The Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland) have long been a viable destination for Aussie footballers. 2021 saw thirteen Aussies making their mark on the Nordic leagues and while projected numbers for 2022 are less as of March, additional Aussie signings are likely.

Beyond 90 will once again publish Nordic Football Wraps this year, beginning the final week of March, when three of the Nordic leagues will be underway.

League start date: March 20th

How to watch: see Beyond 90’s 2020 Toppserien Season Preview

At the time of writing, just one Aussie is confirmed as playing in the 2022 Toppserien. Karly Roestbakken is commencing her third season of the competition, all of them with LSK Kvinner, where she is in the second year of a two-year contract.

Having recovered from foot surgery and with a Canberra United guest stint under her belt, Roestbakken will be looking forward to a sustained period of football and being at the peak of her powers once again.

A long-awaited playoff system will finally be introduced to the Toppserien in 2022, having been in the works for the last two Covid-affected seasons. The season will be played over 18 rounds, ending on August 27th, and the playoffs will follow (details available in this official Toppserien season preview – Google translate recommended).

LSK’s top three finish in 2021 meant they were invited to two pre-season training camps at Marbella in Spain. LSK drew both of their Marbella encounters with Swedish teams Eskilstuna United (1-1) and Kristianstads DFF (0-0). Unfortunately, a highly anticipated game against Aussie-laden Danish team Fortuna Hjørring was unable to take place at the camp due to weather conditions.

Since their time in the Spanish sun, LSK Kvinner has been honing their skills in domestic training games against other Toppserien opponents.


Their first game of the season is a home fixture against Kolbotn on March 20th (1am March 21st AEST).

In the lead-up to the season, Roestbakken and some fellow Nordic footballing Aussies (Charli Grant, Teagan Micah, and Indi Riley) managed a short trip to Paris.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Charlotte Grant (@charli_grant)

There are no indications that Nikola Orgill – who played the last two seasons in the Toppserien, most recently with Klepp – will be returning to the league.

 

League start date: March 27th

How to watch: Two Swedish Damallsvenskan matches per round will be shown free on TV6. The other games are available with a Viaplay susbscription (VPN required).

For 2022, the Damallsvenskan has expanded from 12 to 14 teams and games will be played over 26 rounds. The pre-Covid arrangement of the bottom two teams being relegated is reinstated this year.

Sweden looks to be retaining its place as the preferred Nordic footballing destination for Aussie women. Six Australians have been confirmed as Damallsvenskan players, with three teams having signed a pair of Matildas.

One of those pairs – Teagan Micah and Charli Grant – tasted great success in 2021, taking out the Championship with FC RosengĂĄrd and participating in the Champions League. Both Micah and Grant have played in Svenska Cup games and other training matches as part of their preseason.

RosengĂĄrd is one of four teams remaining in the Svenska Cup, and are playing Eskilstuna United this weekend in a semi-final. Their first Damallsvenskan game is against promoted IF Brommapojkarna on March 29th at 04:00 AEST.

Katrina Gorry has chosen to renew her Nordic football partnership with Clare Polkinghorne in 2022, with the pair having last played Nordic football together at Toppserien side Avaldsnes in 2020. This is Polkinghorne’s second season at Vittsjö GIK and the first of a new two-year contract.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Clare Polkinghorne (@polks89)

Vittsjö will be looking to improve upon their fifth position of the last two seasons. Their first game is on March 27th at midnight AEST, against Linköping FC.

Finally, news arrived this week that Hammarby has agreed terms with both Kyra Cooney-Cross and Courtney Nevin for the upcoming season.

Hammarby finished seventh in 2021 and was home to Elise Kellond-Knight for a brief time, prior to her chronic knee injury. They are playing a Svenska Cup semi-final this weekend against BK Häcken, and their first Damallsvenskan game of the season is March 28th at 9am AEST against Eskilstuna United.

There are no indications that either Dylan Holmes (whose BK Häcken won the 2021 Svenska Cup and played Champions League football) or Winonah Heatley (whose Växjö DFF were relegated in 2021) will be returning to the Damallsvenskan this year.

 

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League start date: April 27th (a preseason League Cup tournament is already underway)

While two Aussies participated in the 2021 edition of the Icelandic leagues – Matilda Emma Checker (UMF Selfoss) and Aideen Keane (KR Reykjavik), no Aussies are known to have signed on for season 2022.
 
See the official site for more details.

 

League start date: Championship and Relegation round-robins commence March 25th.

How to watch: Some Gjensidige Kvindeligaen matches will be shown free on TV3. The other games are available with a Viaplay subscription (VPN required).

Danish football continues to be an enticing proposition for Australian players. While there were five Aussies in the league last year, there are no clear indications as yet that Alex Huynh (Fortuna Hjørring) will be returning this year. Four of the other five – Jenna McCormick (AGF Aarhus), plus the Fortuna Hjørring trio of Clare Wheeler, Angie Beard and Indiah-Paige Riley – are set to return to their clubs.

All four were in action this week during the first leg of the Danish Cup semi-finals, where AGF and Fortuna drew 2-2. AGF will visit Fortuna for the return leg on Sunday.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Fortuna Hjørring (@fortunahjorring)

 

During the winter break, Riley was interviewed by the Danish league about her experience in Denmark and what it has done for her game (Google translate recommended).

The Danish league is somewhat unique in that the start of the calendar year sees the commencement of relegation and promotion playoffs over ten rounds from the previous season. As a consequence, the 2022 season proper starts later than other leagues, but as Riley noted in the interview linked above, this has the advantage of giving players more year-round football in comparison to the A-League Women’s competition, for example.

Last year, for the first time in the league’s history, a team other than Fortuna Hjørring and Brøndby IF topped the ladder: HB Køge.

Six teams are involved in the Championship playoffs commencing March 25th, with standings in the 2021 season giving teams various levels of headstarts before a ball is kicked in the first game. By virtue of Fortuna’s second placing in the season, they begin their playoffs on eight points. The Championship playoffs also determine Champions League places, with the top two qualifying.

McCormick’s AGF is contesting the relegation playoffs after finishing seventh last year. In contrast to the Championship playoffs, all six teams involved in the relegation playoffs commence the round-robin on zero points. The top two teams at the end will play Elitedivisionen football in 2022.

Follow all our coverage of Aussies Abroad here, and Aussies in Nordic football here.

Steffen Moebus
Steffen Moebus
Steffen is a life-long Canberra resident and enjoys covering football in and around his home town, as well as Aussies participating in the Nordic leagues (Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark).
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