By Prince Philip O'Connor

GELENDZHIK, Russia, July 6 (Reuters) - At that place volition be mixed emotions for many Swedes when their squad friction with England in their Populace Loving cup quarter-final, for most 50 geezerhood they have had a fuck social function with the Side halt that has brightened up their long, sorry winter evenings.

And they consume an eruption of an farming disease and a off pull a fast one on track down to give thanks for it.

In 1967 reporter Lars-Gunnar Bjorklund from Department of State spreader SVT was in England to do a floor most flim-flam hunting, simply an irruption of foot-and-sassing disease power saw entirely hunting cancelled, so he went to keep an eye on Tottenham Harry Hotspur work Chelsea rather.

Due to the harsh winters, Sweden's football league is usually played from Apr to October. Bjorklund apace accomplished that Side football game would be the thoroughgoing amusement for farseeing overwinter evenings, and the "Tipsextra" show was innate.

The firstly game, a 1-0 triumph for Wolverhampton Wanderers all over Sunderland, was shown on Nov 29, 1969 and TV audience in Sweden promptly took teams comparable Wolves, Poker99 Dame Rebecca West Bromwich Albion and Leeds Combined to their hearts.

"That was the only football you could see, so that's why it became so strong," sports editorialist Johan Esk of the Dagens Nyheter newspaper told Reuters.

Though gaming was tightly ordered in 1969, hundreds of thousands of Swedes filled in a pools voucher known as "Stryktipset" every week where they tested to anticipate the right consequence - dwelling house win, drag or out deliver the goods - in 13 matches.

GOAL FLASHES

These matches became the base of Tipsextra, with TV audience hypnotised by unrivaled exist fit every Sat and end flashes from some England's tip section.

"Tipsextra created a huge interest in English football, and everyone soon had a favourite team. I had Arsenal because I thought their shirts were so beautiful," Esk reminisced.

At a fourth dimension when in that respect were only when deuce channels to prefer from in Sweden, there was small competition.

"The broadcasts started at three o'clock, they showed some trotting horse races, then the match, and when that was over you had your dinner. That was it, every Saturday," says Esk, who wish be natural covering Sweden's quarter-concluding against England from the constrict box seat.

"Following that on the TV there was a program called 'Weekend Prayer' where the weekend was marked in the Swedish Church - but the real religion was Tipsextra, and English football."

The reaching of Tail Houghton and old England coach Roy Hodgson as coaches in Kingdom of Sweden in the mid-1970s alone served to strengthen the bonds with English football, which are silence as stiff now.

With the global popularity of the Prime Minister League, fans with transmission line TV and a wideband joining behind escort nigh whatsoever stake they want, so it is unlikely that whatsoever country volition ever pass in bonk once more the fashion the Swedes did with English football.

"Young people these days know a lot about football, but a lot of that is via the FIFA video game - we knew a lot about English football because it was all we saw," Esk aforementioned. (Coverage by Philip O'Connor Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

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