Swedish Football Association deny Ostersund license to play in top division due to club's financial problems

Ostersund: Swedish football team Ostersund has been denied a license to play in the top division next season because of their financial problems. [caption id=“attachment_7605991” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ostersund’s players pose for a photo before the UEFA Europa League Group J football match between Zorya Lugansk and Ostersunds FK in 2017. AFP[/caption] The Swedish Football Association says its licensing board has decided Ostersund “does not meet the elite licensing criteria … for continued operation throughout the next year.” Ostersund says they will appeal against the ruling, which was announced on Tuesday. As it stands, the club will play in the third-tier Division I in 2020. Ostersund recently said it needed to raise 10 million kronor ($1 million) to pay creditors and tax authorities in order to continue operating. The club from central Sweden rose from the amateur ranks in 2011 to the top league in 2015, and won the Swedish Cup in 2017. That qualified Ostersund for the Europa League, where they advanced to the knockout stage before losing to Arsenal despite winning the second leg 2-1 at Emirates Stadium. Having their license denied is the latest blow to Ostersund after its former chairman, Daniel Kindberg, the man regarded as the mastermind behind the club’s rise, was sentenced this month to three years in prison after being convicted of serious financial crimes. Kindberg is appealing against the conviction.