Controversial proposals discarded - Englund exhales

Gislaved's Finnish scoring machine Hanna Salomäki could have been plucked out of the game if the union's proposals for a maximum of two foreign players become reality. Photo: Henrik Hultqvist

GVK-sports chief: "Imported spice league"

Maximum of two foreign players on the court.
That was the league proposal that recently triggered a storm of protest.


The federation voted and the proposal, for the time being, was returned to the back burner.

Something Gislaved cheered for.

"Imported players creates more interest. Those who play in Sweden are very skilled and we want to continue to see that teams get to have three foreigners on the court at the same time," says GVK's sports director Lars Englund.

"At the same time, I recognize that there are some reluctant feelings. It's obvious that everyone wants more talented Swedes, but we're not there yet, and may not get there without the contributions from these international players," continues Englund.

If the federation's proposal was accepted, GVK's successful pros Meghan Sherman, Ester De Vries or Hanna Salomäki, would have suffered the consequences.

"There is not a club [in Sweden] who can afford professional on the bench," claims Lars Englund.