Tingsryd and Södertälje have been granted a so-called first dispensation year. Newcomer Vimmerby has been given a second dispensation year. By next year's license review, the clubs' capital in relation to turnover must be 10 percent.
For Tingsryd, it has been a tough summer. The classic club risked relegation and bankruptcy but was finally approved for continued play in the top division – the club's tenth consecutive season in the second-highest league.
I think a sigh of relief was heard throughout the village, says Pyrell.
He means that it's a harsh reality where it's difficult to predict the future.
If you play well, people come. If you play poorly, fewer people come, he notes.
NHL Star's Contribution
How will this affect you during the season?
We have to work even harder and more ideologically.
During the summer, Tingsryd's native son Oliver Ekman-Larsson – who had just won the Stanley Cup with Florida – donated 1.5 million kronor to his struggling parent club.
A welcome contribution.
In that situation, it meant that we could actually survive. It was a lot of money, 1.5 million kronor. If we hadn't received it... it's clear that we would have struggled. But it also lay in the fact that we would get a license. Not that he would contribute all the money. But we had to guarantee certain amounts of money.
Only Four Clubs Made a Profit
It's not just Tingsryd that's struggling financially. According to LT, ten of the 14 clubs that played in the series last year showed an economic deficit.
In Tingsryd – a small town with 12,000 inhabitants in the municipality – everyone contributes as much as they can with sponsorship. But it's still not enough people to get a lot of money together. I think it's the same elsewhere. And then there are places where you compete with other sports, says Pyrell.
He continues:
Then it's also the case that you want to go up to the SHL or avoid being relegated. Then it can become a tough pressure on those who sit on the board and on sports managers. It can cost more money than you actually have.
According to LT, only Nybro, Kalmar, Bik Karlskoga, and Östersund showed a profit from last year's Allsvenskan clubs.
Friday: 18.00: Oskarshamn–Djurgården. 19.00: Björklöven–Västerås, Östersund–Mora, Bik Karlskoga–Almtuna, Vimmerby–Nybro, Kalmar–Tingsryd. 20.30: AIK–Södertälje.
