So it has happened. Linköping FC are relegated to Elitettan. Rosengård scored yesterday in the 90th minute, and that sealed the fate.
Let me tell you about my Linköping FC story.
Football has been part of my life since the day I attended my first ever match at age 8. Those who know, know that football is in my blood. Chelsea is my team and forever will be. Forty-five years in the game, I have been to over 800 matches, three Champions League finals among many others, and travelled all over the world to watch this sport I love.
Fifteen years ago, I moved to Sweden. After unpacking my suitcase, the first thing that came to mind was: Find a football club.
I lived in a small city called Norrköping. I went to two matches but did not feel the connection. It was not because of the club or the fans, but being a Chelsea fan and trying to find another club almost felt like I was cheating on a partner.
Then I found a friend on social media. It began with a little tweet: “Don’t forget the Milo.” It was from an Australian football player for the Matildas, Lisa De Vanna. What began as a tweet became the foundation of an incredible friendship that has lasted fifteen years and over 5,000 phone calls, messages, and still to this day our ongoing “What time is it there?” long-distance chats.
In fact, when I knew Linköping were relegated, she was the first person I called.
So in 2011, I attended my first ever Linköping FC match. It was March, cold, almost the end of the season. I had been a season ticket holder at Stamford Bridge since 1992. Now I was standing in a small, windy stadium in the city of Linköping. The ground was called Folkungavallen. A small wooden stadium, but a nice one. They had hot dogs at half time, even served beer. I had found my club.
Looking back, I had no idea who the players were. I had no idea that some of them were legends, or how many of them would go on to become part of my life here in Sweden. Icons, legends. This small club that I found because of a simple tweet, “Don’t forget the Milo,” became part of my Swedish DNA.
Looking at the match programmes from that year, there were players who were just teenagers who went on to become some of the best in the world. Eriksson, Harder, Asllani, Rolfö, Blackstenius. Over the next few years names such as Maanum, Lennartsson, Neto, Selerud became pioneers in the game. And of course the legends: Fischer, De Vanna, Wik, Fors, Andersson, and the greatest of all, Lotta Rohlin.
This club meant something to me. It became the left arm to Chelsea being my right.
The fan base accepted me.
A foreign guy who moved to Sweden being welcomed into a supporter group is something I never expected. I am proud and honoured to still stand beside them today.
In 2015 I left Östergötland and moved to Stockholm. It made sense to be closer to my clients and the business I run. But my passion for the club never left. To this day, I still travel back to see Chelsea when I can, but Linköping is the club I see most.
Back in the 2010s, a book was released called “Från Ekholmen ut i Europa”, and they asked me to write a small piece.
I was honoured.
Me, a small supporter who had moved to a leafy corner of Sweden, being asked to write part of a book that would become a piece of the club’s history. What an honour.
2013 was the year I saw the most matches. The train ride was only 30 minutes from where I lived in Norrköping, and I loved going to every game. That year we qualified for the Champions League.
The trip across Russia the following year to watch them play Zvezda Perm is another story. It took me three days to get there. A train journey across a country I had never been to before. All I can say is thank you to early Google Translate. And it is sad to read that Zvezda Perm went out of business in 2022.
Back to Linköping. 2014 to 2017 saw incredible times. With great managers, Martin Sjögren being the standout for me, we did it. We won the league. We won the Swedish Cup. Glory years with amazing players.
In 2021 I was asked if I wanted to become a board member. Me? A guy from the UK? Of course I said yes. Even living in Stockholm, I wanted to give everything I could as a fan, business owner, and someone who had lived overseas. I wanted to contribute to the club that had accepted me as one of their own.
It was an honour to be part of it.
Now here we are. November 2025. We are relegated.
The news was a punch in the stomach, but it had been on the cards for most of the season.
I spoke to a few former players this morning and one at midnight. The feeling is one of sadness.
The club has gone through a traumatic season, financially and emotionally.
I remember being a board member when they played their first ever match against local rivals Norrköping. I remember freezing watching Nilla Fischer score her first ever goal for Linköping in a January friendly in 2011. I swear my backside stuck to the seat, it was that cold.
This club has given the women’s game some real icons, as mentioned earlier. Yet the club is now in a perilous situation. The staff and the board have worked miracles this season to keep the club alive. They have gone above and beyond.
To the board: I salute you.
To Willie Kirk, the manager: stay mate. I beg.
To the players: you have run yourselves into the ground this season. Whatever choices you make going forward are understood.
To the loyal fans, the flock, especially Emma: never change.
To Loben: you are a god of women’s football.
This is a sad day, a dark cloud. But as I have learned in Sweden, rainbows often follow the storm.
Financially, I do not know what will happen.
But this fan, who stood at his first match in 2011, who travelled to Russia as the only supporter, who was accepted as one of their own, who became a board member, knows one thing for certain:
The heartbeat of this lion club goes on.