Maria Rooth thinks Almtuna, in the NDHL women’s second league, chose to shut down the women’s team to save the club’s finances. She welcomed the news with dismay.
– I often think that you take the easy way out. It is often pointed out that the ladies do not withdraw money. But you should know that in ice hockey today there are quite a few clubs that would also play and Antaglia would get much less sponsorship money were it not for the fact that they had activities for girls and women, says Maria Rooth.
“You need to stop making easy decisions”
Almtuna believes the team was a loss-making company with over SEK 600,000. Rooth does not accept the argument.
– Somewhere you have to stop making these simple decisions and blame it on the money not coming. If you have a little more transparency, you know there’s money that could come in, but it’s easy to pull that card out, that it’s too expensive and has to go out.
You want sponsors to put their feet on the ground
Rooth hopes sponsors will push the sport to become fairer.
– Today it doesn’t look the same as ten years ago and there is a big difference in what sponsors think when they give money to associations, this also applies to municipalities with grants. You have to bet on girls and boys right from the start. I think sponsors have more power than they think themselves. I hope they draw that card a little more often. It shouldn’t be that easy to raise women just because the money isn’t enough. The money comes a lot also thanks to them. Someone has to set foot in it, she says.
