An analysis made by Upplevelseinstitutet, on behalf of Swedish Professional Football Leagues shows that there has been an increased interest for Allsvenskan and Superettan during the pandemic and that the spectators experience a high sense of safety inside the stadiums.

The analysis is made for internal purposes to analyze whether the pandemic may have affected the football audience’s willingness to return to the arenas. The study aims to give us an understanding of what barriers may have been created during the pandemic, which target groups have been affected and in what way Swedish Professional Football Leagues and the clubs can work to quickly see different priority target groups again as part of the audience again.

“The pandemic has, as expected, created some barriers, which we see rarely affects visitors more than the most loyal supporters – who have rather strengthened the bond to their clubs. The increase in interest among our supporters we see across the entire range, old and young, in big cities as well as in smaller towns. What is gratifying is that as many as 49% of the clubs’ female supporters increased their interest in elite football during the pandemic. The interest for Allsvenskan and Superettan has an overall increase during the pandemic”, says Kaveh Sarvari, event and private market manager at Swedish Professional Football Leagues.

After five rounds of Allsvenskan, the amount of spectators had an 4.5% increase compared to the corresponding period in the 2019 season. The analysis from Upplevelseinstitutet strengthens this.

Among the entire Swedish population over the age of 16, 9% state that the interest for the leagues has increased, while the corresponding figure is as much as 41% among the existing spectators. A total of 53% of the Swedish population is estimated to be interested in football in some way. 21% of these have seen games in Allsvenskan or Superettan at an arena since 2019.

94% of the elite football’s visitors in the country agree that they feel safe inside the arena, and only 4% of the visitors have experienced a threatening atmosphere or have a picture that people in the stands are too drunk.

“Our Swedish football stands reflect in many ways our society and there are few places that unite different people in the way our stands do. People with different backgrounds standing shoulder to shoulder sharing a common interest – the love of the club and the sport. Together, these people also create an atmosphere and setting that is often world-class”, says Kaveh Sarvari.

“Of course there are individuals who sometimes creates trouble, which we and the police work together to handle. These deeds carried out by a few individuals must not overshadow the overall picture of everything positive that happens. Facts unequivocally indicate that the audience feels a high sense of security and that more and more people love our football games”, says Mats Enquist, Secretary General of Swedish Professional Football Leagues, and continues.

“This shows that our common way of work is a success. Today we have consensus between clubs, police and fans on how we should work long-term. The Swedish model is fantastic.”

Another thing that emerges in the analysis is that:

  • The streaming from Allsvenskan and Superettan is increasing – each person sees more matches
  • 90% of the spectators think that the live experience is better than watching the match on TV

The survey was conducted with two different populations:
* The Swedish people – People with interest for football, 16 years and older
* Audience survey – representatives of Swedish Elite Football