United With Your Country

Rebecka Blomqvist, Sweden

My name is Rebecka Blomqvist, I am 26 years old this summer. I currently play for the Swedish national team and Wolfsburg in the German Bundesliga. 

My football journey started very early in the garden with my brother in Uddevalla, Sweden. When I was four years old, I started playing with the boys and when I was eight I started playing with the girls. I played with the boys and the girls at the same time for a while, but then I chose to play with the same girls team, IK Rössö Uddevalla, until I was 17. When I was 17, I moved to a professional club in Sweden called Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC  (now known as BK Häcken). I played with them for six and a half years and then moved to my current club Wolfsburg. 

As a player, there are always ups and downs. You always have some times where it is a bit harder, when you do not play or when you do not feel like everything is working on the pitch. I feel I had good development during my career and took the right steps for me at the right moment. It was a good step to go to Göteborg FC and then after six years, I also felt ready to go to Germany. The decisions I have made and the people around me - my family, friends, and coaches - have been very important for my football journey. I also had the luck to experience one Olympics, one European Championships, and now also the World Cup. 

What did you try to show with the photos? Was there any wider meaning with the photos?

I took the photos during our national team camp in Gothenburg. We were in a hotel and could walk straight to the training pitches, everything was right there. In the photos are my teammates from the national team, some staff members, and also a few media.

I tried to show what camp is like with the Swedish national team and what a typical day looks like.

Preparing for the World Cup has involved a couple of camps. I tried to have some time off on vacation before that and now I am just trying to focus on the training, getting into shape, and doing everything that makes my body and my head feel good. 

What are the opportunities and challenges for women’s footballers in Sweden? What changes have you seen in women’s football since you started playing?

I feel that women's football has really developed over the last few years. Of course, it has been a longer process than what I have been a part of. The women I am playing with now, the older players, have really fought for where we are today. 

When it comes to money you also start to see that development. Of course, there is still a challenge to keep that progress going and to really give us the best opportunities that we can have. But as a women's footballer I also feel like the opportunities are big. There are many leagues in Europe going professional and trying to make their setups as professional as possible. You see that with new leagues that are coming up, and the new teams. Many teams are working together with their men's team and they try to put in money because that is where it all starts. There are very big opportunities to make it even better. That is what Sweden, Germany, and every country needs to work for.

What does football and representing your country mean to you?

Football means a lot to me. It is my job but also my passion, what I have dreamed about, and what I really want to do. For me, football is very, very important. I enjoy having it in my life and I try to take every opportunity to make the best of it when it comes to performance, but also to enjoy the times with teammates.

It will all come to an end one day. I have heard people say that you really miss the changing room feeling and being around teammates and friends every day. 

Representing my country is the biggest honour you can have. I really enjoy every time I put the jersey on and I feel like somehow you are united with your whole country.

What are your personal ambitions for the future?

My personal ambition for the future is to keep developing. I feel like I am in a good place right now. I am in a good environment where I can really develop myself as a player and as a person. I hope to become the best player that I can be and to optimise my qualities, because I feel like I have more in me. 

Of course, it would be really cool to experience winning the Champions League, winning the league, and playing for medals with the national team at some of these big tournaments. I am just really excited for the future and I really hope that my body works with me so I can keep playing for a long time.

What does the future look like for women's football? What do you want/expect to change after the 2023 Women’s World Cup?

The future for women's football looks really bright. The development we have seen over the last years has shown that there is a willingness from many people who want to develop women's football. 

When you see these small steps, or also big steps, it gives me even more motivation to keep working, because you see that things can change. Also after the Euros last year, I think it was clear in Germany, where I play, that more people are coming to watch the games. There were so many more people than before, as Germany had a very successful Euros. Everywhere in Europe you could see that it meant a lot. 

After the World Cup, hopefully there will be some kind of boom in the rest of the world. At the tournament we will see some of the other countries that have not come so far in the development of women's football. But they are here and they have the chance to use this opportunity to develop women’s football as a country. I am very excited that this World Cup is going to be the biggest tournament we have ever had.