are Swedens national football team and Allsvenskan football club AIK, both relocated from their previous home at the Råsunda Stadium. The venue has a capacity of 65,000 at concerts and 50,000 seated at football matches. Friends Arena is the largest football stadium, and indoor venue and it was calculated to cost around 1.9 billion kronor to complete. The estimated cost before construction had begun was 2.3 billion kronor and it replaced Råsunda Stadium, Swedens former national arena for football. Råsunda will be torn down and will be the first stadium that hosted a FIFA World Cup in history to be removed, blocks of 700 flats and office buildings will be erected on the site. Swedbank acquired the rights to the new stadium in a 153 million kronor deal that will last until 2023. As such, the stadium was renamed Friends Arena, on 22 August 2012, Friends Arena unveiled the plans for the opening ceremony which took place on 27 October 2012. The theme for the show was Swedish Moments and it was directed by Colin Nutley, the stadium has a retractable roof, enabling events to take place during the winter season and to host indoor entertainment shows. The facade of the arena can be lit up in 17 million different color schemes, for example, the stadium is lit up in blue and yellow when Swedens national team is playing matches. Friends Arena is a UEFA Category 4 stadium, and the natural turf pitch measures 105 x 68 metres, in the middle of the stadium roof, a 240 square metres big media cube is placed where the attendance can follow what is happening. In addition,647 LED-screens are installed throughout the facility to enhance the guest experience, crown Princess Victoria of Sweden declared Friends Arena inaugurated at the opening ceremony which took place in the venue at 27 October 2012. The show, directed by famous Swedish director Colin Nutley, was entitled Svenska Ögonblick, artists like Agnes Carlsson, The Hives, Icona Pop, Loreen, First Aid Kit and Roxette performed in front of a crowd of 46,000 people. Furthermore,1,700,000 TV viewers watched the show live at SVT1. Swedish House Mafia made three acclaimed concerts during their One Last Tour in the arena, a total of approximately 115,000 people visited Friends Arena during the three sold-out concerts in November 2012. At 14 November 2012, the stadium hosted its first football game, zlatan Ibrahimović scored the first goal at Swedens new national stadium in the 4–2 victory against England. The game was seen by 49,967 people, which is the current attendance record for a sport event. A spectacular new record for Swedish bandy was set at the 2013 Swedish Bandy Championship Final, AIK played their first competitive football match at April 7,2013
17.
Guldbollen
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Guldbollen, is a Swedish football award given by the Aftonbladet and the Swedish Football Association to the best male Swedish footballer each year. The first award was given in 1946 to Gunnar Gren, and was created by Bengt Liljedahl, from 1946-65, the awarded was given out in cooperation with Stockholms-Tidningen. The current holder is Zlatan Ibrahimović, who is the player to win the award eleven times. Bo Larsson of Malmö FF was the first player to win the award more than once, diamantbollen, the female equivalent of the award, was established in 1990. Both awards are given out at the same gala, source, Media related to Guldbollen at Wikimedia Commons
18.
Diamantbollen
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Diamantbollen, Swedish for The Diamond Ball, an annual award for Swedens best female football player. The award is given out by the Swedish Football Association. The award is given in conjunction with its equivalent, the Guldbollen. Diamantbollen was established in 1990 and was out in cooperations between SvFF and magazine network until 2000. Since 2001, the awards has been out by the Swedish Football Association. The precursor of this award, Årets fotbollstjej, was out by the Swedish Football Association. Since 2002, the recipient of the award has received a blown crystal structure designed by Melainie Rydoff, the award is in the shape of a kernel with smooth concave top. At the top of the award, there is a silver leaf, the logo and player name are made by calligrapher Gun Larson. F. C. 2016 - Hedvig Lindahl, Chelsea L. F. C
19.
