Sawt Falasteen - Sweden's Soft Hooligans push better vibes at Women's Euros

The idea for the Soft Hooligans came about in 2017 when Kajsa Aronsson, 61, and her daughter Estrid Kjellman, 29, attended the Women's Euros in the Netherlands.

"It was just so incredibly dead. We shouted sometimes, we cheered, and people looked at us as if we were completely crazy," Kjellman told AFP.

"We joked that we were hooligans. And then we were like: 'But we're not like other hooligans, we're soft hooligans'," she added with a big smile.

The young woman then created a Facebook group to spread their message.

"In the beginning, there was no defined cheering section," Aronsson explained.

"We had to build everything from scratch and get people to want to stand in the stands. Early on, it wasn't even that much fun to attend the games. You were on your own," Kjellman said.

Eight years later, with the Women's Euros now underway in Switzerland, the atmosphere has changed significantly, the two women noted, sitting in front of a ski lift in an alpine landscape wearing caps with the slogans "More Women in Football" and "Soft Hooligans".

"There are many more Swedes here. I think there's a big difference with the other teams too," said Kjellman.

"In England, there were several matches where the opposing team basically had no supporters. Now I think most teams have some kind of organised supporter group," she added.

A change they welcome enthusiastically.

"We definitely cheer for Sweden the most. But then you support women's football and want there to be more atmosphere, better football, better conditions," said Kjellman.

"The culture in the stands is also a big part of making it more and more interesting to go to women's football matches."

- Political message -

The Soft Hooligans stick to some core values: "Everyone should feel welcome," Kjellman stressed, underlining the inclusive and LGBTQ-friendly nature of the group.

"There are many families and children in the stands," Aronsson explained.

Their movement is not, however, without its detractors.

"We receive mocking comments about our name," Kjellman said.

"But we choose not to focus on that," her mother added.

Kjellman lamented the ever-present political aspect of women's football.

"Women's football is still very marginalised. In Sweden, we've come a long way. But there's still a long way to go," she said.

"In other parts of the world, girls don't have the opportunity to play football at all."

The two women are optimistic about younger generations.

"Women's football is much more accepted today. Now we have children who have (Spanish double Ballon d'Or winner Aitana) Bonmati as their favourite football player," Kjellman noted.

For the more immediate future, the Soft Hooligans are hoping for a Swedish victory in this year's Euros.

In the stands, their massive banner proclaims "41 Years Since Last Time" on one side and "Bringing the Gold Home" on the other, referring to Sweden's triumph at the inaugural Women's Euros in 1984.

They are through to the quarter-finals in Switzerland after a completing a perfect group stage campaign with a 4-1 win over Germany on Saturday.

"I have never, as a national coach, experienced the kind of support we had," said Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson.

"There was a whole section that was completely yellow with a little bit of blue, and we had people above our bench, so we were enclosed in a cool way."

Sweden will stay in Zurich for their quarter-final against reigning champions England.

"It feels great that we are playing here again on Thursday, almost like home advantage," said Gerhardsson.

O.Salim--SF-PST