Response to interpellation 2024/25:704 on the regulation of football agents and links to organized crime
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
M believes that organized crime is a threat to the system and that the sports movement risks money laundering 1. M argues that it is reasonable to wait for the EU regulatory framework in 2029 because the market is international 2 3. M emphasizes that the government has taken measures against match-fixing and that Sweden previously stood outside international conventions 1 2 3. M argues that the government wants to get EU rules in place, that rules against money laundering should be broadened, and that the government has done a lot regarding the gambling side and the duty of care 4. S argues that agent activities are unregulated and that the state should act now instead of waiting until 2029 5 6 7. S argues for a national licensing requirement and increased transparency 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Niklas Wykman (M)
Madam Speaker! Lars Isacsson has asked Minister Gunnar Strömmer if he intends to initiate a project with the aim of introducing a national licensing requirement and supervision for sports agents in Sweden, if he considers that agent activities in Sweden should be covered by the money laundering act and/or special supervisory responsibility from Skatteverket or another authority, if he is prepared to let football's economic actors be included in the broader strategy against organized crime and economic crime that the government is driving, and if he and the government have taken note of how other countries, for example Italy, have included the sports economy in their anti-mafia legislation and if he is open to doing the equivalent in Sweden.
The interpellation has been handed over to me.
Organized crime is a threat to the system. The violence, the threats, the recruitment of children, and the criminal economy affect the functioning of society and people's safety and security. The Government has therefore developed a national strategy against organized crime. It contains priorities, measures, and goals to increase society's resilience and capacity to act against organized crime.
The sports movement contributes to inclusion and community and can, in some contexts, contribute to fewer young people being drawn into a life of crime. At the same time, the Police Authority has made the assessment that organized crime is taking ground within sports, primarily within football. The Government has allocated resources to strengthen sports' resilience against sports-related crime. The Government has also taken several measures to counter match-fixing, including enabling an expanded exchange of information between relevant actors in cases of suspected match-fixing.
In the EU's anti-money laundering framework, requirements are placed on certain actors to act as gatekeepers against various social sectors being abused by criminals. Parts of the sports movement have been identified at the EU level as being exposed to specific risks for money laundering, and from and including the summer of 2029, professional football clubs and football agents will be covered by the framework and be under supervision. Within the Government Offices, the adjustments of Swedish law that are required are being prepared. The EU's member states, including Italy, have therefore jointly developed a common regulation regarding this. It is positive. It paves the way for a football sector free from the influence of criminals.
The Swedish Football Association already places requirements on the activities of football agents today. These requirements are based on international standards.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you to Minister Niklas Wykman for the answer to the question I posed to the Minister for Justice!
There is hardly any area of society that is no longer protected against organized crime, and the latest example in a long line is Swedish football. In politics and within the police force, we often talk about violence in the stands, pyrotechnics and more repressive measures, but what we almost never talk about is what is happening behind the scenes and where the big money moves.
Agent activity within Swedish football is today practically unregulated. At the same time, it is a billion-kronor market; during 2023 alone, player sales within Allsvenskan and Superettan amounted to over 660 million kronor. In 2022, it was reported that over 100 million kronor went to agents. Since then, the Football Association has stopped reporting the figures, and today there is no open statistics.
At the same time, Allsvenskan has reached historical audience levels where records are broken every year. One sees a strong increase of women and children in the stands. This is not an environment that is letting society slip out of our hands, but an example of something that unites people across the entire country and something we must safeguard.
We have seen how agent activities are developing in other parts of the world. In parts of Africa and South America, pure human trafficking occurs where young players are exported to Europe by unscrupulous actors. In Europe, agents have been linked to money laundering and match-fixing, and in Italy, the country's anti-mafia organization has been given a mandate to audit football's economy because it is seen as a direct threat to the social structure.
Several Swedish clubs and supporter groups have raised their concerns. They see how large sums of money are handled without oversight, how young players – boys and girls – get unclear advisors, how agents try to influence the clubs, and how there is a lack of tools to act when something seems wrong. We regulate brokers and welfare companies, but we do not regulate agents who handle 100 million within a single sport.
I do not really have all the solutions, Madam Speaker, but I have presented a number of proposals and taken note of the Minister's response. I note that the Minister highlights the EU's future regulatory framework, and that is good. But the Minister says nothing about what Sweden can do already now. The Minister does not answer the question regarding the money laundering act, says nothing about the licensing requirement, and avoids the question of economic supervision.
