Swedish Toffees

Kristin Karlsson, Sweden

Kristin Karlsson is a member of the Swedish Toffees. She lives in Enköping, just outside of Stockholm and works as a freelance journalist and teacher at Uppsala University.

It took me nearly half my life to finally start supporting a team.

I started playing football as a small child and have never ever really stopped playing, not even now when I am way past my prime. I always thought that playing football was more important than being a supporter, but that changed drastically when I moved from Sweden to England 21 years ago.

I still remember that day in 2002. I was sitting in a crowded, local pub in Liverpool watching the games – as always. I used to drink the same beer, sit with the same people, and listen to the same banter.

At that time, my partner and I followed every goal, pass, and save being made in the Premier League and I really enjoyed the quality and passion. For me it did not matter if it was Steven Gerrard or Alan Shearer who did some stunning tricks.

It was the quality of the play I yearned for, as well as socialising with other football-interested people in the pub, where the atmosphere was something that I never experienced in Sweden. Even grandmothers would be an expert football pundit.

That day in the pub, Liverpool supporters started aggressively shouting “send him off” at the television screen to the Everton player who had made a tackle on a Newcastle striker.

The Everton player (Joseph Yobo I think) apologised and then left the pitch. There was really no need for the Liverpool supporters to be so gleeful about it, and I became more annoyed with their arrogant behavior as they never seemed to stop.

It was at that moment that I realised I could never ever support Liverpool and once I articulated that thought to myself, it became very clear that I would always back the underdogs.

Then it struck me, like lightning from a clear blue sky – I was an Evertonian. Right there, as I sat on that wooden bench in the pub listening to angry Reds, it was like an epiphany.

This also happened at a time where I, and the rest of the world, had been watching the progress Everton were making under David Moyes and when Wayne Rooney had made his debut against Arsenal as the youngest player ever in the league. There was a fresh and positive feeling about the Blues and now I was one of them.

After five years of football in Liverpool (I also played in a five-a-side league with members from the local newspaper, The Liverpool Echo), I returned to Sweden. All the way home actually, to the countryside outside of Stockholm where I grew up.

I now have two children: Leon (13) and Shona (15) and we live in the middle of the forest by a beautiful lake. I love it here, but obviously miss spending the entirety of a Saturday in the pub watching football.

I have made several mistakes as a parent, but I am very proud to say that both my children are staunch Evertonians. Where they go to school, in the nearest town of Enköping, we know of two other people who support the Blues, unlike the Reds who are all over Sweden.

We are also, of course, part of the Swedish supporter club for Evertonians – the Swedish Toffees. It feels great to be part of this larger Blue community.

As an Evertonian you must overcome the blues to be a Blue. You have to be in there for the long haul, cherishing the joy of watching a football game together with your beautiful children, who refuse to join in any photos and who hate my loud screaming of joy or anger when I watch the Blues.

When my daughter started a new class, it was soon clear that one of her new classmates supported Liverpool. Her father is heavily involved in a local supporter club for Liverpool in the small town of Enköping.

On one of his trips to Liverpool he claims to have bought a pair of Everton shorts worn by Phil Neville. He never knew what to do with them until his daughter met my Everton-supporting daughter in school - and now the shorts are hanging on her wall.

In truth, there are Liverpool supporters everywhere in Sweden. They have even infiltrated my old football club here in the countryside, STIK, which stands for Södra Trögds Football Club.

My kids play for STIK. Shona is the only girl in the team. When they train, they often wear their Everton kits, and nothing makes me prouder than to see the two Blues on the pitch.

Just before lockdown in England in March 2020, Shona, Leon, and I visited Liverpool and saw the referee disallow a late winning goal for Everton against Manchester United. The game ended 1-1 and despite the unfair result the kids were very happy with their first visit to Goodison Park. It has been a very nice memory to cherish during the long haul of Covid.