The investigation shows that 21 people have had leadership roles in children's and youth sports after being convicted of sex crimes against children, such as child pornography offenses, rape of children and sexual exploitation of children.
But the actual number may be significantly higher.
DN has made the investigation based on the so-called Sportadmin leak that occurred in January 2025 when information about, among other things, coaches and leaders from 1,700 associations was spread online. DN has then cross-checked the information against judgments in criminal cases.
But in Sweden, there are 18,000 sports associations according to the Swedish Sports Confederation, which is why only a fraction of the associations have been investigated.
In 2020, the Swedish Sports Confederation decided that associations that work with children without exception should request extracts from the criminal records register before a leader or coach is hired.
But despite this, several people have been hired as coaches after being convicted of sex crimes against children.
According to DN, it may be because register extracts are not requested regularly, that judgments disappear from the criminal records register after five years and that the associations themselves must take a stand on how a convicted person should be handled.
