Ice hockey in Sweden | |
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Country | Sweden |
Governing body | Swedish Ice Hockey Association |
National team |
Men's national team; Women's national team |
First played | January 1921 |
National competitions
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International competitions
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Ice hockey in Sweden has a history going back to at least 1912 and is one of the countries most popular sport. The sport was first organized in the country by the Swedish Football Association (SvFF), which was a member of the IIHF in 1912. The ice hockey department of the SvFF eventually split off to become the Swedish Ice Hockey Association (SIHA) which today is still responsible for organizing Sweden's domestic leagues and its participation in tournaments internationally. The highest tier of men's ice hockey in Sweden, the SHL, brought in 1,974,388 spectators in the 2013–14 season, the highest overall attendance in Swedish sports. The SHL's average of 5,983 spectators per match is bested only by Allsvenskan, the country's top flight of association football.
The first recorded official ice hockey game at Swedish soil was played at the on 30 January 1921 when IFK Uppsala defeated Berliner SC, 4–1.
Often referred to by the nickname "Tre Kronor" (English: Three Crowns), the Swedish men's national ice hockey team is amongst the most successful in the world, being considered part of the Big Six. The team is, as of 2018, ranked first in the IIHF World Ranking.
Sweden has won nine olympic medals, including gold medals in 1994 and 2006. They have also won the IIHF World Championships 11 times, most recently in 2018 in Denmark.
Sweden's women's national team, nicknamed Damkronorna (English: Lady Crowns) as a play on the nickname of the men's team, played their first official match in 1989, though they had been playing on an unofficial basis since 1987. In the five Olympics that have featured women's ice hockey, the team has finished with a medal twice, bronze in 2002 and silver in 2010. They finished fourth in the 2014 Olympics.