Every year, Unibet runs the Hemmaklubben campaign as the head sponsor of Swedish Elite Football (SEF). SEF is the association of all football clubs in the two top tiers of Swedish football Allsvenskan and Superettan. The club supporters decide how to share 20 million SEK donated by Unibet via a voting system. The donation is part of Unibet's partnership with Swedish Elite Football.
How does Hemmaklubben work?
Unibet created a voting system, which allows Unibet customers to vote for their favourite club. At the end of each season, Unibet distributes 20 million SEK according to the votes. The team with the most votes receive 10 per cent of the total, while the team with the least votes receives 1 per cent.
“Hemmaklubben is about improving the supporters’ experience by creating an extra tool for them to influence how much money goes to your club. The funds can be used to improve the football clubs’ operations and lead to greater success on the pitch in the long run,” says Philip Lagström, Country Manager at Unibet.
2021: A tight race until the final whistle
The numbers from this year’s campaign showed how clubs moved up and down on the leaderboard and signified the value of last-minute engagement and supporter votes for certain teams.
The largest proportion of the funds from Hemmaklubben 2021 went to AIK club, which was awarded a total of two million SEK. AIK received 17.3 per cent of all votes, beating the runner up IFK Göteborg by only two percentage points. In 2021, IFK Göteborg climbed past both, Djurgården with 14.2 per cent votes and Hammarby with 10.3 per cent, unlike last year.
Superettan clubs with dedicated supporters
Despite playing in the second-tier league, Superettan teams Gais, Örgryte IS, Helsingborg and GIF Sundsvall received enough supporter votes to take a place in the upper half of Hemmaklubben 2021, beating many of the Allsvenskan teams. Three of the clubs also ended up in the top ten (Gais 7th, Örgryte 8th and Helsingborg 9th), which amounts to 750.000-850.000 SEK.
Each year, all money from Hemmaklubben is dedicated to the club’s youth academies and talent development - a joint decision by all 32 clubs.
“Looking back to last year's Hemmaklubben, we can already see great benefits for the clubs' youth academies around the country. The money has been used for new artificial turf, instructors and education, travel costs and material,” says Philip Lagström, Country Manager at Unibet.
Final results Hemmaklubben 2021:
