Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate academy managers' perception and experience of which preventive organizational and environmental protective factors they think are important for the short- and long-term mental health of male elite-aspiring football players in Swedish elite football. Furthermore, the study intends to better understand how football clubs can work to facilitate different types of transitions in players' careers in Sweden. The study is based on a qualitative method, where six male academy managers, around the country, five from the Swedish top league and one from the second league were interviewed. The results indicate that key protective factors within a club are linked to the team coach, who, with a holistic view of individuals and the ability to create a sports environment, can promote an open and trusting climate that enhances mental health. Other protective factors include the availability of support resources, awareness among staff and players regarding risk factors, early interventions promoting mental health, and collaboration with others to strengthen the player and to facilitate career transitions. Based on the study's findings in relation to our theoretical frame works‘Psychological Safety’ and ‘The Holistic Athlete Career model’ as well asprevious research, the conclusion can be drawn that academy managerscan develop an educational plan based on a holistic view of individuals and a psychologically safe sports environment that permeates all levels of the football academy, as well as recruit coaches who are able to implement it. Additionally, academy managers are in a position to allocate resources in the best way to promote mental health and support young individuals during various career transitions while considering different stages of their lives.

Bakgrund: Hamstringsskada är den vanligaste skadan inom elitfotboll och har hög återfallsrisk. I samband med hamstringsskador är arbetet intensivt då spelaren helst ska vara tillbaka snabbt för att bidra till lagets prestation. Rehabiliteringen behöver trots sin intensitet vara av långsiktig karaktär och förhindra att skadan återkommer i framtiden. Syfte: Att undersöka fysioterapeuters upplevelser av faktorer som påverkar rehabilitering av hamstringsskador hos herrfotbollsspelare i svenska elitfotbollsklubbar. Metod: Kvalitativ semistrukturerad intervjustudie med deskriptiv design. Ett ändamålsenligt urval gjordes och fem fysioterapeuter inom svensk elitfotboll intervjuades. Data analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys med en induktiv ansats. Resultat: Analysen resulterade i fem kategorier och 19 underkategorier. Kategorierna var fysioterapeutens förutsättningar, spelarens förutsättningar, yttre press, bemötande av spelare och återgångens omständigheter. Med utgångspunkt i fysioterapeuters upplevelser framhålls spelaren, tränaren och den egna kunskapen som de mest betydande faktorerna av rehabiliteringen av hamstringsskador. Slutsats: Upplevelserna kunde kopplas till fysioterapeuten som individ, dess omgivning och beteende. Fysioterapeuterna upplevde att det krävdes anpassning av sitt beteende efter omständigheter i omgivningen för att åstadkomma en lyckosam rehabilitering. Studiens resultat är svårt att generalisera då antalet fysioterapeuter som medverkade i studien var få. / Bakground: Hamstring injury is the most common injury in elite football and has a high re- injury rate. The rehabilitation of hamstring injuries are intense since the player should preferably be back quickly to contribute to the team performance. Despite the intensity of the rehabilitation, it needs to be of a long-term perspective and prevent future re-injury. Aim: To explore physiotherapists’ experiences of factors that affect rehabilitation of hamstring injuries in male football players in Swedish elite football clubs. Method: Qualitative semistructured interview study with descriptive design. A purposive sample of five physiotherapists, working with Swedish elite football were interviewed. The data collection was analyzed with qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. Result: The analysis resulted in five categories and 19 subcategories. The categories were the physiotherapist’s conditions, the player’s condition, external pressure, approach with the player and the circumstances of the return to play. The physiotherapists’ experienced that the player, the coach and the knowledge of the physiotherapist are the most important factors in rehabilitation of hamstring injuries. Conclusion: Physiotherapists experienced that adaptation of their behavior was required according to the circumstances of the surrounding environment to achieve successfull rehabilitation. The study’s result is difficult to generalize as the number of physiotherapists involved in the study was few.

