Women’s Nordic AFL

Following on from the AFL London Women’s league, another Women’s league that are making tracks is coming out of Scandinavia. The Women’s Nordic AFL (WNAFL) comprises of the Odense Lions from Denmark, the Port Malmö Lynx and the Helsingborg Wolverines, who are both from southern Sweden.

The first team created were the Helsingborg Wolverines a couple of years ago, followed shortly after by Odense Lions and then the Port Malmö Lynx. Currently playing 9 a side but with keen interest to move to 12 a side Women’s football in Scandinavia, particularly in Sweden, is steadily growing.

With the 2015 Axios Euro Cup in the near future, the Swedish players have established the national team, The Swedish Ravens, led by coach Ryan Davidsson. With recruiting been the main challenge the WNAFL are facing, word of mouth has become crucial for the steadily growing numbers. However, the motivation is high with the possibility of playing for the national team and to represent their country in AFL Europe’s event!

As far as the future is concerned, the hope is that Stockholm, Copenhagen and Gothenburg will create teams and join the other teams in the WNAFL as it continues to get bigger and better. The growth of AFL outside of Australia is happening due to the dedication of some amazing people. Morten Merhoj assisted in the Odense Lions, Hanna Falkenström with the Port Melmö Lynx abd Isabelle Karlsson with the Helsingborg Wolverines have been crucial in the growth of women’s football in Scandinavia. Without volunteers involved, AFL throughout Europe wouldn’t be possible!

If you want to get involved in Women’s footy in Sweden or anywhere else in Europe contact us at info@afleurope.org

Good luck to the Swedish Ravens – we’ll see you in Croatia in October!