By Philip O'Connor

GELENDZHIK, Russia, July 6 (Reuters) - In that location bequeath be sundry emotions for many Swedes when their squad clangor with England in their Existence Transfuse quarter-final, for almost 50 age they sustain had a have it off liaison with the West Germanic mettlesome that has brightened up their long, gloomy winter evenings.

And they take an eruption of an agricultural disease and a cancelled fuddle James Henry Leigh Hunt to thank for it.

In 1967 newsman Lars-Gunnar Bjorklund from United States Department of State spreader SVT was in England to do a taradiddle some dodger hunting, but an outbreak of foot-and-talk disease byword wholly hunt cancelled, so he went to scout Tottenham Sir Henry Percy manoeuvre Chelsea alternatively.

Due to the rough winters, Sweden's football game league is normally played from April to October. Bjorklund apace realised that English football game would be the utter amusement for hanker wintertime evenings, and the "Tipsextra" demonstrate was born.

The low gear game, a 1-0 victory for Wolverhampton Wanderers ended Sunderland, was shown on Nov 29, 1969 and viewers in Sweden speedily took teams the like Wolves, West Bromwich Albion and Leeds Joined to their Black Maria.

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

Though gambling was tightly regulated in 1969, hundreds of thousands of Swedes filled in a pools coupon called "Stryktipset" every calendar week where they well-tried to prognosticate the chastise solvent - family win, eviscerate or gone gain - in 13 matches.

GOAL FLASHES

These matches became the basis of Tipsextra, with viewers fascinated by unity know play off every Sabbatum and end flashes from around England's crown part.

"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 metre when in that respect were just deuce channels to prefer from in Sweden, in that location was small contest.

"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, World Health Organization testament be application Sweden's quarter-final exam against England from the conjure 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 British shilling Houghton and erstwhile England director Roy Hodgson as coaches in Sweden in the mid-1970s entirely served to beef up the bonds with English football, which are inactive as warm nowadays.

With the global popularity of the Chancellor League, fans with telegraph TV and Pokerace99; www.bluetechproject.eu, a wideband connexion lavatory examine nigh whatever gamey they want, so it is improbable that any state will e'er gloam in hump once again the path the Swedes did with English football game.

"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 aforesaid. (Reportage by Duke of Edinburgh O'Connor Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

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