Råda BK is making history by becoming the first Swedish football club to switch to fully robotised pitch maintenance through the Sustainability Plan initiative.
With support from the Swedish Football Association, SvFF, and Husqvarna, the club from Lidköping is taking a major step towards a more sustainable and efficient way of caring for its pitches.
The Sustainability plan
The Sustainability Plan was launched at the end of last year with the ambition to help Swedish football clubs make their grounds management more sustainable. Through the initiative, clubs can apply for financial support to purchase robotic lawnmowers, helping them reduce the time, effort and resources needed to maintain their playing surfaces.
Råda BK is the first club to take advantage of it, putting robotic technology at the heart of its pitch maintenance. For Club Manager Thomas Hjalmarsson, the decision was simple. “Switching to robotic pitch maintenance has been an obvious choice for us,” he says. He says the move will not only produce better-maintained and more even pitches, but also reduce the club’s impact on both the environment and its finances.
Perhaps just as importantly, the robots give the club something every grassroots organisation needs more of time. With less time spent on mowing, the club can redirect its resources towards teams and other areas of the grounds.
Bigger issue
Råda BK’s experience highlights a much bigger issue facing Swedish football. There are more than 5,000 football pitches in Sweden managed by clubs. Many operate under financial pressure and rely heavily on volunteers to keep facilities running. For these clubs, maintaining a pitch is one of the biggest jobs on the calendar.
According to Caroline Waldheim, Head of Sustainability and Society at SvFF, grounds maintenance demands significant time and money, while also contributing to football’s environmental challenges.
“Grounds maintenance is often one of the major challenges facing clubs,” she says.
The hope is that Råda BK is just the beginning. During the 2025 season, SvFF expects robotic technology to spread from club to club, helping organisations across Sweden move towards greener grounds management while freeing up valuable resources for club life.
Making sustainability more accessible
The Sustainability Plan is designed to make the transition easier for clubs that might otherwise struggle to invest in new technology. Through the initiative, Swedish football clubs can apply for support for automation projects. This includes discounted Husqvarna products and professional assistance from authorised Husqvarna dealers.
For Råda BK, the move is about more than replacing a traditional mower. It’s about finding smarter ways to use limited resources, improving playing conditions, and reducing the environmental footprint of football.
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