After a long, cold and wet winter, the game is finally underway for Skövde AIK. Recently they won their first match of the season against Östersund and now they are of course preparing for more challenging matches with positive results..

For the past 20 years, the club has played in Division 1 and 2 and 2022 is the first year they will be in Superettan.

- It's really exciting and fun, we're excited!

Since 1919, football lovers in Skövde have been able to meet in the club, which today has about 1000 members. Here, both young and old come together in an activity that includes children's groups for ages 5-7 years, youth groups, a pensioner section and of course the first team.

- "We started a section for girls three years ago, which we hope will grow. Right now we only have men in the A team, but we hope that we can have a women's team with our own talents in a few years," says Per Åstemo, club manager.

Combining football with hockey

The club has its home arena at Lillegårdens IP where there is both artificial and natural grass. The A-team trains at Södermalms IP where there are heated playing fields that can withstand temperatures down to -9 degrees.

- The outdoor season starts in April for the youth and in May for the youngest. Many of our members combine football in the summer with ice hockey training in the winter. There will be a few months when the sports run in parallel, but the leaders in the different clubs cooperate and synchronize their training times so that the young people's calendars do not clash," says Per.

Young talents find their way to football

Every spring, Skövde AIK organizes Klassfotbollen in Skövde, which usually attracts 2500 children in grades F-6.

- "It's a real party where we don't count points or goals and it's often a gateway for many children to start practicing football," says Per.