Australian Rules Football in Europe - Sweden

Sweden

Main article: Australian rules football in Sweden

Australian rules football started in Sweden with the creation of a club nicknamed the Saints in the southern city of Helsingborg to play in the Danish AFL. For the next decade, Scania was the only area in Sweden where the sport was played, clubs in Gothenburg and Stockholm being created in the early 21st century. Scania, Gothenburg and Stockholm remain the three largest centers for the sport in Sweden, although clubs have also been created in Falun, Karlstad and most recently Uppsala in 2007 by Australian and other Students studying at Uppsala University.

The Swedish national team, the Elks, have become increasingly competitive in the last few years and appeared at the 2008 Australian Football International Cup.

The game of Australian rules football has grown steadily in Stockholm over the past few years with a marked increase in local Swedish players. As of 2012 there are 6 established clubs in the Stockholm Region with over 20 players registered at each club. Södermalm Blues,Årsta Swans,Bromma Vikings, Solna Axemen, Falun Diggers and the newly formed Norrtälje Dockers, established in February 2012. The Stockholm Region is governed by The SAFF (Stockholm Region Australian Rules Football Federation) and its regional team are The Stockholm Dynamites. Stockholm will host the 2012 Swedish Cup which sees all teams from Sweden competing in a 9 a side round robin tournament to determine Sweden's best Australian Rules Football Team.