The Karlstad Grand Prix Award, in its form, resembles a large heart, symbolizing one of the most important qualities of a sports leader. This quality, among many others, is exemplified by this year’s recipient, Sven-Göran Eriksson, affectionately known as Svennis, the football coach from Torsby who has left an indelible mark as an outstanding team leader worldwide.
The Sports Leadership Scholarship, Karlstad Grand Prix Award, was established by the Karlstad Municipality and Karlstad University to honor significant leadership achievements within Swedish sports.
Svennis, a native of Torsby, played both ice hockey and football during his youth. After his active career as a football player, he had the opportunity to coach Degerfors. He was subsequently recruited to IFK Göteborg, and in the 1981-82 season, he led the team to victory in the Swedish Cup, Allsvenskan, and UEFA Cup.
Following these successes, he moved on to the major football arenas of Europe, achieving incredible success in Portugal and Italy. After winning Serie A with Lazio in 2000, he was headhunted by the English Football Association to become the first foreign national coach in England’s history.
After 40 years as a professional coach with the entire world as his workplace, Svennis returned to Värmland in 2022. Through his commitment as the sporting director at IF Karlstad Fotboll, he has demonstrated his belief in a future for football in Karlstad. Sven-Göran Eriksson is awarded the Karlstad Grand Prix Award for maintaining a humanistic approach to leadership throughout his career, in a world often characterized by authoritarian leadership. This also strengthens the respect for him as a leader, in addition to all his remarkable successes.
“It feels incredibly honorable to present this award to Svennis,” says Anne-Christine Larsson Ljung, university director at Karlstad University. “He is an exceptional sports leader and a highly esteemed individual with an international reputation.”
“Sven-Göran, Svennis, Eriksson is synonymous with sports leadership for most of us,” states Linda Larsson, chair of the municipal council, Karlstad Municipality. “He has only brought international football to Värmland but also brought Värmland into the elite circles of international football. His calm demeanor, strategic acumen, and a healthy dose of common sense have resulted in a long list of successes, and his contribution to football leadership is unparalleled in the sports life of Värmland. Congratulations, Svennis. It is an honor to be part of giving this award to you.”
“Leadership is incredibly important in society whether it concerns school, private, business, municipality, and in sports,” says Sven-Göran Eriksson. “I feel very honored and would like to thank Karlstad municipality, Karlstad University, and RF-sisu Värmland for the award.”
The Sports Leadership Scholarship, Karlstad Grand Prix Award, is valued at 30,000 Swedish Krona and was established to reward significant leadership deeds within Swedish sports. The heart-shaped award, symbolizing the most important quality of a sports leader, is made of wood to represent the connection to Karlstad and Värmland, where there is world-leading expertise in the paper, wood, and pulp industries, particularly in terms of research at Karlstad University. 2024 marks the sixteenth year the scholarship has been awarded, and it is presented in conjunction with the major athletics gala, Karlstad Grand Prix, on July 4th.
Previous Recipients:
Ulf Karlsson, athletics coach, 2008
Per-Erik Johnsson and Tommy Samuelsson, hockey coaches for Färjestad BK, 2009
Marie Henriksson, Karlstad Curling Club, 2010
Ulrika Knape, diver and coach, 2011
Jan-Erik Vaara, floorball player and leader, 2012
Stefan Olsson, sports director of Swedish Athletics, 2013
Carlstad Crusaders, 2014
Helltons women’s team, 2015
Lennart Larsson, Karlstad Karate Association, 2016
Anna Dahlberg-Söderström and Fredrik Eliasson from Karlstad Golf Club, 2017
Annika Dahlman from Grava SK and sports figure Stefan Holm, 2018
Johan Pennerborn, Färjestad BK, 2019
Bo “Kulon” Lennartsson, Färjestad BK, posthumously, 2021
Johan Engberg, IF Göta, 2022
Maria Busk Madland, goalkeeper coach at Degerfors IF and university lecturer in sports science at Karlstad University, 2023
