The N.Y. TIMES goes with, "Swedish Soccer Prioritized Fans Over Finances. Now, Business Is Booming." Over the last 30 years, soccer has become "so financially stratified that many domestic tournaments are little more than monthslong processions for the wealthiest teams." Sweden, though, is "different, a solitary beacon of competitive balance." The game’s dynamic "changed drastically as money rushed into soccer in the 1990s, first from broadcasters, then private investors, and finally oligarchs, corporations and nation states." The riches created a "new class of unassailable domestic powerhouses." For Sweden, as for many countries outside Europe’s major television markets, it was “impossible to keep up.” Instead of "grasping at shadows, Sweden’s response was -- effectively -- to opt out." In 1999, the country "enshrined in law a rule that 51 percent of its sports teams had to be owned by their members: the fans." Now Swedish soccer is a "picture of health." It has had 11 different champions in 20 years. Attendances have "doubled in the last decade; this year brought record crowds." The league’s revenues have "tripled in the same period."
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