When do children start playing football?
Swedish football uses the same formats for children across the whole country. They start at age 6. Children aged 6 and 7 play 3 v 3 without a goalkeeper. At 8 and 9 it becomes 5 v 5 with a goalkeeper, and from 10 to 12 children play 7 v 7. At 13 and 14 they play 9 v 9, and from 15, 11 v 11.
The Swedish Football Association counts children's football up to and including age 12. At those ages no league tables are kept in series, cups or festivals. The focus is meant to be on enjoyment and learning, not the result. The association also says children should get to try many sports, which is why they usually have few football sessions a week. If a club has a group for children under 6, you will see it in the group's ages.
Questions to ask the club
Can your child try first? Ask whether your child can join a few sessions before you decide, and how you sign up afterwards.
What does it cost, and what is included? Ask what it costs per term or per year. The membership fee and the training fee can be two separate fees. Also ask whether kit, cups and travel cost extra.
What equipment is needed? In the children's formats, players wear a shirt, shorts, socks, boots and shin guards. Ask what the club lends out. Fritidsbanken in Malmö lends sports and leisure equipment free of charge for two weeks.
How should you behave at matches? The association asks parents and other adults at matches and training to encourage the children, not to criticise them after a loss, and to respect referees and opponents. Parents also do much of the volunteer work in Swedish sport, for example as coaches or by driving. Ask what the team expects from you.
What training do the coaches have? The association's basic coaching course is called SvFF D. It is meant for, among others, coaches of children up to 12, and you can take it from the year you turn 15.
Have the coaches shown a criminal records extract? Since 2020, football clubs must ask for a limited extract from the criminal records register from everyone aged 15 or over with direct and regular contact with children, and always when a new coach starts. The requirement comes from the Swedish Sports Confederation and covers both paid and volunteer coaches. Ask when the club last carried out the check.
Football in Malmö
If the club has joined Fritidskortet, the national leisure card, you can pay the membership fee and training fee with the card. Read more about Fritidskortet in Malmö
If your child wants to try before you choose a club, there is Kul i Malmö, the city's free activities for children and young people. Football has been among the activities in earlier years. Most are drop-in and no membership is needed. The programme changes from year to year, and there are the most activities during school holidays.
How Playsa helps
On Playsa you can see football groups in Malmö with ages, district and times where the club has given them, and whether there is a trial session. Always ask the club whether there is a place.
Sources
Read on 17 September 2026. The sources are in Swedish.
- Svenska Fotbollförbundet, "Fotbollens nationella spelformer"
- Svenska Fotbollförbundet, "Barn- och ungdomsfotboll"
- Malmö stad, "Fritidsbanken"
- Riksidrottsförbundet, "Idrottsföräldrar och andra viktiga vuxna"
- Svenska Fotbollförbundet, "SvFF D: ditt första steg som tränare"
- Svenska Fotbollförbundet, "Krav på registerutdrag för ledare"
- Riksidrottsförbundet, "Föreningar ska kontrollera registerutdrag"
- Fritidskortet (E-hälsomyndigheten, Folkhälsomyndigheten, Försäkringskassan, Kulturrådet och MUCF), "Så använder du Fritidskortet"
- Malmö stad, "Om Kul i Malmö"
