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DANIR 2022 | Our involvement 68
THERESE SJÖGRAN, FC ROSENGÅRD
Now with 60
people on the team.
Anyone who knows or has ever met Therese group well. The goal is always for a new recruit to
Sjögran knows how passionate she is about take the team to the next level. And it’s incredibly sat-
football. How soothing she finds it to listen to the isfying when the team-building works and everyone
background noise of a football game while she sees how the players develop, improve their qualities
putters around the house. She started playing when and work together. That’s when Therese stands on
she was five years old, and football has been her life’s the sidelines and enjoys the fruits of her labours.
greatest passion ever since. And Therese has a great
career as a footballer behind her. She has spread the “It’s always fun to find an uncut diamond. But
joy of football in Harlösa, Veberöd, Wä, Kristianstad, you also feel proud if and when you can attract a big
Malmö, and Harrison NJ, as well as all over the world name, an established star, to the club. That’s a great
in her blue and yellow Swedish national team jersey. feeling, too,” says Therese about her favourite kinds
Her career has now taken her to the sidelines, but of recruitments.
from there she remains very much a part of what
happens on the field. Therese has been sports director for seven
years, and a lot has happened in that time. Although
“Life as a sports director is amazingly exciting, but progress remains slow in some areas and the finances
also incredibly different than being a player,” says continue to lag behind, everything has become more
Therese about her role as Sports Director at professional. There are higher demands on the play-
FC Rosengård. ers. The club now has access to the latest technology
for collecting physio data. This helps to optimise the
Therese is responsible for three teams and over training of each individual player.
60 players and leaders. It’s time-consuming to be
responsible for so many staff members, and she “These past years, the players have also become
needs to be available virtually 24/7. Perhaps she more professional. They’re more focused and are
needs to assist someone who is going on a national aware that the market is growing and there are
team assignment. Or she might need to contact an greater opportunities to go pro. The problem is that
interesting player’s agents. the base for recruiting new players is so small. There
are too few girls who start playing football, and even
“It’s a lot of work and the days are long, but I like to fewer who continue past childhood,” says Therese
always be available. I don’t like to switch off and take about the recruitment base of the future.
care of things later, because then I know there’ll be
100 texts and 1,000 e-mails waiting. In that case, I’d Therese has many fond memories of the era during
rather deal with things right away, as they happen,” which she was one of the eleven players on the national
explains Therese about her choice to always be there team. Their 2010 Swedish Championship gold medal
for the players, managers and agents. and the 2-1 victory against France in the 2011 World
Cup bronze medal match are just a couple of many
The recruitment of a new player affects the group successes they enjoyed. Now she works from the
dynamics of the team, and it is therefore important sidelines, making new memories alongside the
that the sports director knows the team and the 60 colleagues she now has on her team.
