'Bigger than football' - how Mjallby are gatecrashing Sweden's elite

BBC News

3 days ago

While most football fans across Europe patiently wait for the new season to begin, the story of the year in Sweden is already taking shape.The nation's top tier, Allsvenskan, is home to Champions League regulars and historic giants such as Malmo, AIK, Hammarby and Djurgarden.Yet with less than half of the season left to play, it is Mjallby, based in a town of fewer than 1,000 people, who find themselves four points clear at the top of the table and on track to play in Europe.From overcoming near-bankruptcy to creating the best team in the country on a shoestring budget, the club's journey to this point has been remarkable.
Mjallby were established in 1939 by the merging of two local teams, and have spent much of the subsequent 86 years outside the Swedish top flight.A coastal area closely tied with fishing and agriculture, the people of Solvesborg municipality are hard working and proud.They show up in numbers at their modest 6,500 capacity Strandvallen home in the small town of Hallevik, with average attendances more than four times the size of the local population.It's by the sea, but a far cry from the vast arenas of Stockholm and Malmo as Mjallby try to make up for lost time.After a joint-best finish of fifth in the 2024 Allsvenskan, they have won 13 of their 18 league games this term and tasted defeat just once. Since July 2024, they have also gone 18 home league matches unbeaten.Mjallby have already beaten title rivals Hammarby, currently in second place, home and away this season, despite having one of the smallest turnovers and budgets in the division."It's difficult to take it all in, it's happened so fast," midfielder Elliot Stroud told BBC Sport.The 23-year-old, Mjallby's top goal contributor in the league with four goals and five assists, is thriving in a high energy, high pressing attacking system, something only recently introduced at the club."When people thought of Mjallby, they thought of long balls, long throws. We've always been strong defensively, but last season we brought in a new assistant coach who brought lots of great offensive ideas," added Stroud.
That coach is Karl Marius Aksum.He had never previously coached at senior level when he joined Mjallby in January 2024, but his academic work and ideas won over manager Anders Torstensson.The Norwegian, who regularly shares tactical insights on social media, has a PhD in visual perception in elite football.It has a particular focus on scanning, which refers to the active head movements players make before receiving the ball to gather information from their surroundings."It's a critical skill in modern football because the movements of the players are faster and the press is better, so you have to update your surroundings all the time," Aksum told BBC Sport."It's especially important for players in the middle of the pitch, because they could have important information 360 degrees around them."He worked on the players' scanning to make them "better passers and better players both offensively and defensively", and was given the freedom to implement other principles to revolutionise their attacking play.A team that once relied heavily on crosses and set-pieces now plays out from the back to keep possession and moves up the pitch as a unit.Aksum favours "game specific" training over drills like rondos,, external which focus on a specific skill without recreating real match conditions."No Playstation coaching, we provide players with principles but never the exact solutions. They have to make the decisions," he added.With 35 goals in 18 games this season, Mjallby are the division's top scorers and have the fourth-highest average possession (53.8%) - up from 47.5% three years ago.
'We had to take control'
Making a title charge with an average player age of 24 and just three international players is impressive, but it's no accident.Rewind to 2016 and Mjallby were struggling in the third tier and close to bankruptcy.Victory on the final day spared them what would have been a fatal relegation to the fourth tier, but serious changes were needed off the field.Swedish clubs are owned by fans because of the 50+1 rule, meaning rich owners cannot bankroll teams to success.Mjallby's transformation over the last decade has been organic, and driven by chairman Magnus Emeus.The businessman changed the mindset regarding finance, reducing the club's running costs and making the operation more efficient.
"We took control of our costs, we have one of the lowest turnovers in the league, but we also have one of the lowest costs," Mjallby chief executive Jacob Lennartsson told BBC Sport."For every Swedish krona that leaves this club, we ask the question: Is this making us better?"Football is so much about love and passion, but in the end it's so important that you have a good economy."Mjallby began to focus on developing young players and selling them as a way to survive.Defender Colin Rosler - son of former Manchester City striker Uwe - was sold for £950,000 just 18 months after joining on a free transfer. Midfielder Nicklas Rojkjaer - described by Aksum as the best player he has ever worked with - joined Danish side Nordsjaelland earlier this month for about £1.4m.The stars of this season like Gambian forward Abdoulie Manneh, centre-backs Axel Noren and Abdullah Iqbal, and Swedish midfielder Ludwig Malachowski Thorell seem destined for big moves in the future.Older players like captain Jesper Gustavsson - who played in that decisive final-day game nine years ago - and striker Jacob Bergstrom, both 30, have provided invaluable experience.Such a strategy appears at odds with challenging for honours, but Lennartsson believes a balance can be found."The problem is when you start to win games, players attract bigger clubs. The balance is to make them understand that it's about what is best for the club," he said."I understand the players' perspective. At Mjallby they will get a good education and play for one of the best teams in Sweden, but they will not get the best money."No player that has ever asked to leave Mjallby stays for a long time afterwards. Maybe a half or full season, but they get their dream move in the end."The club is getting stronger year on year. Since 2016, their annual turnover has grown from minus £350,000 to £2.3m, while equity has increased vastly too.
Sharing joy after tough times
While continuing to grow, what has emerged from the near-ruins of 2016 is a club that remains rooted in a tight-knit community.Where else would several members of a title-challenging squad all live in the same building and regularly bump into fans while doing their grocery shopping?"If we don't have anything to do we will have a barbecue, cook out, hang out," revealed Stroud."Those bonds build off the pitch and follow on the pitch too. That's the key. We are all so close and that's special at a fairly small club."Mjallby's official supporters' association, Sillastrybarna, has grown from less than 30 hardcore fans to at least 500, all while cultivating a positive, anti-racist and anti-sexist culture in the stands.Not to be outdone by their counterparts in Stockholm, the choreographies and displays produced by the Mjallby Tifo group get more elaborate with each passing season.For those who have witnessed their journey, the emotions of this season are hard to comprehend."The greatest feeling is sharing this moment with my mates who have been standing by my side all along this journey," said Sillastrybarna chairman Patrik Thorell."Mjallby is bigger than football, it is a big family. Seeing these people full of joy every weekend, and to share this feeling with them, it really is one of the best feelings in the world."
After watching his team play at Mjallby, one opposition supporter wrote on social media: "It should be impossible to play football here - nobody lives here, there is one shop and only animals."You turn right on a road where the world ends and the sea starts, and there is Strandvallen. It's amazing they play elite football there, but they do."Those words have been adopted by the club as both a source of motivation and grounding."We are not that big, we need to keep our feet on the ground," added Lennartsson."We use this to keep our expectations in check."Whether or not Mjallby get their fairytale ending in November, the future looks bright for the club where the world ends and the sea starts.