Former Swedish prime minister to lead soccer federation

Wed, Feb 15, 2023
Other News (AP)

STOCKHOLM (AP) - Former Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt was recommended on Wednesday to become the next president of the country's soccer federation.

Reinfeldt was prime minister from 2006-14 as leader of the Moderate Party and has no previous links to soccer.

Formally, the next chairman of the Swedish soccer association is to be elected to a two-year term on March 25 at a meeting that includes the district associations and the top clubs.

In a statement, the Swedish soccer association said it had "listened to the entire movement and unanimously decided" on Reinfeldt.

The two other candidates in the race had pulled out - Helène Barnekow, who has had high-profile roles in the IT industry in Sweden at Microsoft and telecommunications firm Telia, and Lars-Christer Olsson, a former chief executive at UEFA and a member of its executive committee until 2021.

Karl-Erik Nilsson is stepping down as the federation's president after 10 years. He is one of UEFA's vice presidents and can stay on in that role into 2025.

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