Bandy
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Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing teams goal. Based on the number of participating athletes, bandy is the second most popular winter sport after ice hockey. Bandy also is the two winter sport in tickets sold per day of competitions at the sports world championship compared to the other winter sports. The sport is considered a form of hockey and has a background with association football, ice hockey. Like football, the game is played in halves of 45 minutes each, there are eleven players on each team. It is played on ice like ice hockey, but like field hockey, players use bowed sticks, a variant of bandy, rink bandy, is played to the same rules but on a field the size of an ice hockey rink and with fewer people on each team. Bandy is also the predecessor of floorball, which was invented when people started playing with plastic bandy-shaped sticks, Russian monastery records dating back to the 10th to 11th centuries record games which may be ancestors of bandy. A game that could be recognized as essentially modern bandy was played in Russia by the early 18th century, although the rules used differed from those invented in England at a much later date. In modern times, Russia has held a top position in the bandy area, Russians see themselves as the creators of the sport, which is reflected by the unofficial title for bandy, Russian hockey. The first match, more recently dubbed the original match, was held at The Crystal Palace in London in 1875. However, at the time, the game was called hockey on the ice, the name bandy comes from Britain, which has played an important role in the sports development. Bando, a game played in Wales in the Middle Ages and it was played throughout the country in varying forms and is still found in some areas. The earliest example of the Welsh-language term bando occurs in a dictionary by John Walters published in 1770–94, the game became particularly popular in the Cynffig-Margam district of the Vale of Glamorgan where wide stretches of sandy beaches afforded ample room for play. As a winter sport, British bandy originated in the Fens of East Anglia where large expanses of ice formed on flooded meadows or shallow washes in cold winters, members of the Bury Fen Bandy Club published rules of the game in 1882, and introduced it into other countries. The first international took place in 1891 between Bury Fen and the then Haarlemsche Hockey & Bandy Club from the Netherlands. The same year, the National Bandy Association was started in England, the first national bandy league was started in Sweden in 1902. Bandy was played at the Nordic Games in Stockholm in 1905, a European championship was held in 1913 with eight countries participating. The highest altitude where bandy has been played is in the capital of the Tajik autonomous province of Gorno-Badakhshan, as a precursor to ice hockey bandy has influenced its development and history – mainly in European and former Soviet countries
20.
Ice hockey
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Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponents net to score points. Ice hockey teams usually consist of six each, one goaltender. A fast-paced, physical sport, ice hockey is most popular in areas of North America, Ice hockey is the official national winter sport of Canada, where the game enjoys immense popularity. In North America, the National Hockey League is the highest level for mens hockey, the Kontinental Hockey League is the highest league in Russia and much of Eastern Europe. The International Ice Hockey Federation is the governing body for international ice hockey. The IIHF manages international tournaments and maintains the IIHF World Ranking, worldwide, there are ice hockey federations in 74 countries. Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in the 18th and 19th century United Kingdom and these games were brought to North America and several similar winter games using informal rules were developed, such as shinny and ice polo. The contemporary sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal, some characteristics of that game, such as the length of the ice rink and the use of a puck, have been retained to this day. Amateur ice hockey began in the 1880s, and professional ice hockey originated around 1900. The Stanley Cup, emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was first awarded in 1893 to recognize the Canadian amateur champion, in international competitions, the national teams of six countries predominate, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. Of the 69 medals awarded all-time in mens competition at the Olympics, in the annual Ice Hockey World Championships,177 of 201 medals have been awarded to the six nations. In Russia and the Ukraine, where hockey can also refer to bandy, the name hockey has no clear origin. The English historian and biographer John Strype did not use the word hockey when he translated the proclamation in 1720, the 1573 Statute of Galway banned a sport called hokie—the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves. A form of this word was thus being used in the 16th century, though much removed from its current usage. According to the Austin Hockey Association, the word derives from the Scots Gaelic puc or the Irish poc. The blow given by a hurler to the ball with his caman or hurley is always called a puck. Stick-and-ball games date back to pre-Christian times, in Europe, these games included the Irish game of hurling, the closely related Scottish game of shinty and versions of field hockey. IJscolf, a game resembling colf on a surface, was popular in the Low Countries between the Middle Ages and the Dutch Golden Age. It was played with a curved bat, a wooden or leather ball
21.
