There are several major research papers on accounting choice that intends to explain and analyze how the intangible assets should be classified. However, there are not many theses or major research papers on football clubs and the accounting choice they make when it comes to the accounting of one of their most important assets, their players. This thesis intends to explain and analyze why Swedish football clubs makes the accounting choice that they make. Furthermore, the intentions are to explain the consequences of these choices and find out if that affects the football clubs vision of true and fair view. The methods that will be used for this study is an examination of the financial documents along with interviews. One of the theories in the study is the institutional theory, which explains that organizations in the same industry tend to become more alike. The study has shown that Swedish football clubs are given a choice, to present the player contracts on the balance sheet or as an expense in the income statement. The majority of the clubs presented the player contracts in the balance sheet. The main reason for that is said to be that the costs can be spread over several years, which means it will be easier to meet the financial requirements from the Swedish Football Association.

This paper seeks to unravel the existing discourses within the Swedish football supporter movement, and their criticism towards the Swedish police authority and the implementation of a new strategy known as"Villkorstrappan". The strategy faced heavy criticism from the supporters’ clubs, calling it counterproductive and harmful. The Swedish football supporters’ union soon launched an initiative called "Rädda svensk fotboll!". Almost every supporters’ club affiliated with football clubs in the Swedish top flight, joined the initiative leading to nationwide protests both online, and in the stadiums. The theoretical framework consists of Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional model of CDA. In addition the paper seeks to examine the creation of collective identity in the movement, this by using Melucci's theory and Burke's rhetorical identification theory. The research material has consisted of texts produced by Swedish supporters’ clubs and of pictures of message-banners presented in the stands during games. The results revealed three main discourses within the supporters’ movement and the criticism towards Villkorstrappan: “The police is a threat towards Swedish football”; "Football as democratic, and belonging to the people''; and “The importance of the supporterculture”. Regarding collective identity, various findings indicated an increasing unity within the Swedish football supporter movement, when uniting against a common enemy. Overall the results emphasize the importance of the swedish football supporters’movement, as a democratic actor, as a social movement and as crucial to swedish football in general.

The highest Swedish football division, Allsvenskan, is not known for playing the best football or having the best players in the world on the pitch. However, Allsvenskan has one of the worlds’ best average audience rates and is well known globally for their large supporter culture. Thus, the topic of supporter culture and supporter related violence are a frequently discussed matter in Swedish media and has inspired the research topic for this study. The aim has been to study Swedish medias’ representation of football supporters and supporter related violence and if it perhaps has occurred a discursive change between the years 2014-2022. Traditional news articles published online within the chosen years, from several different newspapers, have been analyzed through a critical discourse analysis. Accompanied by critical discourse analysis, the study has used a theoretical framework consisting of media power, media hegemony and moral panic to analyze and conclude the results. The results provided three distinct discourses existing in Swedish media about football supporters being; supporters are a threat against the nuclear family, the supporter culture is a threat against society and lastly, medias’ large representation of moral panic as a response to supporters and supporter related violence. In addition, the study shows how there has been a discursive change in medias’ representation of supporters over time which confirms how media truly has the power to control society and its attitudes as well as determining and maintaining its ‘status quo’.

The focus of the thesis is how football clubs can increase their revenues through brand equity and different marketing activities. The purpose is to develop a professional attitude towards football brands among the Swedish clubs and to increase the awareness of aspects possible to improve. Due to current regulations the Swedish league differs in some aspects from other leagues in Europe. Therefore this thesis will provide guidelines of how Swedish football clubs could increase their revenues. The theoretical framework includes concepts such as brand equity, stakeholders and the European revenue model. In addition to this a general discussion about sport marketing and its differences from regular marketing will be provided. In order to answer the main research question; "How can Swedish football clubs increase their revenues through marketing activities in order to keep a competitive squad?" interviews with people associated to Swedish football have been conducted. Different aspects have been identified that will provide the Swedish football clubs with important insights of how to improve their revenue stream. Recommendations will be given of how to proceed with increasing the clubs revenues.

