• Education
• Research
• About Lnu

• Research Database
• Multifaceted research
• Lnuc
• Professors
• Third-cycle programmes
• Doctoral dissertation defenses
• Honorary Doctors
• Linnaeus University Press
• Grants and Innovation Office
• Contacts

2012-07-13

New research report on the future of sports associations and clubs presented at Almedalen

Magnus Forslund, researcher at Linnaeus University recently presented his newly published research report at a research seminar entitled The Development of Sports Associations during the Almedalen week held on the island of Gotland.

The seminar was begun with a presentation of the research project in which Magnus Forslund had looked into the the everyday reality of running sports clubs and sporting associations in Sweden, concentrating on how the clubs are managed and how they develop over time, taking the example of Sandsbro AIK club.

The questions taken up in the project included what it meant to run a sporting association in terms of commercialisation, professionalisation other aspects which are so prevalent in the management of sport today. Other questions included what happens when the club / association expands and develops its activities, what difficulties are encountered and what solutions there are to these problems.

These questions were also taken up in a plenary session after the seminar, involving Eva Bjernudd, Korpen Svenska Motionsidrottsförbundet, Karin Karlsson, SISU Idrottsutbildarna/Riksidrottsförbundet. Johan Thorén, Sport & Affärer, Karin Mattsson Weijber, the Swedish Sports Confederation chaired by Mathias Cöster.

Magnus Forslund proposes in his report a number of measures to strengthen sports clubs and associations in the future: employing coordinators in the clubs, developing the club’s financial expertise and know how and access to on call advice and support, faciliating the financial management of clubs by simplifying administrative support systems in use today as well as increasing action research relating to sports clubs.

In Sweden there isn’t currently a great deal of research into sport management but internationally there are a number of researchers who are active in the area. In order to enhance expertise, Magnus Forslund recommended in his report a research investment the equivalent to SEK 100 million in the subject area of sport management.

Watch a recording of the seminar (in Swedish).