Within Swedish sports, there is a consensus that football academies should be conducted at the earliest at the age of 13. There, the new association Karlskrona Idrottsakademi stands out, which trains eight-year-old players in soccer.
It is the former elite soccer player Tobias Grahn who is behind the investment. He started his career in Rödeby AIF and during his career has played for several Allsvenskan clubs, but also played several years on Danish soil.
– I want to offer something that is missing here at home, the associations have not developed in 30 years, he says and continues:
– In Sweden, it is taboo to say that success requires hard training, but this is something that has been dealt with for a long time abroad.
“The opportunity to become a professional”
In the newly started academy, the boys’ team trains three times a week and there is always a focus on each player’s development.
– If you dream of becoming a professional, you have the right to get the opportunity to get there. You can’t do that in Karlskrona’s other clubs, says Tobias Grahn.
Do you see any downsides to investing at such an early age?
– There are no facts that it is wrong. I don’t force anyone to train with me, we have a long queue to get in and the training sessions are full. Obviously the demand is there.
Hear Tobias Grahn tell more about the venture in the clip above.
