Whereas Hammarby didn’t defend their league title this season, they’re having fun with a brand new journey in Europe.
A 12,062 crowd – a report for a WCL qualifier – watched Martin Sjogren’s facet lose 2-1 at house within the first leg of their play-off towards Benfica, quarter-finalists final season.
Every week later in Lisbon, Cathinka Tandberg’s Ninety fifth-minute strike secured a 3-2 mixture victory and a spot within the group stage for the primary time.
Earlier than their group-stage debut – a 2-0 win towards Austrian facet St Polten on the Tele2 Enviornment – the gamers have been welcomed on to the pitch by an enormous tifo exhibiting captain Alice Carlsson planting a Hammarby flag within the centre of a map of Europe.
Greater than 14,000 tickets have been bought for the house fixtures towards Manchester Metropolis and Barcelona.
“The backing we have now from the stands is exclusive,” midfielder Julie Blakstad mentioned earlier than the journey to Barcelona. “It actually helps us in matches, particularly realizing many followers journey to assist us.”
And that’s the level of all of it, actually. What Sandstrom, Hommrich and 1000’s of different Hammarby followers are doing continues the battle for gender equality in an area that also desperately wants it.
“I’ve three daughters – I would like them to have the identical desires because the boys,” says Sandstrom.
“My coronary heart is burning for equality in soccer. I would like the ladies’s groups to play for a similar quantity of individuals and I wish to have huge singing stands with capos, drums and large tifos. In Hammarby, feminine gamers can reside that dream proper now.”
