A football fairy tale .....from Sweden.

it's Brommapojkarna again. Can you imagine a club like Eastleigh.....or Salisbury... playing in the Premier League? Of course not, but next year The Swedish Prem. (Allsvenskan) will once again be graced by the tiny Stockholm club Brommapojkarna (Bromma Boys)

They have been called "the mother of all nursery clubs" at last count had over 150 teams (for boys and girls aged 6-15)..who play on local municipal pitches in the Stockholm area (pop. 800, 000)

BP's " first team squad " includes SIXTEEN players under 21 ..plus a few older heads to help coach them along..........not bad for a team 10 miles from the city centre with a single bus route to their tiny ground, which is adjacent to a housing estate. Match attendances are often low (2,000 is a good gate) as most Stockholm fans support one of the bigger clubs with glorious histories.

Founded 70 years ago at the height of WW2, they provided youngsters with a diversion from the wartime worries, but afterwards the club played for decades in the lower leagues whilst providing a steady stream of talents who later turned pro. for the established "big clubs " like AIK and Djurgården in Stockholm.

But when BP finally won promotion to the top flight 4 years ago, there were predictable results. Having to sell their best talents... they were relegated the first year, but now they are back again.

An unpresidented run of good form moved them up to second spot in Superettan (read Championship).. and with one game left in the season, were assured of promotion (when third-placed Halmstad failed to win last night and will have to play off for their chance to get the third promotion spot).

At a time when many clubs are focusing on big name players, and big prizes Brommapojkarna continues to provide Swedish football with grass-root talent who will make a career in the game ...and some who have even gone on to play at international level.

They will surely struggle again next season, but they have learned a few lessons sínce last time..and whilst they don't see themselves ever playing in Europe, they will continue developing the stars of the future in the true spirit of the sport.

Few years ago we had such a club called Olimps Riga, who also played in Latvian Elite Division Virsliga with majority of youngsters and some 3-4 older players. cannot compare the levels of both teams because never seen BrommaBoys on TV. But unfortunately this season the club was dissolved.

Don't know if its a fairy tale David, it just shows how awful the quality of both the Allsvenskan and their youth development is.

Sure, Brommapojkarna have a decent team with a lot of homegrown youngsters and a very good youth system but there are teams with bigger resources that should be doing a better job at youth development. Football has a lot to learn from other sports (mainly Icehockey) when it comes to youth development.

Don't know if its a fairy tale David, it just shows how awful the quality of both the Allsvenskan and their youth development is.

Sure, Brommapojkarna have a decent team with a lot of homegrown youngsters and a very good youth system but there are teams with bigger resources that should be doing a better job at youth development. Football has a lot to learn from other sports (mainly Ice Hockey) when it comes to youth development.

TRUE ..although I think it's fair to say that for some of the bigger clubs, their Ice Hockey obsession is greater than their interest in football.

I think it goes to show the poor level of Superettan..as Brommapojkarna will find to their cost when they move up into the top league.

Their greatest achievement may not be getting promoted, but the ability to survive through next season.