SDHL - Swedish Dam Hockey League

What SDHL - Swedish Dam Hockey League does

SDHL (Svenska Damhockeyligan) is Sweden's premier women's ice hockey league, founded in 2016 as the successor to Riksserien and headquartered in Johanneshov, Stockholm. The league operates as a privately organized sports property owned by its ten member clubs — including HV71, Linköping HC, Djurgården, Luleå HF, Brynäs IF, MoDo Hockey, Malmö, SDE, AIK, and Färjestad BK — and serves elite female hockey players, club operators, and Swedish hockey fans. It operates under the sanction of the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and currently employs a small central staff of seven led by CEO Angelica Lindeberg.

In 2019 the member clubs transferred the league's commercial rights to the central organization, enabling SDHL to launch "Den nya spelplanen" (The New Game Plan), a unified commercial platform that centralizes sponsorship sales, broadcasting monetization, central campaigns, and incentive programs. The league runs an in-house creative agency branded Hubben and operates the Sportality technology platform that supports match operations and commercial activity. Player welfare is institutionalized through the Nollvision (Zero Vision) concussion-prevention program, under which the league reports a 75% reduction in concussion cases. A collective agreement introduced in 2020 formalized professional player compensation.

SDHL's revenue model is sponsorship-led and event-driven. Main sponsors include Svenska Spel (through July 2026), Amazon.se, Scandic Hotels, Norrlands Guld, SEB, and DHL. Broadcast and streaming distribution spans C More, SVT, and YouTube — the last of which provides global reach at low marginal cost. The league monetizes through central sponsorship sales, broadcasting rights, central campaigns, and member-club incentive programs. Attendance momentum is strong, with a record 7,765 spectators set in 2022, and participation among female and girl players grew 30% between April 2021 and April 2022. SDHL does not disclose revenue figures publicly and operates in Swedish krona.

Name

SDHL - Swedish Dam Hockey League

Legal name

Svenska Damhockeyligan

Website

https://sdhl.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SDHL is Sweden's premier women's ice hockey league, organized as a central commercial entity owned by its ten member clubs. It monetizes through centralized sponsorship sales, broadcasting on YouTube/C More/SVT, and the "Den nya spelplanen" commercial platform, serving elite female players, club operators, and Swedish hockey fans.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Women's Ice Hockey League

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211), Spectator Sports (71121), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Ice Hockey Leagues (MPAKAAAE)

Keywords

• Women's ice hockey league
• Professional sports competition
• Sports sponsorship services
• Ice hockey broadcasting
• Women's sports development

Headquarters

HQ city

Johanneshov

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship Revenue: Primary revenue stream from corporate sponsorships including main partners (Svenska Spel, Scandic Hotels), league sponsors (Norrlands Guld), and category partners. Partners receive marketing rights, association rights, activation support, and access to the 'Hubben' in-house agency for campaign creation.
2. Broadcasting Rights: Revenue from TV and streaming broadcasting partnerships including YouTube (SDHL Play channel) and historical deals with C More and SVT.
3. Central Campaign Revenue: Central league campaigns that leverage TV broadcasts, social media, club branding, and arena activations, with proceeds supporting youth development and club support programs.
4. Inccentive Program Revenue: Investment program funding certified girl coaches in clubs, training and match play for girl teams, and central club support for audience recruitment and marketing.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SDHL (Svenska Damhockeyligan) is Sweden's premier professional women's ice hockey league, organizing regular-season and playoff competition among 10 clubs (Brynäs IF, Djurgården Hockey, Frölunda HC, Färjestad BK, HV71, Linköping HC, Luleå HF/MSSK, MoDo Hockey, SDE Hockey, Skellefteå AIK). The league sells sponsorship packages, broadcasting rights, and an in-house activation agency (Hubben) to corporate partners, and streams games globally via YouTube (SDHL Play).