I would therefore like to conclude with a direct question to the Minister, Madam Speaker. Does he share my view that there are links between agent activities in Swedish football and serious organized crime, or does he strongly suspect it, as several clubs and supporter organizations do? If the answer is yes, I want to understand why the government is not acting more offensively already.
Statsrådet Niklas Wykman (M)
Madam Speaker! I do not know if I should use the word humble, but if I were Lars Isacsson and belonged to the Social Democrats, I would be careful about expressing myself in that way – a bit condescending and a bit mocking – and wondering why nothing has happened. It is a single big question mark what the Social Democrats did during eight years. It is a vacuum. Why was the Macolin Convention, that is, the international cooperation that exists, not signed? Sweden stood outside; many would probably say that it is completely incredible.
We have received an enormously positive response from sports and from football, not least because we are now doing these things. I find it somewhat difficult to understand the high tone. Lars Isacsson might be able to fill in why Sweden had eight such empty years when one only saw the problems grow in these areas. Sweden did not even sign the international conventions that are supposed to regulate measures and cooperation in the field. It is actually completely incredible.
Just as the interpellor pointed out, international work is underway. There is also Swedish legislative work ongoing to meet this by 2029. I am convinced that this activity is, by its nature, many times cross-border and that this therefore needs to be resolved on an international arena. One can, of course, consider individual measures in Sweden, but a common solution for this is needed. The interpellor is certainly aware that Fifa itself has tried to address the problem by creating standards. This work is, however, currently paused due to legal assessments.
Madam Speaker! One must never rule out that it is possible to do things and, for example, have more state control and more state registers; at times it may be justified and a solution to an existing problem. But when things by their nature are as cross-border as this is and involve international transactions, it is reasonable to try to reach and uphold international agreements. It can still be said to be the main line of the work that we carry out.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
I did not experience that I had a particularly high tone. I also thought that I said that I really do not have all the solutions to this big problem. I also did not experience that it was particularly polemical.
The Minister asked why nothing happened during the eight years we governed. I am a member of the Committee on Justice. It is still the case that seven out of ten of the bills submitted here came from the Social Democratic government that was in power 2014–2022. Now, however, we are debating what we should do moving forward.
We have tools that we use in other sectors of society, from welfare to the financial market. Here, where it concerns the life destinies of young people and sums of many millions, the state, however, stands by and watches. The Economic Crime Authority has warned that organized crime, following the introduction of the new forfeiture legislation, which we have agreed upon and which is very good, is actively seeking new markets to launder money in. Markets that are unregulated or lack supervision are particularly vulnerable. The agent market in football is a clear example of just such a vulnerable environment.
We regulate assistance companies, even though we could do more. We review cash handling and set requirements for real estate agents, but when it comes to football agents, we are content to hope that someone else solves it further down the line. I do not think it is responsible of the current government, which is in its fourth year. I do not think it was responsible of previous governments either.
If one sees that there is a problem, one must act, and it is still possible to do the right thing. I believe, however, that one must do something now and not wait until 2029.
I want to conclude with new questions to the Minister. Does the Minister really consider it reasonable to wait until 2029 for a European regulation, and does he consider it reasonable that the Swedish Football Association, which is a non-profit organization, should bear the responsibility for the regulation of a billion-dollar market with a risk of organized crime?
Statsrådet Niklas Wykman (M)
Madam Speaker! It is quite obvious that more should have been done earlier regarding organized crime both in this area and in other areas. It has been allowed to eat its way deep into Swedish society. Sports is one such example.
I have personally met with, among others, Interpol regarding this issue. I have visited Interpol's operations in Singapore, where they look at how the match monitoring is conducted. This is a very well-studied way to exploit sports, but sports also occasionally act as an actor for this. There are problems here both with organized crime and, occasionally, in sports itself.
I agree that it is difficult to understand why one sat on one's hands regarding this for such a long time. EU rules are on the way; they begin to apply in 2029, and it is them we are working to implement. Since not much has been done for a long time, the question is which temporary Swedish rules we would have during that period. How would they come about, and how would they function with the existing regulatory framework? It is still a reasonable assessment – it is good that these rules are being put in place.