Syfte och frågeställningar Den här studiens syfte är att undersöka eventuell domarbrist i Sverige samt svensk fotbolls domarverksamhet på distriktsnivå kopplat till makt och ledarskap, representation och organisation, allt med grund i frågeställningen om domarbrist finns eller inte. Frågeställningarna som studiens resultat baseras på lyder som följer: -       Är det domarbrist i Sverige, och vad innebär det i så fall för verksamheten? -       Vilka bakgrunder finns representerade bland studiens respondenter? -       Vilka eventuella utmaningar står distrikten inför kopplat till representation? -       Vem bär ansvaret för hur distriktsverksamheten bedrivs ur distriktens perspektiv? -       Hur vill distrikten utveckla sina domarverksamheter framöver? Metod För att kunna besvara studiens frågeställningar har semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med åtta domarkommittéordförande från olika distrikt inom svensk fotboll, rekryterade genom ett handplockat urval. Efter intervjuernas genomförande transkriberades och analyserades resultaten utifrån maktteori (Christensen, Daugaard Jensen & Lindkvist, 2011), organisationsteori (Slack & Parent, 2006) och representationsteori (Wahl, Holgersson, Höök & Linghag, 2011). Resultat Resultaten visade att domarbrist förekommer inom svensk fotboll enligt distrikten själva. Bakgrunderna respondenterna har är mer eller mindre den samma oavsett vilket distrikt de representerar. Representationen inom svensk fotbolls domarorganisation är skev. Det finns en överrepresentation av killar med annan etnisk bakgrund än svensk, samtidigt som tjejer rent generellt är underrepresenterade. Det finns organisatoriska utmaningar med hur svensk fotboll bedriver sin domarverksamhet idag, och det är inte klarlagt om det är förbundet eller distrikten som ska driva verksamheten framåt. De utvecklingsområden som lyfts är en bättre organisation för att kunna möta verksamhetens krav, samt att locka fler tjejer till att döma fotboll. Slutsats Utifrån resultaten dras slutsatsen att organisationsformen som används idag inte fungerar tillfredsställande utifrån idrottsrörelsens målbild. Det som är viktigast för hur organisationen bedrivs är formaliseringsnivån samt vilka relationer som finns inom organisationen. / Aim The aim of this study is to examine the Swedish Football Association’s (SvFF) referee organization at a district level, in relation to power and leadership, representation and organization. The analysis is based on whether there is a lack of referees in Sweden or not. The questions are as follows: -       Is there a lack of referees in Sweden and how does that effect the organization? -       What backgrounds are represented among the respondents of this study? -       What challenges do the districts face related to representation? -       Who do the districts believe should be responsible for how the district are organised? -       How do the districts want to develop their referee organizations in the future? Method To answer the questions of this study, semi-structured interviews have been used. The respondents were eight presidents of the districts’ referee committees, recruited through a hand-picked selection. After the interviews were made, the results were transcribed and analysed through power theory (Christensen, Daugaard Jensen & Lindkvist, 2011), organization theory (Slack & Parent, 2006) and representation theory (Wahl, Holgersson, Höök & Linghag, 2011). Results The results showed that there is a lack of referees in Swedish football according to the districts. The backgrounds of the respondents are very alike, independent of which district they represent. The representation within the organization is skew. Boys with other ethnic backgrounds than Swedish are over-represented, while girls are under-represented in general. There are challenges connected to how SvFF is organized, today there are uncertainties whether the SvFF or the districts should run the organizational development for referees. The areas of development mentioned are organizational in order to meet the set requirements, and representational to attract more girls to become referees. Conclusion With the results in mind, the conclusion drawn is that the organizational form of today is unsatisfactory according to the set goals of the overall sports movement. The factors most dependent was shown to be formalization and the relationships within the organization.