Product overview

SDHL (Svenska Damhockeyligan) is a professional women's ice hockey league in Sweden, organized as a platform featuring a core league product with supplementary initiatives. The league operates as the primary offering (SDHL regular season and playoffs), complemented by the "Den nya spelplanen" (The New Game Plan) commercial platform that enables partner investments and activations, the "Nollvision" (Zero Vision) player safety initiative focused on concussion prevention, and streaming content through SDHL Game On on YouTube. SDHL is powered by Sportality, a sports technology platform that provides team logos, statistics, and game management infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% reduction in concussion cases over four seasons through increased physical play policy
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• SEBcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 15 March 2024SEB developed partnership with SDHL in 2024 focusing on gender equality, sustainability, and inclusion. Includes financial education initiatives, diversity training, and network cooperation with local hockey clubs. SEB has been supplier for SDHL's occupational pension since 2021 through collective agreement for sports.
• Amazon.secoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 14 December 2023Amazon.se became main sponsor (huvudsponsor) to SDHL starting in the 2023/24 season. Partnership includes visibility in arena face-off circles and plans for SHL merchandise in Amazon brand store. Amazon supports both men's and women's hockey leagues to help them grow.
• Svenska SpelflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 July 2021Svenska Spel is the main sponsor (huvudpartner) of SDHL as part of a historic agreement signed July 2021, extending to July 2026. The agreement includes the largest ever investment in Swedish women's hockey and aims to strengthen women's hockey, create equal conditions, increase commercial value, and create more role models. Svenska Spel also sponsors SHL and HockeyAllsvenskan.
• Scandic HotelsflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 July 2021Scandic Hotels serves as main partner (huvudpartner) to SDHL, providing accommodation services for traveling teams and contributing to the league's commercial ecosystem.
• Norrlands GuldcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNorrlands Guld is the league sponsor (ligasponsor) for SDHL, providing branding and marketing support for the league.
• YouTube (SDHL Play)coreTechnology or IntegrationYouTube serves as broadcasting partner for SDHL, hosting the official SDHL Play streaming channel for live game broadcasts and original content.
• SpintsominorGTM or Marketing PartnerSpintso is the official referee partner (domarpartner) for SDHL, supporting the officiating aspects of the league.
• Elite ProspectsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerElite Prospects is a category partner providing statistics and player information services for SDHL.
• Ester CareminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEster Care is a category partner supporting SDHL with services related to employee wellbeing and benefits.
• DHLminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDHL was SDHL's first main partner (första huvudpartner) in 2019 when the league acquired commercial rights, marking an important early partnership milestone.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Damettan (HockeyEttan Damer): Second-tier Swedish women's ice hockey league that sits directly beneath SDHL in the pyramid. Operates with shared governance ties to the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and feeds SDHL's talent pipeline, making it a tightly coupled operational peer.
• HockeyAllsvenskan: Second-tier men's professional ice hockey league in Sweden and part of the same Swedish Ice Hockey Association ecosystem. Comparable league-management structure, sponsor ecosystem, and broadcast approach; relevant benchmark for SDHL's commercial and operational metrics.
• Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL): North American professional women's ice hockey league operating as a comparable women's-hockey commercial venture with sponsorship, streaming, and broadcast rights. Useful peer for benchmarking the trajectory of women's professional hockey league economics and audience growth.
• Naisten Liiga (Finnish Women's Hockey League): Finland's premier women's ice hockey league and closest Nordic peer to SDHL. Comparable league size, club structure, sponsorship-led revenue model, and national-team talent pipeline; useful for benchmarking commercial development in Nordic women's hockey.
• SHL (Svenska Hockeyligan): Sweden's top-tier men's professional ice hockey league and the most direct domestic peer to SDHL. SDHL's commercial rights, broadcast distribution model, and club structure were historically derived from SHL's framework, and both leagues share sponsors (e.g., Svenska Spel) and member-club relationships.

Others

• International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF): Global governing body for ice hockey, including women's competitions (World Championship, Olympics). Not a commercial peer, but sets competition rules, calendar windows, and broadcasting frameworks that directly shape SDHL's operational model.
• Swedish Ice Hockey Association (Svenska Ishockeyförbundet): National governing body that owns SDHL's institutional framework, sanctions the collective agreement, and co-runs the Nollvision concussion initiative. Not a commercial peer but a strategic ecosystem partner that controls SDHL's regulatory and developmental ceiling.
• European Women's Hockey League (EWHL):

Regional players

• Frauen-Bundesliga Eishockey (German Women's Ice Hockey Bundesliga): Germany's top women's ice hockey league — a regional European peer with comparable league size, sponsorship-driven economics, and women's-hockey development mandate. Useful benchmark for commercial maturity in another European market.

Broad incumbents

• NCAA Women's Ice Hockey: U.S. collegiate women's ice hockey ecosystem, the dominant talent-development environment for North American women's hockey. Provides benchmarks for audience scale, broadcast monetization, and player pathways in women's ice hockey more broadly.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SDHLse
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SDHLse
• Facebookfacebook.com/SDHLse
• Instagraminstagram.com/sdhl.se
• TikToktiktok.com/@sdhl.se
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sdhl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SDHL - Swedish Dam Hockey League