The plans were presented by the association and the City of Stockholm at a press conference.
"To remain competitive, we need a common base and a home for the Swedish national team. It is extremely important," says Kim Källström.
The center will not only be a home for the national teams but will also bring together development, research and education under one roof.
We want to be close. That everyone knows where Swedish football comes from. The goal is that everyone who works in Swedish football will pass through this center. We think the location is perfect, says Källström.
Four natural grass pitches
The center is planned to have four natural grass football fields, a building with premises for offices, training and conferences, an indoor hall and an 11-a-side artificial grass pitch. In addition, the office building is planned to become the new home for the association's office, which is currently located in Solna.
The chairman of the Swedish Football Association, Simon Åström, says that it is a disadvantage that Sweden has lacked a national center for football that many other countries of a similar size have. Therefore, the federation board has now decided to enter a detailed study phase that, according to Kim Källström, will take a number of years.
Swedish football has looked at several other options since 2017.
We are glad that we did not proceed with other discussions because this is the place we think is best. Denmark started in 2012 and will put the shovel in the ground soon. This is a huge project with long processes, says Källström.
We know that we are a long way from standing here with a completed center.
“Working with financing”
Simon Åström says that the detailed study is fully funded. The international football federations and the City of Stockholm are also funding the detailed study.
"We are now entering the phase where we will work on the financing issue and have a dialogue with business and private investors," says Åström, who cannot say anything about what the project might cost.
He points out that the construction of a football center must not jeopardize the association's finances.
Then we won't get involved in the project, he says.
The City of Stockholm will soon decide on land allocation.
"There is broad political consensus that football is important. I assume that the City of Stockholm is an active party in this," says Finance City Councilor Karin Wanngård (S).
Henrik Skiöld/TT
Background: National Football Center
TT
In 2017, the Swedish Football Association initiated a feasibility study for a national training center at Arlandastad.
The then Secretary General, Håkan Sjöstrand, stated:
- This is an area that is neglected by us and we will look into it and hopefully do something about it.
It stopped at a hope.
Three years later, the plans were resumed. The possibilities of building a new headquarters for the national team were investigated. This time, the location was Barkarby in Järfälla municipality.
This time Sjöstrand said:
- We want Swedish football to be able to compete with the best national teams in the world. To be able to do that, we need conditions that compete with the absolute best – perhaps even better since we are a country in Northern Europe.
That project also failed to materialize.
The next step was a facility in Upplands-Bro. In 2022, the association signed a letter of intent with Upplands-Bro municipality. Those plans were also scrapped. Instead, the association has chosen to work with the City of Stockholm and is investigating the possibility of a center in Kista.
