ELITSERIEN: League to delay start until May

Today at 10 am (Swedish time) the Elit Speedway Sverige website announced that the start of the season will be delayed by one month.

This comes in response to the government’s decision to not open up to larger public gatherings on 10 April, to coincide with the start of the football season in Sweden.

Instead the rule that no gatherings of more than eight people will remain in place and the next review date is 3 May.

The English version of the original article which appears in Swedish and English on the ESS website is included below:

Another season coming up in the Swedish Elite League and the pandemic situations still affect the possibilities. The Swedish elite speedway club’s association, Elite Speedway Sweden (ESS), have been working intensively with a number of scenarios regarding the upcoming season. “A proposal has now been approved by the clubs, as well as the Svemo federation, which means that the start of the season is postponed by one month to create the opportunity for a fair and functional season”, says ESS Chairman Mikael Holmstrand.

The clubs have waited the longest and put their hope in the signals that came a month ago from the Minister of Sports that a limited number of spectators would be allowed from mid of April. “The possibility of spectators and entrance fees, or alternative support from the government, has been an important factor to consider. But also, the availability of riders given the difficulties traveling from different countries and the fact that there is currently a competition ban within the federation, not to risk burdening healthcare, is also part of our complex situation „, says Mikael Holmstrand as a background to the decision.

The government’s latest announcement is to postpone the decision regarding permission for spectators to attend sport events until 3rd of May at the earliest. „Given the cautious start that is expected when the fans can attend at the stadiums again, the clubs need to minimize the risk of matches without spectators. The conditions for continued governmental support, considering restrictions, have also been delayed and just before Easter new terms was announced, but where applications and decisions take place in late May „, says Holmstrand.

The postponed start will hopefully also simplify the situation for the riders as it is currently both costly and complicated to travel between countries. „We must do what we can to ensure that our riders can get to and from Sweden and a delayed start will help us even with this matter,” says Holmstrand.

Like last year, the clubs have had a constructive cooperation and worked with different scenarios for the start of the season. The revised schedule means that all clubs have two home matches in June to make the situation as fair as possible, as even that month probably will be limited regarding spectators.

“There is a lot to consider, but we now believe that the dialogue between sports and the government and the progress with vaccine rollout are positive enough to dare to set the start date only four weeks ahead of the original idea. The extra time makes a difference for us. It is important for us to be able to do a complete season this year with regards to sponsors, TV partners and supporters. Tapes up 1st of June”, concludes Mikael Holmstrand.

For more information, please contact:
Mikael Holmstrand, Chairman ESS, +46 706-92 51 30