Christer Gardell is careful to point out that he does not sponsor Swedish athletes. The money he gives is unconditional and should be seen more as a contribution. The Swedish Tennis Association is different, which can only receive part of his much-talked-about contribution of 100 million kronor if the new board presents an idea.
"This means that the board can come to me and present what they want to achieve. Then I can make a decision after that," Gardell tells TT.
Gardell invited Swedish sports figures, whom he supports financially, to a dinner in connection with the men's basketball World Cup qualifiers at Hovet earlier in July. At one table, alpine star Sara Hector is eating tacos with judoka Tara Babulfath. Next to Gardell, discus thrower Vanessa Kamga is sitting and talking to mentors from the integration project "Rinkeby Mentors".
"It's an honor to be a part of this. It's a really cool thing for him to do," says alpine skier Felix Monsén.
“Important social service”
Gardell can't say for sure how many athletes he gives money to. Nine of them came to the dinner.
He generally thinks it is more important that the money goes directly into the athletes' pockets, otherwise it can be "burned" on administration.
The basic strategy in my "sponsorship" is to help the athletes directly, without intermediaries, says Gardell.
He believes that more companies and individuals should follow suit.
"I think somewhere we need to get companies to go back to sponsoring sports. That they see it as an important social service," says Gardell.
Companies can sponsor a team, but they can also do what I do and go directly to individual athletes. The important thing is that you don't keep calculating returns.
Not good for business
Gardell believes a solution to the problem could be a "wall of shame" website. He has been brainstorming the idea with manager and former basketball player Olle Håkanson, and the purpose would be to report Swedish companies that he believes are not contributing to Swedish sports.
I think the big companies can set aside some of it and say they're putting this aside for social responsibility. Somehow, sports haven't been included there before, but it should be there. It's an important part of how society functions," says Gardell.
Gardell believes a public list of the worst sponsors could open some wallets.
It will be negative to be on such a list, and it may not be so good for business.
Christer Gardell, 65 years old, is a Swedish financier, venture capitalist and co-founder of Cevian Capital.
He has been a major sponsor of Swedish sports for a few years now. Among the athletes he supports are Jonna Sundling, cross-country skiing, Sara Hector, alpine skiing, Walter Wallberg moguls, Felix Monsén, alpine skiing, William Poromaa, cross-country skiing, Tara Babulfath, judo, Vanessa Kamga, discus, Frida Westman, ski jumping and Anna-Karin Heijdenberg, biathlon.
Gardell has a great interest in tennis and has found himself at the centre of the conflict in the Swedish Tennis Association. He offered to invest 100 million kronor in Swedish tennis in exchange for a new investment with changes to the board.
