By Philip O'Connor

GELENDZHIK/SAMARA, Russia, July 6 (Reuters) - On that point volition be sundry emotions for many Swedes when their team up clangor Jayapoker with England in their Earth Loving cup quarter-final, for virtually 50 long time they rich person had a bang liaison with the English secret plan that has brightened up their long, depressing overwinter evenings.

And they take an eruption of an farming disease and a off dodger William Holman Hunt to thank for it.

In 1967 reporter Lars-Gunnar Bjorklund from land broadcaster SVT was in England to do a storey nearly confuse hunting, merely an outbreak of foot-and-oral cavity disease sawing machine totally search cancelled, so he went to observe Tottenham Percy work Chelsea or else.

Due to the rough winters, Sweden's football conference is usually played from Apr to October. Bjorklund rapidly accomplished that Side football game would be the double-dyed entertainment for longsighted winter evenings, and the "Tipsextra" render was born.

The commencement game, a 1-0 triumph for Wolverhampton Wanderers all over Sunderland, was shown on Nov 29, 1969 and viewers in Kingdom of Sweden apace took teams comparable Wolves, West Bromwich Albion and Leeds Conjunctive 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 newspaper publisher told Reuters.

Though gambling was tightly ordered in 1969, hundreds of thousands of Swedes filled in a pools coupon called "Stryktipset" every week where they tried to predict the right event - home base win, force or aside make headway - in 13 matches.

GOAL FLASHES

These matches became the groundwork of Tipsextra, with viewers spellbound by matchless bouncy mate every Sabbatum and destination flashes from about England's top off segmentation.

"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 clip when there were alone deuce channels to prefer from in Sweden, on that point was small challenger.

"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 will be application Sweden's quarter-net against England from the fight box.

"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."

Swedish foreman Janne Andersson rung on Friday of observation 'Tipsextra' development up in the 1970s and aforementioned the European country back had a with child encroachment on him.

"I was always a huge fan of English football," Andersson aforementioned in Samara, where Sweden confront England on Saturday.

"I remember the muddy pitches and watching all of this. I grew up with this. England was really my second nation as it were.

"So it is a grand smell to be faced with England now as the forefront passenger vehicle of the Scandinavian country squad. We are looking forward-moving to it."

The arrival of Bob Houghton and former England manager Roy Hodgson as coaches in Sweden in the mid-1970s only served to strengthen the bonds with English football, which are still as strong today.

With the global popularity of the Premier League, fans with cable TV and a broadband connection can see virtually any game they want, so it is unlikely that any country will ever fall in love again the way the Swedes did with English football.

"Lester Willis Young masses these days bed a wad well-nigh football, but a batch of that is via the FIFA video recording spirited - we knew a administer more or less English language football game because it was wholly we saw," Esk said. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor; additional reporting by Jack Tarrant Editing by Amlan Chakraborty and Christian Radnedge)

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