One key element in the international success of Swedish clubs this summer is the European Fund, a contribution from Swedish Professional Football Leagues main sponsor, Unibet. This fund aims to help Swedish clubs reach the group stages of European competitions. Having three Swedish clubs in this year’s group stages also benefits the future of the European Fund.
“Thanks to this year’s successes and the impressive performances of the clubs that qualified this summer, the Swedish clubs that qualify for Europe next summer will receive a significantly larger contribution from the European Fund than this year’s clubs received,” says Svante Samuelsson, Sports Director at Swedish Professional Football Leagues.
Every year, Unibet adds five million SEK to the European Fund. If a club reaches the group stage in Europe, they repay the money they received with interest. This summer’s Swedish success means that the three clubs together will repay nearly ten million SEK to the European Fund for future clubs.
“The exact amount per team next year remains to be seen, but historically, we haven’t allocated the entire surplus to the next year’s qualification process. Instead, we usually spread it over several seasons.”
This year’s European Fund was distributed before the summer as follows:
- Malmö FF: 4 million SEK
- IF Elfsborg: 1.333 million SEK
- BK Häcken: 1.333 million SEK
- Djurgårdens IF: 1.333 million SEK
Malmö FF, IF Elfsborg, and Djurgården are all playing in the new group stages of the international leagues this year. The first two are in the Europa League, while Djurgården is in the Conference League. This means that Malmö FF will repay a total of 6 million SEK to next year’s European Fund, while IF Elfsborg and Djurgården will each repay 1,999,500 SEK. In total, 9,999,000 SEK will be added to next year’s European Fund.
“As the main partner and devoted supporters of Swedish football, we are incredibly proud to have contributed to the success of three Swedish clubs advancing through the European qualifiers, something that has never happened before under the current structure. This makes us the best in the Nordic region. We eagerly follow the clubs’ continued adventures in the new group stages,” says Raúl Valencia López, Head of Marketing and PR at Unibet.
The European Fund
The European Fund is financed by Unibet, the main sponsor of Swedish Professional Football Leagues, and aims to help Swedish clubs reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, or UEFA Europa Conference League. Each year, Unibet contributes five million SEK to the European Fund. If a club reaches the group stage in Europe, the money is repaid at 1.5 times the amount received. This surplus is carried over to next year’s fund to ensure that future Swedish clubs qualifying for Europe have the best possible conditions.
The funds in the European Fund are distributed so that the reigning Swedish champions receive 50% of the pot for qualifying to the Champions League, while the other three clubs each receive one-sixth of the funds for qualifying to the Europa Conference League.
