Sportbladet reveals: ‘Major row’ paralyzes Swedish women’s football
An injured fight paralyzes Swedish women’s football.
The most affected are players who, for example, have now torn their cruciate ligaments in the pre-season.
– It’s a disaster, says Mia Carlson from Kristianstad.
It’s pre-season time again. In January, 28 elite football teams will start preparing for the Women’s League and Elite League.
But this year’s winter training is more serious than usual. The half-hearted struggle has meant there are no collective bargaining agreements in women’s football for Sweden’s elite, which can make a serious injury excruciatingly painful.
– If something happens now when girls start training and competing – and there will be injuries, because they always do – then these people are not believers. It’s too bad, says Tomas Hozek, general secretary of Elite Women’s Soccer (EFD).
They refuse to sit at the table
The strange thing about the situation is that basically everyone involved wants the same thing. A new collective agreement must be put in place immediately to protect young players in particular. However, it seems impossible to achieve this.
– I have given up on dialogue with the Players’ Union now. We had a proposal with a good deal a year ago, but then it all fell apart. I can’t take this anymore, says Hozik.
It’s hard to sort through all the rounds, but the following happened:
In 2013, a collective agreement was signed between the clubs (EFD) and the players (through the players’ association SFS). Among other things, working conditions, insurance and pensions have been regulated, so that every player does not have to beat these pieces every time they sign a new contract.
The agreement soon expired but was extended 14 days at a time for several years, until it was finally deemed out of date and needed to be rewritten. The clubs (EFD) made an offer last spring, but according to the players (SFS) it was a deterioration since 2013.
Instead of meeting in the middle, the two sides drifted further and further apart.
The clubs did not want to negotiate on their own, but used the employers’ coalition, which was involved in collective agreements for hockey and handball, among other things. But the employers’ alliance refused to negotiate with the players, but wanted Unionen to sit on the other side of the table. The players did not agree.
Nobody moves an inch
chaotic?
The result is not only that the negotiations collapsed – they never even started. In December 2022 the clubs (EFD) canceled the existing agreement and now the players (SFS) have been without an agreement for two weeks.
– EFD assumes no responsibility. We will never get involved with those who negotiate on their side and we don’t understand why they get involved with those who negotiate on behalf of workers, says Magnus Erlingmark, general secretary of the players’ union, and adds that his side was the paying party. Along.
Why not let the union negotiate for you?
– Because our members want us to handle it. Our players are not members of the federation. We are the ones who know best about this, so of course we have to represent the players.
The positions seem frozen. No matter how much the Sportbladet asks, neither EFD nor SFS want to budge from their principles. The loser is the quarterback or linebacker who steps crookedly or hears a crack in his knee during a fight in January.
As for the collective agreement, there are many points, for example a common pregnancy and childbearing policy should be introduced, but the most serious point is related to injuries.
Longer absentees often receive support from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. But if she is a student or has a civilian job, which is common in the upper two chains, she will soon be out of insurance and will have to support herself in other ways.
“You haven’t come more than that in ten years…”
In the previous agreement, the clubs agreed to ensure that the injured player kept at work 90 percent of her salary until she recovered or the contract expired. This security is now missing. So if the federation does not have specific benefits, the fully qualified and insured player will be without money.
Kristianstad pro Mia Carlsson is a member of the Players Association and shakes her head at what she perceives as yelling at EFD.
– It’s a pity that you haven’t progressed further in ten years. At the moment, the situation seems very uncertain as a player. Everyone should take personal responsibility and check with their spouse so that they pay the insurance anyway. And now there will be an undesirable competitive situation between clubs where you want to belong to the team with the best support. She says everything seems so superfluous in 2023.
Do players usually consider retirement and insurance savings when choosing a club?
No, because you’d expect him to be there. The EFD says the women’s league is for young talents, but above all young girls who work and study on the side. This group is now completely unprotected.
Mia Carlson doesn’t appreciate the fact that EFD has received help from the Employers’ Alliance. Agreements are complicated and the important thing is to get everything right. But this very decision is what prevents negotiations from starting, you think, so it’s up to the EFD to step back and sit down at the table.
– EFD letter is a disaster. They don’t want to talk to us at all. Are clubs aware of the risks involved? Says.