Field hockey
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Field hockey is a team sport of the hockey family. The earliest origins of the date back to the Middle Ages in England, Scotland, France. The game can be played on a field or a turf field as well as an indoor board surface. Each team plays with eleven players, including the goalie, players use sticks made out of wood, carbon fibre, fibre glass or a combination of carbon fibre and fibre glass in different quantities to hit a round, hard, plastic ball. The length of the stick depends on the players individual height, only one end of the stick is allowed to be used. Goalies often have a different kind of stick, however they can use an ordinary field hockey stick. The specific goal-keeping sticks have another curve at the end of the stick, the uniform consists of shin guards, shoes, shorts, a mouth guard and a jersey. Today, the game is played globally, with particular popularity throughout Western Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Field Hockey is the national game of India and Pakistan. The term field hockey is used primarily in Canada and the United States where ice hockey is more popular, in Sweden the term landhockey is used. To some degree also in Norway and it is a section of Norways Bandy Association. Until recently they called it hockey, when it was changed to landhockey, during play, goal keepers are the only players who are allowed to touch the ball with any part of their body, while field players play the ball with the flat side of their stick. Goal keepers also cannot play the ball with the back of their stick, whoever scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time or a penalty shootout, there are many variations to overtime play that depend on the league and tournament play. In college play, an overtime period consists of a 10-minute golden goal period with seven players for each team. If a tie remains, the game enters a one-on-one competition where each team chooses 5 players to dribble from the 25 yard line down to the circle against the opposing goalie. The player has 8 seconds to score on the goalie keeping it in bounds, the play ends after a goal is scored, the ball goes out of bounds, a foul is committed or time expires. If the tie still persists extra rounds thereafter until one team has scored, the FIH is also responsible for organising the Hockey Rules Board and developing the rules for the game. A popular variant of field hockey is indoor field hockey, which differs in a number of respects while embodying the principles of hockey
22.
Swedish Ice Hockey Association
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The Swedish Ice Hockey Association or Svenska Ishockeyförbundet in Swedish, is an association of Swedish sports clubs with ice hockey activities. SIHA was originally part of the Swedish Football Association but became an association of its own on November 17,1922, in 1920, the SIHA became a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Apart from hockey, inline hockey is the province of the SIHA as well, the associations general secretary currently is Christer Englund. Archived from the original on September 7,2006
23.
Swedish Bandy Association
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The Swedish Bandy Association is the governing body of bandy in Sweden. It organizes the bandy leagues, Elitserien and Allsvenskan for men and Damallsvenskan for women, and it was established on 5 April 1925, and is based in Stockholm, after moving from Katrineholm. It is a member of FIB, Federation of International Bandy. Bandy was introduced 1895 in Sweden by all round athlete Clarence von Rosen and he picked the game up during a visit in bandys home country Great Britain. He started the first bandy club in Sweden, Stockholm Hockeyklubb, first in 1905 bandy was organized within Swedish Ballplay Association and a year later within Swedish Football Association. At a meeting April 5,1925, the Swedish Bandy Association was formed representing 49 clubs, since 1931, the Swedish Bandy Association regularly arranges national leagues in Sweden. Swedish bandy champions is a held by the winners of the final. The final is played in March, the Swedish Bandy Association consisted of 23 district associations until 2013, when these were replaced by 6 larger districts for a more efficient administration. The six districts are Mellansverige, Nord, Stockholm, Småland, Sydväst, Swedish Bandy Association was one of the founding members of the Federation of International Bandy in 1955
24.
Gothenburg
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Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, the city has a population of approximately 550,000 in the urban area, Gothenburg was founded as a heavily fortified, primarily Dutch, trading colony, by royal charter in 1621 by King Gustavus Adolphus. At a key location at the mouth of the Göta älv, where Scandinavias largest drainage basin enters the sea. Gothenburg is home to students, as the city includes the University of Gothenburg. Volvo was founded in Gothenburg in 1927, the original, parent Volvo Group and the now separate Volvo Car Corporation are still headquartered on the island of Hisingen in the city. Other key companies are SKF and Astra Zeneca, Gothenburg is served by Göteborg Landvetter Airport 30 km southeast of the city center. The smaller Göteborg City Airport,15 km from the city center, was closed to airline traffic in 2015. The city hosts some of the largest annual events in Scandinavia, the Gothenburg Film Festival, held in January since 1979, is the leading Scandinavian film festival with over 155,000 visitors each year. In summer, a variety of music festivals are held in the city, such as Way Out West. The city was named after the Geats, the inhabitants of Gothia, the river on which the city sits is the Göta älv or Gothia River. Göta borg Gothia Fortress is the fort on the Göta Älv, in Dutch, Scots, and English, all languages with a long history in this trade and maritime-oriented city, the name Gothenburg is used for the city. The French form of the city name is Gothembourg, but in French texts, Gothenburg can also be seen in some older English texts. In Spanish the city is called Gotemburgo and these traditional forms are sometimes replaced with the use of the Swedish Göteborg, for example by The Göteborg Opera and the Göteborg Ballet. However, Göteborgs universitet, previously designated as the Göteborg University in English, the Gothenburg municipality has also reverted to the use of the English name in international contexts. Other old variations in Swedish are Götheborgh, and the more common Götheborg, one English text, written in the late 15th century, states the name as Guthaeborg. In 2009, the city launched a new logotype for Gothenburg. Since the name Göteborg contains the Swedish letter ö the idea was to make the more international. As of 2015, the name is spelled Go, teborg on a number of signs in the city
25.
