Vilma Koivisto’s autographs are valid even for teenage boys in Sweden

March a football player at the end Vilma Koivisto23, stood in the line of players in his white and green kit at the 3Arena stadium in Stockholm.

In the stands, thousands waved supporters’ flags of the local football club Hammarby.

The supporters of the home team, known as “Bajen”, sang loudly even before the start of the match, and spectacular support sheets were spread in the main stand. On the long sides of the stand, some people waved the club’s scarves.

The opening match of Hammarby’s season in the women’s premier league in Damallsvenskan was about to begin. Almost 3,700 people had come to watch the game.

The performance stage of Koivisto and his teammates, who is known from the helmets, was more impressive than usual that afternoon.

3Arena is located on the side of the Globen (currently the Avicii Arena), known to Finns from the World Cup 95 gold in hockey. The stadium can accommodate around 30,000 spectators during sporting events.

Hammarby’s women’s representative team plays in 3Arena only in special situations, such as in the final matches of the Cup. Earlier this spring, the team was humbled by their dear enemy Häcken in the European Cup, but in the Swedish Cup, Koivisto and his partners got revenge and were able to lift the trophy in front of their home crowd.

The women play most of their home matches at Kanalplan, which has seats for around 2,000 spectators and a total of around 3,600 spectators in the area.

It was whatever the stadium, one thing doesn’t change: the song of Hammarby fans continues unbroken from the beginning to the end of the matches. The club is known for its strong supporter culture.

“Hammarby’s fans are quite unique. There are no such passionate supporters anywhere else in Europe. It’s cool that there is not even a second of silence in the stadium during our matches,” Koivisto describes.

Koivisto, who grew up in Rovaniemi, plays the best football of his career so far in Hammarby. He has been included in the starting line-up in every match of his club team this season and has played the full minutes in almost all of them.

At the same time, Koivisto has become an idol of Swedish children and young people in Stockholm, who gets autographs in factories like on an assembly line.

According to Koivisto, the 10–15-minute training sessions after home matches are not always enough, and some of those willing are left to lick their fingers.

There are not only little girls and boys but also teenage boys standing among those waiting in line.

“We players are role models for them, and it doesn’t matter to them whether we are men or women. It has been a pleasant surprise for me,” says Koivisto.

Many fans want a player name on Hammarby’s fan products, such as jerseys, neckerchiefs or cleats. Sometimes Koivisto’s name and game number ends up in a fan’s hand or on a separate piece of paper.

Himotreenaajana the well-known Koivisto’s road to Stockholm has not taken quite traditional paths. He started playing football at the age of four in Rovaniemi Palloseura and played in both boys’ and girls’ teams until he was 15.

He went to high school in Sweden for football in Pititime and after RoPS has only represented Swedish clubs: Piteå IF, Umeå IK, IFK Norrköping, Linköpings FC and now Hammarby.

The move to the western neighbor in 2018 did not go smoothly. Although Koivisto’s primary school leaving certificate showed a score of 10 in Swedish, at first he had great difficulty understanding spoken Swedish.

Now the language is fluent, and the life of a full-fledged professional is unraveling in the Swedish capital. Koivisto does not study or work alongside playing football.

Koivisto says he is satisfied with his salary, playing time and his role in Hammarby. The same cannot be said about the Helmaris, i.e. the Finnish national team, where Koivisto will make his debut in the summer of 2021.

For example, in the 2025 European Championship in Switzerland, Koivisto only got on the field against Iceland, and even then for a couple of minutes from the end. Otherwise, the place in the starting line-up has been tight.

Now Helmarit plays in the B-league of the World Cup qualifiers. On Friday, the team will face Slovakia away, and on Tuesday, Portugal in Tampere.

In the previous World Cup qualifying game in Latvia, Koivisto was able to open for Helmarie, but he does not know the situation of these matches in advance. They fight for playing time at the same place Eveliina Summanen and That Siren.

“Of course I would like to play more, but the coach decides. My development takes place in Hammarby in training and games every day. All my focus is on that, because I can influence it myself,” says Koivisto.

Koivisto’s goals for the future are to get to play in England and establish a “set in stone” in the Helmarie opening. Getting to the World Championships is also a big dream.

Before that, Koivisto will be able to sign autographs in Stockholm for a long time. His contract runs until 2028.

World Cup qualifying match Slovakia–Finland on Friday at 5 pm. Yle TV2 will show the match.