Jens T Andersson gives clear notice of continuing to run
It seems that the struggle for the presidency of the Swedish Football Association will become a hornet’s nest.
Now Jens T Andersson, 50, is announcing that he is not giving up his candidacy.
– I go all out. I have strong support, he told Sportbladet.
On Tuesday, I had a hearing with the three people – Helen Barneko, Lars Krister Olsson and Fredrik Reinfeldt – who have been chosen by the Swedish Football Association’s election committee as their main candidates.
A hearing where the three involved behaved well and where, according to Sportbladet’s sources, Lars Krister Olsson, 73, former CEO of Uefa and president of Sweden’s elite football association, SEF, appears to be the most competent and most favored to be elected as the new SvFF president. At the union meeting on March 25th.
But campaigning could be tougher and continue until the federal meeting if more than two of the Election Commission’s leading candidates remain in the fray.
Caroline Waldheim, 49, head of sustainability and community at the Swedish Football Association, said she intends to continue her campaign.
I will be with you all the way
Now the same message comes, with a bang, from a meritorious candidate who was not part of the selection committee’s trio.
– I will stay, for sure, says Jens T Andersson to Sportbladet.
Do you go all out and drive all the way?
– Yes, all in all. He says I feel I have strong support. I felt it just as strongly after my hearing on Tuesday when eligible voters called me urging me to keep running. Those talks have intensified in recent days.
– If at the trade union meeting there is a vote between several candidates, is this the best form of trade union democracy? Anderson says.
Jens T Andersson is on leave from his job as SvFF National Team Manager due to being nominated for the position of President of the organization.
Waldheim is also on leave from his SvFF stint.
How will you communicate with people who are eligible to vote (districts and elite clubs on the men’s and women’s side) when you have not had the opportunity to participate in the hearing?
I am flexible and find my own ways. I am disappointed that the selection committee did not have the opportunity given the support I have, but of course I accept their decision.
Support from elite clubs
Jens T Andersson has been nominated by Häcken for the position of chairman of the board and Elfsborg has publicly expressed his support for the former sporting director and club director at AIK.
Andersson has also been Director of Sports at Danish Aarhus and Croatian Hajduk Split and President of SEF but has also worked at provincial and smaller club level.
What is most important to you if you become president?
– The Swedish Football Association needs to look at the structure so that we can make our decisions faster. The world of football off the pitch, outside of Sweden, is moving at a different pace. We have three big meetings every year, the cabinet meeting, the union meeting and the president’s conference. It is the same decision-making organization as it was 50 years ago. We need to meet more often and discuss fewer issues each time.
– I also think that football districts should, to a large extent, be allowed to run football in the way that suits it best. The conditions are very different.
– We need to work harder on how to increase resources and funds for Swedish football as a whole rather than discussing how to change the distribution.
Critic of Reinfeldt?
All but one of the candidates – Frederick Reinfeldt – appeared in the media and told what they wanted to do if elected as the new president of the San Francisco Football Foundation.
How important is it to be available and answer questions?
– I do not want to criticize others, but it is a way to communicate with those who have the right to vote. Before the federation meeting, the clubs and counties hold their annual meetings where members can give their opinions. It’s difficult for members and the entire football movement to have an opinion on the candidates if you don’t speak out, says Jens T. Anderson.