The aim of this study is to discuss Swedish professional football clubs approach towards consumer attraction as a marketing term, by analysing the unique factors of sport consumer behaviour. The theoretical framework discusses the difference between traditional consumer and the sport costumer, as well as the marketing mix and relationship marketing for the sport organisations purpose. Based on the theoretical considerations, four semi-structural interviews were conducted with marketers and communicators from different Swedish professional football clubs. The thematic analysis of the empirical material was based on eight factors characterize the sport consumer attraction, two of which are considered as a study’s novelty into the theoretical contribution as they have not been previously addressed in research field. / Följande studie avser att undersöka svenska elitfotbollsklubbars tillvägagångsätt inom konsumentattraktion. Utifrån detta skapas en förståelse för idrottskonsumenten och dess unika faktorer. Syftet med studien är att skapa en diskussion samt öka kunskapen för hur svenska elitfotbollsklubbar arbetar med sin konsumentattraktion. Idrottskonsumenten är en vital del för organisationernas ekonomi därav uppkomsten av studien. Då studien fokuserar på konsumentattraktion inriktar arbetet sig på marknadsföring. I teoriavsnittet framgår skillnader mellan idrottkonsumenten och konsumenten inom detaljhandel. Vidare tas marknadsföringsmixen och relationsmarknadsföring kopplat till idrott upp. Genom teorin har en intervjuguide strukturerats som har används vid insamlingen av data. Totalt intervjuades fyra respondenter där alla besitter en roll inom marknadsföring för en svensk elitfotbollsklubb. Med hjälp av en analys av det empiriska materialet skapas en förståelse för hur svenska elitfotbollsklubbar förhåller sig till konsumentattraktion och idrottskonsumentens unika faktorer. Vid analysen uppstår det åtta faktorer som behandlar organisationernas konsumentattraktion, sex av dessa stämmer överens med den teori vi presenterar i studien och två kan ses som studiens teoretiska bidrag då det är faktorer som inte har behandlats tidigare. Det vi slutligen anser som huvudsakliga delar i svenska elitfotbollsklubbars konsumentattraktion är att de förhåller sig till idrottskonsumentens unika faktorer. Relationsmarknadsföring är även det som kan anses vara av högsta betydelse.

Sports clubs face numerous challenges, including economic fluctuations, shifting supporter preferences, and changes in regulations and policies. However, the unpredictable nature of athletic performance makes it difficult to forecast future financial outcomes, which can negatively impact planning and operations. Effective risk management is crucial for clubs to navigate these uncertainties and maintain long-term sustainability. The limited ability of Swedish clubs to access external funding sources, due to regulations on ownership and governance, poses challenges in managing risks effectively, as it restricts investment in new projects and response to unexpected and volatile events. Swedish clubs' managers face distinctive obstacles compared to their international counterparts due to the unique context they operate in.  The purpose of this thesis is to investigate what risks Swedish elite football clubs face due to the uncertain and volatile environment of sports, and to explore how these risks are managed. By identifying the various risks these clubs encounter, this study aims to shed light on how they maintain their competitive edge through proactive risk management strategies.  This thesis’ methodology is structured as a qualitative interview study consisting of eight semi-structured interviews with eight Swedish elite football clubs. The study uses a purposive sampling method, in order to focus on the unique regulations of Swedish sports clubs, as well the largest sport in Sweden, football. Moreover, the thesis employed a thematic analysis approach to analyse the data and draw conclusions.   The results of the study show that managers in Swedish elite football clubs adopt a hybrid approach to risk management, leveraging an experience-based approach and complementing it with a long-term strategic approach. This allows them to align decisions and risk management practices with their objectives and stakeholder expectations, and through balancing competitiveness and risk-taking, they establish attainable objectives that gradually lead to sustainable success. Moreover, the results show that larger clubs with a substantial number of members prioritise the opinions and interests of their members, who serve as a crucial source of income and primary stakeholders. In contrast, smaller clubs with fewer members rely more on sponsors and partners for income.

