SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Karl Ole Möller, Nordia Law
7.3 Free Movement of Athletes Sweden is subject to the EU rules regarding the free movement of labour, cross-border competi - tion and discrimination. Following the Bosman case of 1995, NGBs and clubs adjusted their internal regulations to comply with EU law. It is prohibited to restrict the number of foreign ath - letes from EU member states, but the number of non-EU athletes may be limited to some extent. The Swedish Football Association has adopted rules where at least half of the players noted in the club’s player list must be “home-grown play- ers” , ie, must have been registered with a Swed - ish football club for at least three years between the ages of 12 and 21. Athletes who are EU citizens have the right to live and work in Sweden without a residence permit or a work permit. Professional athletes who are non-EU nationals need to apply for a work per - mit to compete for a Swedish club. The require - ments include having a valid contract with a club affiliated with the Sports Confederation, a salary of at least SEK14,300 per month before tax, and health and accident insurance. The Sports Con - federation must also certify that the employment is vital for the positive development of the sport. Non-EU citizens from certain countries (such as Russia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Indonesia and most African countries) may need a visa to travel to Sweden.
success, received far more media attention than the men. The government is investing in sport and expects the sports movement, at all levels, to redouble its efforts to achieve gender equality in sports, and to give all those with an active interest the same opportunities to participate, regardless of their gender. The largest women’s sports in Sweden are still athletics, football and gymnastics but other sports such as ice hockey, basketball and handball continue to develop. There has been a sharp increase in audience figures during women’s sports events in recent years and events from women’s top sports leagues are regularly broadcast on TV and other mainstream media, which obviously attracts new sponsors, etc. In 2021, the Swedish Football Association introduced equal compensation for the national teams. Despite its comparatively small population, Sweden is one of the world’s leading countries within esports and esports continue to grow rap - idly. Some of the world’s best-selling games are produced in the Nordic countries and the Nordic region is a huge gaming community. Sweden is also home to DreamHack’s esports tournaments, the biggest esports events in the world. The Swedish eSports Association is the umbrella organisation for Swedish competitive electronic gaming. The Association currently has three national esports teams; women’s, men’s and junior. They represent Sweden at the Euro - pean and World Championships in the Dota2, 9. Esports 9.1 Esports Overview
8. Women’s Sport 8.1 Women’s Sport Overview
Women’s sports are well established in Swe - den in most disciplines. Indeed, in some sports, such as alpine skiing and biathlon, the Swedish women have, due to their greater international
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