The League System

The Swedish league system is ordered in a strict competing hierarchy. That means that no club can by itself a position in the league system. Each team has to qualify by winning a lower division and the following qualification for the division above. The league system is constructed like a pyramid, with Elitserien and its 12 teams at the top. The levels below Elitserien are HockeyAllsvenskan and Division I. Elitserien, and HockeyAllsvenskan are organized by SIF; Division I and lower divisions by its regions.

HockeyAllsvenskan consists of totally 16 teams Actually, no individuals own the clubs in Sweden. (So far that is. The new possibility to transform a member-owned club into a joint-stock company will, of course, change that situation.) Even if some people gain influence by financing a club, for example, it is always the club members that own the club and its different teams. At the annual meeting the members select a board, and the board members are responsible for both operation and economy