Le padel is booming in Sweden. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has opened many centers, and huge clubs are built. The Sweden has become the El Dorado for brands padel. We meet Maria Agrell, member of the board of the federation Swedish to talk about this dream situation of padel Swedish.
Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: The padel is growing very quickly in your country, can you give us the latest figures?
Maria Agrell: "About 500 players have reserved land in the past year. 10 years ago, the padel was a new sport in Sweden. The numbers keep changing with rapid growth. ”
This figure is simply spectacular and unimaginable a few years ago for a country of 10 million inhabitants. It's over 5% of the Swedish population who booked a short padel in 2020. ! It is also a 185% increase compared to 2019 ! "
Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: How can you explain this situation?
Maria Agrell: "The padel is fun and once you start it's hard to stop playing. During the pandemic, I believe that even more people discovered this sport, since the clubs have remained open and we can keep physical distancing. ”
Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: What is the influence of big stars like Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the development of padel ?
Maria Agrell: “I think celebrities have made this sport more famous. We have both footballers like Zlatan and tennis players like Jonas Björkman, who have launched padel. "
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has opened several centers at the cutting edge of technology all over Sweden. His "Padel Zenter ”have undoubtedly played an important role in this growth.
Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: In many countries (France, United Kingdom, Italy), the padel is developed with the tennis federations. In Sweden, you are an independent federation and it works very well. What is your relationship with the Swedish tennis federation?
Maria Agrell: “Our relationship with the Swedish Tennis Federation is excellent. They respect the fact that le padel is a sport in its own right and we can consider different possibilities of collaboration in the future. ”
Photo credit: Linda Carlson