Fotbollsagenter har verkat inom fotboll under en längre tid. Deras avsikt är att representera spelare och klubbar i spelarövergångar och kontraktsförhandlingar. När fotbollen gick över från amatörism till professionellt utövande växte branschen och utvecklingen har över tid blivit allt större. Genom fotbollens expansion, står agenter kvar som en nyckelfaktor inom fotbollens marknad. I takt med att antalet agenter har ökat har fotbollsmarknaden sett en växande tillströmning av olicensierade agenter. Oetiska metoder har påverkat den allmänna uppfattningen om agenter negativt och därmed har trovärdigheten kring agenter ifrågasatts. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur agenter inom svensk fotboll skapar legitimitet samt hur de arbetar etiskt och moraliskt i relation till sina representanter. För att genomföra detta kommer studien även att undersöka agenternas grundfunktion inom svensk fotboll. Genom ett fenomenografiskt angreppssätt har perspektiv från fotbollsagenter, fotbollsspelare och Svenska Fotbollsförbundet undersökts. Detta har genomförts genom semistrukturerade intervjuer för att skapa en helhetsbild av branschen. Studiens resultat indikerar att ett starkt förtroende och en god kommunikation mellan spelaren och agenten är grundförutsättningar för ett legitimt arbete. Dessutom är transparens och ett noggrant utfört arbete viktiga aspekter som skapar legitimitet hos agenter. Genomgående i studien var även att formella regelverk har en väsentlig del i hur legitimt agentbranschen uppfattas. Slutligen har etiska perspektiv bidragit till värdefulla synvinklar om agenternas arbete. / Football agents have been present in football for a long time. Their goal is representing players and clubs with player transfers and contract negotiations. As football has shifted from amateurism to a professional practice, the industry has grown and the development has rapidly expanded over time. Through the expansion, agents remain a key factor in the football market. As the number of agents has increased, the football market has seen a growing influx of unlicensed agents. Unethical practices have negatively affected the general perception of agents and thus the credibility of agents has been called into question. The purpose of this study is to investigate how agents in Swedish football create legitimacy and how they work ethically and morally in relation to their clients. In order to do this, the study will also examine the agents' function in Swedish football. Through a phenomenographic approach, perspectives from football agents, football players and the Swedish Football Association have been studied. This collection of data has been gathered through semi-structured interviews to create an overall picture of the industry. The results of the study indicate that strong trust, good communication, transparent and diligent work between the player and the agent are vital aspects which create legitimacy for agents. It was also consistently found in the study that formal regulations play a significant role in how legitimate the agent industry is perceived. Lastly, the ethical perspectives used in the study to evaluate agents has brought valuable viewpoints about the agents' moral decision-making at work.

Under de senaste åren har psykisk ohälsa fått ökad uppmärksamhet i samhället, men också inom elitidrottens värld. I svensk media pågår det en växande trend av att fler elitfotbollsspelare offentligt talar ut om sin psykiska ohälsa. Detta trots att elitfotbollen är stigmatiserat från ämnet och elitfotbollsspelare har haft svårt att söka hjälp för sin psykiska ohälsa. Till anledning av det finns det ett ökat behov av att undersöka hur miljön ser ut hos elitföreningar, samt vilka stödinsatser elitföreningar arbetar med för att främja den psykiska hälsan hos elitfotbollsspelare. Studien har baserats på en kvalitativ metod till de sex intervjuer som genomfördes med elitfotbollsspelare som tidigare offentligt har berättat om sin psykiska ohälsa. Via våra intervjuer har vi fått ta del av elitfotbollsspelares upplevelser och erfarenheter kring elitföreningarnas arbete gällande detta område. Med hjälp av teoretiska perspektiv har vi bundit detta till det resultat vi kom fram till. / In recent years, mental illness has received increased attention in society, but also in the world of elite sports. In the Swedish media, there is a growing trend of more elite football players publicly speaking out about their mental illness. This is despite the fact that elite football is stigmatized from the subject and elite football players have had difficulty seeking help for their mental illness. Due to this, there is an increased need to investigate what the environment looks like at elite clubs, and especially what kind of support elite clubs work with to promote the mental health of elite footballers. This study has been based on a qualitative method for the six interviews that were conducted with elite football players who have previously publicly told about their mental illness in the media. Through our interviews, we have been able to take part of the experiences of elite footballers regarding the elite clubs' work in this area. With help from theoretical perspectives, we have tied the theories to the result of our study.

This study aims to explore how individuals who are operating Swedish elite football clubs manage the tension between non-profit and commercial logics, and whether organizational form is important when managing them. The respondents in this study are individuals with positions at the very highest organizational level, and predetermined themes that concern the tension within Swedish elite football were used in the design of the interview guide. The results were then analysed from a new institutional perspective. The outcome showed that elite football clubs tend to use similar strategies when managing the logics regardless of organizational form. / Denna studie ämnar undersöka hur individer som är verksamma inom svenska elitfotbollsföreningar hanterar spänningen mellan ideella och kommersiella logiker och om organisationsform har betydelse för hanteringen av dem. Respondenterna i denna studie är individer med befattningar på allra högsta organisatoriska nivå och förutbestämda teman som berör spänningen inom svensk elitfotboll användes vid utformandet av intervjuguiden. Resultaten analyserades sedan ur ett nyinstitutionellt perspektiv. Utfallet visade att elitfotbollsföreningar tenderar att använda likartade strategier vid hanteringen av logikerna oberoende av organisationsform.