This paper examines the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) effortsand sporting success in attracting and retaining sponsors with a focus on the Swedish footballclub Helsingborgs IF (HIF). In 2022, Helsingborgs IF was relegated from Allsvenskan(swedish top-flight football) to Superettan (swedish second tier league) and faces a newexternal situation in relation to competition, attractiveness and commercial development inthe coming season (2023). Thus, it was considered of significant relevance to study theassociation's stakeholder and customer relations - in particular linked to the sponsors'continued willingness to support the organisation in light of HIF´s CSR work.Thus, the main aspiration of our thesis is to determine the extent to which HIF`s CSR workcan supersede on-field performance in sponsorship endeavours. Through qualitative researchmethods, including interviews with a spokesperson from HIF and their sponsors, our findingsindicate that HIF's CSR initiatives positively add to their relationships with their sponsors.Furthermore, the paper concludes that sponsors generally express a favourable attitudetoward CSR activities and do not consider sporting achievements as a central aspect for acontinued sponsorship.However, through our analysis it was shown that a handful of the sponsors chose to withdrawtheir sponsorship following the team's demotion from Allsvenskan in the previous season.This indicates that CSR alone may not suffice as a means of attracting and retaining sponsors,and sporting success still holds significance for some sponsors.Future research on this subject could broaden the sample to include sponsors who terminatedtheir collaboration with HIF after the demotion, providing a more comprehensiveunderstanding of the club's ability to attract and retain sponsors. Overall, this study shedslight on the complex interplay between CSR, sporting success, and sponsorship within HIF.The findings emphasise the importance of striking a balance between CSR efforts and onfieldperformance to effectively engage and retain sponsors in the highly competitive sportsindustry.

De flesta svenska elitidrottsföreningar är ideella till sin karaktär. Den senaste tidens utvecklingvisar dock att idrotten blir alltmer kommersiell och professionell, vilket gör attidrottsföreningarnas organisation mer och mer liknar traditionella företag. Ett tydligt tecken pådetta är att den allsvenska fotbollsföreningen IF Elfsborg uppger i sin senasteverksamhetsberättelse att de sedan några år tillbaka följer sin verksamhet med balanserat styrkort,ett koncept som vanligtvis förknippas med den traditionella företagsvärlden. Syftet meduppsatsen är att ta reda på varför IF Elfsborg valt att använda sig utav ett koncept som i grundenär utformat för företag samt hur de har tolkat konceptet och hur man använder det i praktikenjämfört med vad som beskrivs i litteraturen. För att få svar på våra frågor har vi valt attgenomföra en kvalitativ undersökning genom att intervjua tre personer inom Elfsborg:klubbchefen, ekonomichefen samt en före detta styrelsemedlem som varit med och fört in, ocharbetet med, det balanserade styrkortet i verksamheten.Resultatet visar att man inom Elfsborg egentligen inte styr sin verksamhet med balanseratstyrkort, utan att man snarare skapat en egen modell som man med tiden valt att kalla förbalanserat styrkort då det liknar Elfsborgs modell. Att de två modellerna liknar varandra är tydligtvilket vi visar genom att koppla praktiken till teorin. Elfsborg följer till stor del de fyragrundläggande parametrarna som förespråkas i litteraturen om balanserat styrkort. Vi konstateraräven att anledningen till varför man valt att koppla in balanserat styrkort i verksamheten är att detfanns problem i organisationen som man önskade lösa.

The purpose of this bachelor essay was to analyze two Swedish district football associations and how the responsible coaches of the elite youth development teams identify and select talent. Key questions in the thesis were how the coaches described their leadership and their own part in the team, how the coaches identify talent, how they work with the selection process and their opinions about the elite youth development team structure. The study was based on 7 semi-structured interviews. The interviews showed differences between the district football associations but also many similarities in how they selected the team during the talent identification process. All coaches were involved in the selection process but the way they talked about developing elite players varied. One interesting result in the study was that the coaches’ way of describing talent revolved a lot around non-football related attributes such as character and attitude. Nyckelord:

