Surprise Danish win was Peja’s final curling bow
Peja Lindholm, the Swedish curling legend who transformed into a multinational coach, has left the sport to run a professional football team.
Östersunds FK, which competes in the Swedish second tier of pro soccer, recently announced that “world champion, European champion and sports icon Peter ‘Peja’ Lindholm will take over as new CEO and club manager at the beginning of 2023.”
The club statement said that Lindholm, acting CEO Tommy Holmgren and the board of directors “will immediately work to achieve a smooth handover” with the goal that Lindholm takes over completely as of February 1.
“With humility, confidence and faith in the future, I take on this challenge that I feel a strong drive and passion for,” Lindholm said. “Together we will create the new ÖFK where we all work in the same direction. Then we have all the conditions to succeed on all levels. I am 100 per cent convinced of that.”
Five years after retiring from a spectacular on-ice career which featured three world men’s championship titles, Lindholm began coaching his heir-apparent, Niklas Edin. Within four years he had become Swedish national team coach where he steered the Edin, Margaretha Sigfridsson and eventual Anna Hasselborg teams to multiple Olympic, world and European medals—no less than 31 podium placements in all.
Lindholm was then recruited by Beijing 2022 hosts China to oversee their hunt for curling gold. The pandemic wreaked havoc on the global curling scene, and China’s men’s, women’s and mixed doubles teams failed to medal at the Games.
In his final curling coaching appearance just weeks ago, Lindholm assisted Denmark women’s team veteran Madeleine Dupont at the European championships hosted in Östersund, Lindholm’s hometown. The Danes went on to surprise the field and win the gold, marking Denmark’s second-ever women’s Euro victory and first since 1994.
Lindholm confirmed to The Curling News that he had received interest from national curling federations about his future in the Roaring Game.
“I had some questions if I was interested, but nothing concrete,” said Lindholm. “I also had an offer from another sport, but this offer as the CEO for the football club was something that really attracted me.”
Östersunds FK first advanced to the second-tier Superettan in 2013 and made it to the first tier Allsvenskan in 2016, appearing in the UEFA Europa League the next year. Much of the credit for that run of success went to English on-field manager Graham Potter, who now manages Chelsea in the Premier League.
The club was relegated back to the Superettan in 2021.
“I know how the elite level is handled and what is important for an athlete,” said Lindholm. “It’s not just about the performance on the field, but also getting to the puzzle of life on the side.
“We have an organization that will work together towards our goals. After following ÖFK for a long time, I know that we have all the conditions to succeed.”