Division 1 (Swedish football)
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Division 1 is the third level in the Swedish football league system and consists of 28 Swedish football teams. Division 1 was the second tier from 1987 to 1999, but was replaced by Superettan in 2000 and it was reestablished for the 2006 season as the third tier below Superettan. There are 28 clubs in Division 1, divided in two groups of 14 teams each representing Northern and Southern Sweden. During the course of a season each club plays the others twice, once at their stadium and once at that of their opponents. At the end of season the three lowest placed teams of each group are relegated to Division 2 and the six winning teams from the six Division 2 leagues are promoted in their place. The top team in each Division 1 group is promoted to Superettan, the second placed teams in each Division 1 group plays a promotion/relegation play-off against the third and fourth lowest teams in Superettan. 1 Correct as of end of 2015 season Note, In 2007 the runners up were promoted automatically without playoffs because of Allsvenskan expanding to 16 teams
26.
Swedish Football Division 2
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Division 2 is the fourth level in the league system of Swedish football and comprises 84 Swedish football teams. Division 2 had status as the second level from 1928 to 1986. It then had status as the third level until 2005. There are 84 clubs in Division 2, divided in six groups of 14 teams each representing a geographical area. During the course of a season each club plays the others twice, once at their stadium and once at that of their opponents. The top team in each Division 2 group is promoted to Division 1, the Swedish Football Association is responsible for the administration of Division 2. Division 2 is the fourth-highest division in Swedish Football and it currently comprises six regional leagues which may show some small changes to their titles year on year reflecting the changing geographical distribution of clubs. The six sections for the 2014 season cover Norrland, Norra Svealand, Södra Svealand, Norra Götaland, Västra Götaland, Division 2 became official in 1928/29 as the second tier of Swedish football with 2 sections being created - Norra and Södra - with a total of 20 teams. In 1932/33 Division 2 was expanded into 4 sections covering Norra, Östra, Västra and Södra and this format continued until the end of the 1946/47 season. For the 1947/48 season a 2 section structure was restored comprising the Nordöstra and Sydvästra sections, in 1953/54 a section representing the northern clubs in Sweden was introduced for the first time known as Norrland. The other two sections were titled Svealand and Götaland, in 1955/56 it was decided that Götaland should have 2 sections. This provided Division 2 with 4 sections covering Norrland, Svealand, Östra Götaland, in 1972 the structure reverted to 3 sections titled Norra, Mellersta and Södra. This was short-lived and in 1974 two sections covering Norra and Södra were consolidated and this system continued until the end of the 1986 season when the competition became Division 1. From 1987 onwards Division 2 became the third highest league in Swedish football, the new division initially had 4 sections titled Norra, Mellersta, Östra and Västra. In 1993 it was divided into 6 sections titled Norrland, Östra Svealand, Västra Svealand, Östra Götaland, Västra Götaland, in 2006 Division 2 became Swedens fourth highest division with the introduction of Division 1 below the Superettan. The recipients are decided by a jury of sportsjournalists, coaches and football experts
27.