Syftet med det här arbetet är att tydliggöra vad svenska fotbollsagenter gör samt redogöra hur legitimitet skapas i en bransch som kantas av kriminalitet och bristfällig transparens. Kvalitativa intervjuer har använts för att besvara de två forskningsfrågorna som lyder: Vad gör fotbollsagenter i Sverige och vad erbjuder de fotbollsspelare och fotbollsklubbar för tjänster? Samt, hur konstruerar fotbollsagenter legitimitet i en bransch med dåligt rykte? Respondenterna till studien är tagna från tre olika yrkesgrupper: tre fotbollsspelare, tre fotbollsagenter och tre sportchefer. Resultatet visar att fotbollsagenter i Sverige primärt jobbar med kontraktsförhandlingar, kontaktskapande, scouting och karriärrådgivning. Några agenter erbjöd även spelare möjligheten till extra träningspass, matchanalys och rehab. Utöver detta framkom det att det förekommer agenter i Sverige som arbetar med oetiska arbetsmetoder som exempelvis att muta spelare. När det kom till hur agenter konstruerar legitimitet handlar det huvudsakligen om att skapa tillit från andra aktörer i fotbollssverige. Detta görs främst genom att få externa godkännanden från andra aktörer inom fotbollen. Utöver detta handlade det om att följa den reglering som finns och hålla sig borta från allt som kan associeras med den mörkare sidan av agentbranschen. / The purpose of this thesis is to clarify what a football agent does in Sweden and describe how legitimacy is created in an industry that is associated with crime and a lack of transparency. Qualitative interviews have been used to answer the two main issues that follows: What do football agents do in Sweden and what services do they offer football players and football clubs? And how do football agents construct legitimacy in an industry with a bad reputation? The respondents were picked from three different professions: three footballers, three football agents and three sports directors. The result shows that football agents in Sweden mainly worked with contracts negotiation, professional contact creation, scouting and giving career advice. Some agents even offered their players the opportunity for extra training sessions, match analysis and rehabilitation. The result also shows that some agents in Sweden uses work methods that could be considered unethical, for example giving bribes to players. When it came to how agents constructed legitimacy, it was mainly about creating a trust between themselves and other actors in Swedish football. This was done mostly through gaining external approval from other actors in football. In addition, it was about following the regulations that exist and staying away from anything that can be associated with the shadier side of the football agent industry.

Svensk fotboll har en starkt rotad föreningskultur som bygger på ideellt engagemang,amatörmässiga ideal och demokrati. Under lång tid har dock fotbollen i stort genomgått enkommersialiseringsprocess där elitfotbollen allt mer styrs som företag och ekonomi blir alltviktigare. Detta har skapat en debatt kring 51-procentsregeln som hindrar privata investerare från attköpa upp svenska klubbar. Supportrarna värnar om denna regeln och under tidigt 10-tal var fråganom en avreglering uppe i Riksidrottsförbundets stämma men supportrarna protesterande och regelnblev kvar.Supportrarnas åsikt i frågan framkommer därmed tydligt vilket leder oss in på vårt syfte. Vi vill tareda på hur ledande organisationer inom svensk fotboll och svenska elitfotbollsklubbar ser på densvenska föreningskulturen och den svenska föreningsstrukturen, samt vad de anser att de finns förkonsekvenser med att ha kvar respektive häva 51-procentsregeln. För att genomföra studien har detgjorts totalt sju stycken intervjuer, med fem klubbchefer i svenska elitfotbollsklubbar och envardera med representanter från Riksidrottsförbundet och Svensk Elitfotboll.Studien har gett oss tydliga svar på vad dessa respondenter har för åsikter kring den svenskaföreningskulturen och 51-procentsregeln men även kring den svenska fotbollsstrukturen. Detframkommer i studien kritik till den svenska strukturen och även hanteringen av pandemin ochflertalet respondenter kräver förändringar. Studien hoppas kunna bidra med att vara ett underlag försådana eventuella förändringar samt hoppas vi, kunna öka förståelsen för olika aktörers perspektiv ihögst aktuella frågor. / Swedish football has a strongly rooted club culture based on non-profit involvement, amateurishideals and democracy. During a long time, however, football has largely undergone acommercialization process in which elite football is increasingly controlled as a company and theeconomy is becoming increasingly important. This has created a debate about the 50+1 rule thatprevents private investors from buying Swedish clubs. The supporters care about this rule andduring the early 10s the question of a deregulation was up in the Swedish Sports Confederationsmeeting but the supporters protested and the rule remained.The supporters' opinion on the issue is thus clear, which leads us into our purpose. We want to findout how leading organizations in Swedish football and Swedish elite football clubs view theSwedish club culture and club structure, as well as what consequences they believe exist ofretaining and removing the 50+1 rule, respectively. To conduct the study, a total of seven interviewswere conducted, with five club managers in Swedish elite football clubs and one each withrepresentatives from the Swedish Sports Confederation and Swedish Elite football.The study has given us clear answers to what opinions these respondents have about the Swedishclub culture and the 50+1 rule, but also about the Swedish football structure. The study revealscriticism of the Swedish structure and also how the pandemic has been handled and mostrespondents demands changes in the structure. The study hopes to be able to contribute as a basisfor such possible changes and we hope, to be able to increase the understanding of different actors'perspectives on highly current issues.