Cricket is "booming" in Sweden thanks to Afghan and Pakistani migrants who have "found a way to reconnect with their roots," according to the AFP. In a country where ice hockey "reigns supreme," cricket was barely seen 10 years ago. But it has "exploded in popularity recently" and now boasts 65 teams in towns across Sweden. Swedish Cricket Federation Chair Tariq Zuwak said, "Three or four years ago, we had only 13 clubs in Sweden and the number of players was around 600 or 700." With four divisions, the federation now counts more than 2,000 players, and "half have acquired Swedish citizenship, the other half are still waiting." Just a handful of members were born in Sweden. Zuwak said that the number of cricket teams in Sweden has more than quadrupled in just a few years, a rise attributed "mainly to the global situation in recent years." Sweden has registered around 400,000 asylum applications since '12 -- with "more than one in eight coming from Afghanistan." As Sweden "grappled with the massive influx," the cricket federation found itself having to adapt, creating new teams across the country. It also created two new positions, including one dedicated "solely to integrating new arrivals into Swedish society" (AFP, 6/19).
