Last week, Swedish Professional Football Leagues (SEF) held a conference for head coaches of SEF clubs. It was the first organized meeting for head coaches from Allsvenskan and Superettan since 2017, hosted by SEF.
“The idea is to establish this coaching forum as an annual event to discuss shared development issues,” says Svante Samuelsson, Sports Director at Swedish Professional Football Leagues.
In the past, coaching conferences for Allsvenskan coaches were traditionally held during the national team’s January training camp, but this practice ended after 2017. Now, Swedish Professional Football Leagues is reviving these meetings domestically and aims to make them more regular. The goal of the conference is to share information and foster dialogue on common challenges and opportunities.
“We need to improve how we engage our coaches with the work Swedish Professional Football Leagues is doing and the key issues we are addressing centrally. Coaches’ input is invaluable to us, helping us do our work even better,” explains Samuelsson.
SSwedish Professional Football Leagues participated with its sports team, and the agenda included critical topics such as analysis of the 2024 seasons in Allsvenskan and Superettan, updates on the Unicoach Project, discussions on Player Care, and the match schedules for 2025 and 2026. Two panel discussions were also featured, focusing on European competitions and comparisons of coaching clubs in Norway and Denmark.
“A key part of our conferences is involving participants and encouraging experience-sharing within the group. That’s why we allowed the coaches themselves to help design and lead certain agenda items, to engage and inspire the group,” Samuelsson concludes.
The next meeting for the coaches is scheduled to coincide with the 2025 season kickoff.
