Football in the Nordic Countries Practices, Equality and Influence

Introduction: Mapping Nordic Countries and Football

Mihaly Szerovay, Arto Nevala and Hannu Itkonen 

Part I: Changing Football in the Nordic Countries 

1. Tradition and Transformation in Denmark

Søren Bennike, Rasmus K. Storm, Karsten Elmose-Østerlund, Nikolaj Schelde and Laila Ottesen 

2. Growing Participation and Slow Professionalisation in Finland

Arto Nevala, Hannu Itkonen and Mihaly Szerovay 

3. Preserving the Balance between Amateurism and Professionalism in Iceland

Vidar Halldorsson and Omar Johannsson 

4. Inclusion, Exclusion and Modernisation in Norway

Arve Hjelseth, Bente Ovedie Skogvang, Frode Telseth and Pål Augestad 

5. Between Grassroots Democracy and Professional Commercialism in Sweden

Robert Svensson, Daniel Alsarve and Daniel Svensson 

Part II: Specific Issues and Themes 

Professionalisation and Changing Practices 

6. Football Companies in Sweden and their Democratic Framework

Björn Horgby and Christer Ericsson 

7. The Professionalisation of Finnish Football from the 1970s to 2000s: From Amateurs to Professionals

Jouni Lavikainen 

8. The Professionalisation of Youth Football in Norway: Implications for the “Sport for All” Ideal?

Anders Belling, Frode Telseth and Pål Augestad 

9. Football Fitness: More of the Same, or a Path-Breaking Concept?

Søren Bennike, Morten B. Randers, Peter Krustrup and Laila Ottesen  

Equality and Gender 

10. Five Decades of Women’s Football in Finland

Hanna Vehviläinen, Hannu Itkonen, Mihaly Szerovay and Arto Nevala 

11. Breaking Barriers in Norwegian Women’s Football

Bente Ovedie Skogvang 

12. Women’s Football in Iceland: Don’t Wait for Change, Just Do It

Daði Rafnsson and Hafrún Kristjánsdóttir 

Supporters, Audiences and Culture 

13. Historical Rivalries in Swedish Club Football

Torbjörn Andersson 

14. The Development of Supporter Cultures in Norwegian Football Since 1990

Arve Hjelseth and Hans K. Hognestad 

15. Nordic Spectator Studies: The Literature on Attendance and Satisfaction at Professional Football Matches

Morten Kringstad, Tor Georg Jakobsen and Rasmus K. Storm 

16. Ethnicity and Aesthetics in Swedish Football: Playing Like a Swede, Fighting Like a Kurd

Tiago Duarte Dias 

17. Conclusion: Similarities, Differences and Future Research in Football in the Nordic Countries

Hannu Itkonen, Mihaly Szerovay and Arto Nevala

Biography

Mihaly Szerovay holds a joint Professor of Practice position at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, and the Football Association of Finland. Before taking up his current role that focuses on research and development in football, he worked as Senior Lecturer in Football Studies at Solent University, UK. Szerovay’s main research interest lies in the various aspects of sport and globalisation, the professionalisation in the different segments of football, and the changing field of youth sport clubs. Szerovay played football professionally as a goalkeeper in Jyväskylä, Finland. 

Arto Nevala is Senior University Lecturer at the University of Eastern Finland. His main topics of research are concerned with the social history of education and sports history. He has published and edited books and articles related to the changes in sports clubs, the development of football and refereeing. Nevala is a former referee in the Finnish Premier League and has also worked as a referee observer and match delegate. 

Hannu Itkonen is Professor Emeritus in the Sociology of Sport at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. His research interests lie in the historical sociology of sport, social control of sport, sports in the civic, public and private sector as well as sport in local and global contexts. He has published books and articles in sport sociology and general sociology as well in social history. Itkonen acted as the president and vice-president (2010–2016) of the European Association for the Sociology of Sport.