Community and the joy of football at Skövde KIK Ladies

Being part of a team is something many in Skövde KIK Ladies had been missing before they joined. Here, they play football without performance pressure, and the goal is simple: to have fun!

“Last goal wins - come on now!!”

The shout comes from the coach of the youth team, who are about to leave the pitch for the next team—Skövde KIK Ladies. The clock is approaching half past six, and the August day has been warm. The sun casts long shadows as Karolin Stewart and her teammates arrive at the football field near Lake Karstorpssjön in Skövde.

Tonight, eleven of the roughly twenty active players in the team have signed up for training. It’s not unusual that not everyone shows up. What they all have in common is that they are at a stage in life where many things compete for their time. And there is full understanding that training cannot always be a priority.

“Everyone has so much going on, and it’s completely natural that you can’t always prioritize coming to practice or matches. We don’t want anyone to feel that pressure - the goal of our team is to have fun and build a sense of community,” says Karolin.

The goal – to have fun

The players in the team range in age from 20+ to 50+, with the majority between 30 and 40. They train twice a week all year round - outdoors in the summer and indoors in the winter. The sessions usually focus on playing matches.

“We don’t have a coach; we decide ourselves what to do. We usually help each other with a few warm-up exercises, but then we mostly play matches—that’s the most fun part!” says Karolin.

And that is the whole purpose of the training - to have fun.

“This is enjoyable exercise! Everyone participates based on their own abilities, and there’s no requirement to perform at a certain level,” says Emelie Hedenskog.

“But I always feel much more motivated here than when I train on my own!” adds Hilda Arias Fernandez.

“We play to have fun, but at the same time it’s still ‘real’ football. When it’s a match, of course the competitive spirit can come out sometimes,” Karolin laughs.

Team spirit

The team was formed about a year and a half ago. The club, which mainly has children’s and youth teams, sent out an email to all parents inviting them to an initial training session.

“Those of us who came to the first gathering didn’t know each other at all. It was very quiet - it's not like that anymore!” says Karolin.

Most of the players have a similar background in football: they started as children and played until their early twenties, when they stopped due to moving, studies, or work. For some, the break has been long, while for others it’s more recent since they last played in other teams.
But two players stand out, they had never played football before they heard about KIK Ladies and decided to join the team.

Everyone on the team has, however, been involved in team sports earlier in life. And it is that sense of community that everyone agrees they had missed before joining KIK Ladies.

“The team spirit and the social side that comes with team sports—that’s something I’ve missed since I stopped playing football myself. Now I’ve got it back! I didn’t know anyone in the team when we started, and now we’re a group that both trains and has fun together,” says Karolin.

The youth team that had been training on the field starts packing up their things. Karolin, Hilda, Emelie, and the rest of the team, who had been sitting on a grassy slope chatting, tie their shoes and step out onto the pitch. Someone reminds everyone to be careful during the warm-up, “we’re not twenty anymore, you know!” They chat and laugh as they begin to jog toward the goal on the other side.

Now, this evening’s training session is underway.

This text has been translated with the help of AI.