OSTERSUND FC

Many will not have a clue about this football club, but some will. Any lad or lass who has played in the Gothia Cup, Sweden's biggest football tournament (and possibly the largest in the world) will have seen or played against one of their junior sides. I know Charterhouse boys will have come across these subArctic players who live seven hours north of Stockholm, in a place where winter ends in May and begins in October. There is a need for indoor pitches therefore and if you know my blog you may have come across one on Iceland and the country's application to getting games played under difficult conditions. He is the only British manager in the competition!

The town's football club has no locals in its squad but is bringing community strength to the town with great success in the national league and now the Europa League. The club stadium hold under 9,000 spectators.  In 1996 the club was in the national fourth division, when an English university coach Graham Potter arrived and transported the club through to the Allsvenskan in 2015 and winning the Swedish Cup last season. With interest from Swansea City, loanees have added to the squad. 

Now their venture into Europe has included beating Turkish Galatasaray 3-1  on aggregate, Fola Esch of Luxembourg, also 3-1 and drawing with Greek PAOK 3-3, with a draw against Athletico Bilbao in the next round, the Group Stage. They also lead against Hertha Berlin 1-0 and Zora Luhansk 2-0. 

Locals were not interested in playing for their club so it was the immigrants who made the most of the opportunity. Potter advertised for players and immigrants who could play jumped at the chance.

Ronald Mukiibi was prepared to travel north, Patrick Kpozo was let go by his Stockholm club, Brwa Nouri was kicked out of his previous club for drug abuse but Potter whose career pinnacle before this moment, was at Stoke City, took the brave step and accepted those who wanted to play.

Training at 25 degrees below and being paid £600 per week proved that these players, used to more suitable temperatures, were prepared to go the extra mile to earn a living and be accepted.

Potter has a degree from the Open University in Social Sciences, specialising in emotional intelligence, so he has many team building techniques including performing plays and poetry, the "stuff of legends". The immigrants who have swamped all parts of Sweden, include thousands of unaccompanied children, and they have shown that they are capable of anything, given the right support. Potter has supported his new players and Ostersund FC is reaping the rewards. Local supporters have chartered a plane to Spain to watch their team, the players say that "Not all nations are friendly to us Africans-Sweden is a model."

Potter played over 300 first class English League games, including the 1996 6-3 drubbing of Manchester United in that grey kit, for Southampton not in that grey kit. In his Ostersund squad are two British players; Jamie Hopcutt once of Ossett Town and York City and Curtis Edwards from Middlesbrough Fc, there are nine immigrants and a number of locals!