Enhanced security - when Israel plays in Borås: "There is a threat"

Heightened security – when Israel plays in Borås: "There is a threat picture" An Israeli girls' football match playing the week's European Championship qualifiers in Borås has sparked a debate. From the organizer's side, greater security work than usual is required. – There will be a police presence and I dare to say that it is not usually there for an F16 tournament, says Martin Fredman, the security chief of the Swedish Football Association. In the coming days, the F16 teams of Sweden, France, the Netherlands, and Israel will meet at the Borås arena in a qualification tournament for the U17 European Championship in football. Some believe that the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) should boycott Israel because of the war in Gaza. One of them is the former Swedish national team goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl, who wrote the following on Facebook last week: "I just found out that Israel will play with its U17 team at Borås Arena in October. What do we think about it? I have no agg against 17-year-old girls from Israel but right now they represent a state that commits genocide." This is what the SvFF's staff chief Tobias Tibell says to Aftonbladet regarding Lindahl's statement: – It is a competition organized by UEFA where Israel is welcome to participate with its national team. Based on our international guidelines, which were recently established, there is no basis for a boycott. Our focus is to make the event as safe and secure as possible. To organize the tournament safely, a security apparatus that is usually not required for a tournament with youth teams has been prepared. – There will be a police presence. I dare to say that it is not usually there for an F16 tournament. We usually handle an F16 tournament by creating a good atmosphere and a high level of service. Now we are also adding the security aspect, says Martin Fredman, who is the security chief of the SvFF. In March, the Police wrote on their website that what is happening in the Middle East and Iran "carries an increased threat" to Israeli and Jewish interests in Sweden. – In general, there is a threat picture and it is assessed as relatively high towards Israeli interests in Sweden. An Israeli national team coming here falls under that, so there is clearly an increased risk surrounding a team that is here, says Fredman and continues: – We have a solid cooperation with both the police and the city of Borås in a way that we would not have had if Israel had not participated. It is obvious that Israel's participation affects the security work. We also have a responsibility for all four nations to be able to come here, stay safely, play their matches, train, live, and move around. In addition to the police being present around the qualifiers for the U17 European Championship, the organizer has doubled the number of officials around Israel's matches, writes Borås Tidning. For the other matches, the number of officials is about ten. – Initially, we had problems getting enough. What makes it difficult is when Israel's matches are played in the middle of the day when many are working. But now it is starting to work out. We will probably manage it all, said co-organizer and Norrby IF club manager David Kryssman to Borås Tidning last week. The Swedish Football Association's security chief Martin Fredman says that the association's security department has been in contact with players, coaches, and parents of the Swedish team before the tournament. – As always, it can create some anxiety when it is medially highlighted. In some cases, those who want to give opinions take the opportunity. They naturally read everything. These are young girls who are going to play. It is clear that there is sometimes a created anxiety that parents can feel, where they want to ensure that the players and children have a safe and secure environment to be in. The responsibility lies with us. But the news from the association is that parents do not need to be worried. – There is no heightened threat picture or risk to the Swedish team in any way, says Martin Fredman. Facts.The qualifying matches at Borås arena Thursday, October 21st 13:00: France–Israel 18:00: Sweden–Netherlands Saturday, October 24th 13:00: Netherlands–Israel 18:00: France–Sweden Tuesday, October 27th 18:00: Israel–Sweden 18:00: Netherlands–France (At Valhalla IP in Gothenburg) The top three teams in the group go to group A in the second stage of the qualifiers. The worst team is relegated to group B. The Euro final will be decided in Finland in the summer of 2027.