March 8, 2017 marked the official launch of a new platform – Swedish Alliance for Women in Sport (SAFWIS) – founded by representatives from the Cruyff Institute, Women’s Elite Football (Elitfotboll Dam), the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH), Girls in Sport and the Stockholm School of Economics.

For the unveiling of the platform, a sports gala was held at the Stockholm School of Economics where 50 female role models in Swedish sports were named.

Among the speakers at the gala was Gabriel Wikström, Minister for Public Health, Healthcare and Sports; Sofia B. Karlsson, Gender and Equality Consultant; Björn Eriksson, Chairman of the Board of the Swedish Sports Confederation (Riksidrottsförbundet); and Brianna Newland, Researcher the University of Delaware, US.

Nominating Committee 2017:

Linda Wijkström, Secretary General, Elitfotboll Dam
Lucy Rist, Founder, Girls in Sport
Åsa Bäckström, Assistant Professor and Head of the Sport Management program, GIH
Sofia B Karlsson, Gender and Equality Consultant to Riksidrottsförbundet
Hans von Uthmann, Board Member, GIH and the Swedish Olympic Committee, and former Chairman of the Board, Svenska Basketbollförbundet
Jamie LaFlamme, Program and Partnership Manager, Cruyff Institute, former Lead Program Manager at the UN Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP)
Collins Zola, Youth Council Member, Svenska Handbollsförbundet
Martin Carlsson-Wall, Center Director, Center for Sports and Business at the Stockholm School of Economics

Criteria:

Women who have been recognized for what they have achieved in Swedish sport as one or more of the following were eligible: athlete, coach, manager, official, educator, researcher, entrepreneur, journalist or administrator. To be named a role model, the person should have worked for inclusion and gender equality in Swedish sport.