“While it obviously feels like a defeat, it is also nice that we were able to really evaluate all options. Now we are looking ahead and will continue to work with the fine youth activities that exist in the club, which will lay the foundation for our new future,” says Masarna’s sporting director Roger Uppgård in a press release.
The Masars were given more time than the regulations say to try to sort out the strained economy.
Mikael Holmstrand, chairman of the league organization ESS:
“Our main track and first priority has been to try to secure eight teams in the league. At the same time, we have had a clear demand on the Masarna that if they are to start the season in the league, they must also be able to finish it. An exit now is of course both boring and unfortunate, but it would have been far worse if it had happened during the current season.”
SVT Sports expert Andreas Jonsson believes that all clubs must now make sure to readjust their budgets in order not to suffer the same fate as Masarna.
– If you have followed the speedway after the corona, I can’t say that I am very surprised. If you look at the audience flows and audience interest, they have gone down for the majority of the clubs after the pandemic. Then it’s just a matter of adding one by one and understanding that it will be tough financially. It is not only lost ticket revenue, but also less sales at the arenas, he says.
– I hope that Masarna is the only club that needs to withdraw.
