Swedish Football Implements Mandatory Training to Combat Youth Gambling

Swedish elite football is taking a proactive stance against problem gambling among its young players by introducing mandatory training programs. The Swedish Professional Football Leagues (Sef) announced that all players and leaders within its 32 member clubs will undergo compulsory education on gambling responsibility.

“

Gambling responsibility training is mandatory for players and leaders in our 32 clubs, where the focus is on increasing knowledge, identifying risk behaviors, and lowering the threshold for seeking help.

This initiative follows a recent research report from the Karolinska Institute, which highlighted concerning gambling habits among elite youth footballers. The study found that gambling prevalence among these young athletes is higher than in the general population. Alarmingly, almost a quarter of players under 18 reported having gambled for money in the preceding year, despite being underage.

Daniel Lagerqvist, Sef's head of communications, stated that the organization takes the findings very seriously and has implemented measures to address the issue. "Gambling responsibility training is mandatory for players and leaders in our 32 clubs," Lagerqvist explained. "The focus is on increasing knowledge, identifying risk behaviors, and lowering the threshold for seeking help."

“

The number [of players aware of club policy against gambling] is significantly higher today.

Sef has also deepened its collaboration with Spelfriheten, an organization dedicated to preventing unhealthy gambling. Spelfriheten has conducted lectures across all 32 clubs in the Allsvenskan and Superettan leagues and also visits schools to educate about the risks associated with gambling. Lagerqvist emphasized that Sef considers this a crucial values issue, aiming to ensure football remains a safe environment and to protect the integrity of the sport, acknowledging that problem gambling is linked to mental health issues and match-fixing.

“

This is a problem that we and several other actors have a great responsibility for. The problem existed yesterday, it exists today, and it will exist tomorrow, which is why it is important to work long-term.