Swedish Under-19 Football Championships
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JSM för klubblag the Swedish under-19 football championships for club teams. IFK Göteborg has won the most editions, with seven, the 28 teams of the Juniorallsvenskan are divided into two groups. The winners and second-placed teams of Juniorallsvenskan Norra and Södra meet in semi-finals, the two semi-final winners meet each other in the final to decide the Swedish under-19 champion. Players are eligible to play if they are at most 19 years old on the 31 December of the season year, Malmö FF U18 beat Karlslunds IF U18 with 1–0 on aggregate. Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. IFK Sundsvall U18 beat IFK Eskilstuna U18 with 6–6 on aggregate, note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality, Örebro SK U18 beat IFK Mora U18 with 4–3 on aggregate. Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. IFK Eskilstuna U18 beat IF Brommapojkarna U18 with 4–2 on aggregate, note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality, IFK Göteborg U18 beat Malmö FF U18. IFK Göteborg U18 beat IFK Sundsvall U18, IFK Göteborg U18 beat Malmö FF U18. IF Brommapojkarna U18 beat Malmö FF U18, lundby IF U18 beat Djurgårdens IF U18 with 3–0. IFK Norrköping U18 beat IFK Göteborg U18 with 3–0, helsingborgs IF U18 beat IK Oddevold U18 with 4–2. Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Malmö FF U18 beat IFK Göteborg U18 with 4–2 a. e. t, Djurgårdens IF U18 beat Halmstads BK U18 with 1–0. Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Gunnilse IS U18 beat IFK Göteborg U18 with 1–0, IFK Göteborg U18 beat Malmö FF U18 with 2–0. IFK Göteborg U18 beat BK Forward U18 with 1–0, note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules
28.
Svenska Cupen
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Svenska Cupen is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the tournament, although a womens tournament is also held. Each year 98 teams compete, comprising the 16 teams from Allsvenskan, the winners qualify for the qualifying stages of the UEFA Europa League. The winner is awarded Gustaf VI Adolf Cup, compared to cups in many other countries, Svenska Cupen attracts considerably less public interest and even the cup final is rarely sold out. Consequently, the Swedish Football Association has experimented with the format in order to raise the profile of the cup, the final has been staged at a neutral venue, at the national stadium as well as being played as a two-leg match. Svenska Cupen was first held in 1941, the current holders of Svenska Cupen are BK Häcken, who beat Malmö FF after penalties in the 2016 final for their first cup title. Malmö FF are the most successful club of the competition having won 14 titles, the winner of Svenska Cupen qualifies for the first qualification round of the UEFA Europa League. The qualification spot is awarded to the fourth positioned team in Allsvenskan if the winner is qualified for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Champions League. Only teams in Division 1 or lower are included, because teams in Allsvenskan and Superettan are automatically qualified for Round 2 and this is the number of places each of the districts will have in the first round of the 2015–16 Svenska Cupen. Updated as of 31 May 2015
29.
Svenska Cupen (women)
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Svenska Cupen damer is the main Swedish womens association football knock-out tournament. A separate Svenska Cupen exists for men, for an example, Värmlands FF receives three spots and Västergötlands FF receives seven spots. Seasons 1998/1999 and 1999/2000 were played as fall/spring, all seasons were played spring/fall. The cup was also called Folksam Cup between 1981 and 1996, the winners are, Website at Swedish FA Cup at women. soccerway. com
30.
FIFA World Cup
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The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champion is Germany, which won its title at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. 32 teams, including the qualifying host nation, compete in the tournament phase for the title at venues within the host nation over a period of about a month. The 20 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams, Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The worlds first international match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England, which ended in a 0–0 draw. The first international tournament, the edition of the British Home Championship. After FIFA was founded in 1904, it tried to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906 and these were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been a failure. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football became an official competition, planned by The Football Association, Englands football governing body, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain won the gold medals and they repeated the feat in 1912 in Stockholm. With the Olympic event continuing to be contested only between teams, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament was a championship between clubs from different nations, each one of which represented an entire nation. Lipton invited West Auckland, a side from County Durham. West Auckland won the tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title, in 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a world football championship for amateurs, and took responsibility for managing the event. This paved the way for the worlds first intercontinental football competition, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, contested by Egypt and 13 European teams, Uruguay won the next two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928. Those were also the first two world championships, as 1924 was the start of FIFAs professional era. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to stage a championship itself. With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, indeed, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, in total,13 nations took part, seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America
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