In Swedish sport, especially in team sports such as football and ice hockey, the 51 percent rule refers to a rule that means that a sports team must be owned and controlled to at least 51% by a Swedish club or organization in order to compete in the highest national leagues. This is usually to protect the tradition and identity of clubs from being taken over by foreign owners or investors. The rule is designed to ensure that there is a strong local anchoring and that the club is more than just a commercial entity.

Under the 51 percent rule, it is usually the members of the club who own a majority share of the club. This means that at least 51% of the shares or ownership shares must be owned by the Swedish club or its members.
This may look different depending on how the club is organised. In some cases, it may be that the club is owned by a non-profit association where the members have a certain share of ownership. In other cases, it may be a more commercial structure where, for example, a supporters association or a local investor group owns the majority of the club. The purpose of this rule is to ensure that the club remains rooted in the local community of supporters and that their interests are prioritized over commercial interests or external owners. Simply that the voice of the supporters remains heard.

Abroad, in places without this rule, we have seen some terrible examples of owners who bought clubs and who, without taking the slightest consideration and respect for the wishes of the supporters, changed both club badges, team colors, names and even in some cases the venue. In extreme cases, the entire identity and soul of historic and well-established clubs has been erased. Other clubs have teetered on the brink of bankruptcy when the owner lost interest and sold it to rogue developers.

And then you can ask yourself what will be left of the supportership, if none of what you hold dear is left. Supporters are often passed down through generations. Clubs' names, colors and club badges are the very core of supportership. To even risk that an owner could change this is unacceptable for most of us supporters.

The 51 percent rule is the guarantor that this cannot happen in Swedish football and other sports as the members/supporters always have a majority at annual meetings.

We are very grateful for this and it is something we really want to preserve!

We are proud of our t-shirt with that particular message. You can find it here .