In Sweden, baseball has been played for more than 100 years: the first documented games was played outside Gothenburg in 1904. The first baseball team, the Västerås Bäsbollklubb, were founded in 1910, and in 1956 the ‘Swedish Baseball and Softball Federation’ (Svenska Baseboll och Softboll Förbundet) was founded. In 1973 the SBSF became a member of the Swedish Confederation of Sports (Riksidrottsförbundet) and the Swedish National Baseball team was born. The ‘National Baseball Stadium’ in Sundbyberg (outside of Stockholm) took part in the group stage of the ‘2009 Baseball World Cup’. The SBSF currently governs a few leagues with around 20 teams and close to 500 active baseball players. The ‘ElitSerien‘, Sweden’s top baseball league, is a blend of foreign and Swedish players and games are played every Saturday throughout the summer: nevertheless, the sport’s established presence in Sweden is still a long way from providing the excitement and the drama of the World Series.
