When the responsible people for the Swedish Elite Football and the Swedish Public Employment Agency met in Malmö, it was established that the cooperation between them was far beyond expectations. At present, one club has already concluded a local agreement with the Public Employment Service, while 22 others are interested.
”The interest is much bigger than we expected,” says Karin Heri, National Coordinator at the Swedish Elite Football.

GIF Sundsvall is currently the only club that has entered into a local agreement with the Public Employment Service, but in total, 23 out of 32 elite clubs are interested in a agreement of their own. To compare to the goal of the season to get five clubs into a agreement. According to Karin Heri, it is only a matter of time before more clubs sign their own agreements.

”The local work has begun to get started, and we are very pleased that the interest is much bigger than we thought in advance. It is nice to see that we already have started to sign local agreements and soon there will be even more.”

The representatives from the Public Employment Service are also positively surprised by the great interest.

”We are excited to see how this has evolved. We have come much further than expected, which is great, but you should also remember that this is a long-term work. We will see more results in the future”, says Mats Rydberger, head of the Public Employment Service in Malmö.

Swedish Elite Football and the Public Employment Service before Christmas 2017 together signed a national declaration of intent, with the aim that the clubs in Allsvenskan and Superettan through their social commitment can create employment and reduce exclusion for people far away from the labor market. Football can, in many cases, attract and engage in dialogue with people who otherwise do not go to the Public Employment Service. There are a lot of examples showing this, for example through the Malmö FF Career Academy. Also in Sundsvall, the agreement with the Employment Service has its focus on employing people far away from the labor market.

”The great interest has forced me as a coordinator to be able to handle many parallel processes at the same time, but the Swedish Public Employment Service has really put up well in every way and they have supported me well, both nationally and locally. The Public Employment Service have put a lot of focus and resources on picking up local contacts for me”, says Karin Heri, and continues.

”There are a total of 23 clubs that are interested in doing this, but everyone needs to do their own journey. It is therefore extra beneficial that it is a long-term journey with cooperation with the Public Employment Service. Some clubs will be ready 2018, other 2019 or in 2020.”

The new clubs that will be included in local agreements with the Employment Service will be presented on a regular basis in Swedish Elitfotball’s channels.