If we on the Swedish side, for example, had signed the Macolin Convention earlier, we might have been in a slightly stronger position and had greater influence. I do not know if the member has any answer as to why it was not done for a period of eight years. It is, after all, that convention that is the international cornerstone in this work, and Sweden chose not to sign it for a long time.
We have indeed produced a government bill on match-fixing and made changes to the gambling regulations. Going forward, political parties will also not be able to enjoy fast tracks in this. We have done this to raise the moral standard in this area. We have also increased the appropriation to Spelinspektionen. Spelinspektionen and Finansinspektionen have been given joint assignments regarding this. Changes have been made regarding legal violations and the work against crimes involving gambling fraud.
We have, therefore, stacked measures on top of each other in this area. The member is certainly right that the previous government took the initiative on parts of this. It is, however, a bit strange that one did not manage to do all of it well during the first seven years, but instead everything had to be washed over into the eighth year and into this government's first. I do not think it impresses people very much that one only managed to deliver something in the seventh year of eight. We then had the power and ability to carry out things in an area where not much had happened before.
I am a bit curious about the member's attitude towards the work that Fifa has done for the international standards in this area. It is difficult for me to see how Sweden alone could regulate a market that is very international in its character and which many times involves recruitment across national borders. As I see it, it is an EU regulation or an internationally agreed self-regulation that must be in place for this system to function. I interpret the member's statement as that we are fundamentally in agreement that is how it must be done for it to be effective.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer and the debate.
I can begin by commenting on the Minister's question. I completely agree that a European or international regulation is needed, but I also believe that we can do more right now and do it faster.
I do not know how rewarding it is to look back at who did or did not do what. If the Tidö government were to win the election in 2026 and wait with this until 2029, it would mean that the Tidö government had done nothing during seven years of rule, to compare with how it has been previously.
Allsvenskan in football is flourishing with record crowds, a safer terrace culture, and growing engagement from women, children, and families across the country. It is a popular movement and something to be proud of.
At the same time, something else is growing. This is a billion-dollar market with agents, money without oversight, and links to serious organized crime. It is against this that we should direct the crackdown. We should direct significantly more of society's power against the organized crime, which is eating its way into the body of football, than against supporters and pyrotechnics. We should strike hard against those who exploit the system's weaknesses to launder money, manipulate players, influence clubs, and profit from others' dreams.
That the government chooses to lean on a regulation that is five years away and let a non-profit association bear the responsibility is not sufficient. A national licensing requirement needs to be introduced, and transparency is needed. This also needs to be linked to the strategy against organized crime, and a Swedish anti-mafia legislation is needed. One cannot close one's eyes any longer but must go after the money and defend what is good and unique about Swedish football.
Statsrådet Niklas Wykman (M)
Madam Speaker! The Government wants to get EU rules in place. It takes some time, but it is good that the rules against money laundering are broadened to cover more sectors so that we can combat crime more effectively also within sports. It is something completely different than completely refraining from signing a convention, for that one can decide at any time not to do. It is, therefore, two different types of decisions.
I sense a certain regret in Lars Isacsson over the fact that this was not addressed, and if Lars Isacsson cannot admit that, he can at least say that it is good that the government has done this and that a prerequisite for Sweden to be a good country in this area is that we sign the international conventions that exist. Otherwise, he seems a bit envious.
It is said that nothing is being done in this area. But we have done a lot on the gaming side, regarding the duty of care and with information sharing. We have also given the Swedish Sports Confederation (Riksidrottsförbundet) new tools. Furthermore, we have amended the ordinance on state grants for sports activities to build a basic framework in how this works. It concerns control and debt with the Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden), about the possibility of processing personal data during control, about strengthened requirements for handling and reviewing applications by, for example, authorized representatives, about strengthened requirements for decisions combined with conditions that are rejected, about the obligation to report changed circumstances, and about the Swedish Sports Confederation being able to demand audit reports. It also concerns requirements for handling the repayment of funds and a two-year limit for grants up to one price base amount.
It is simply incorrect to describe the government as passive. We have done many things within the gambling law, the duty of care in several areas. We have also signed the international conventions. We have also increased the resources of the justice system generally, which means that we can also here meet what is illegal with greater force.
I do, however, appreciate the member's commitment to the issue.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.