Flickan som hette Pelle

Overview

As soon as Pia Sundhage had learned to walk, she had a ball as an eternal companion. She grows up in little Marbäck in Västergötland in the 60s, where she is forced to go by the name Pelle in order to play matches. Pia made her national team debut as a 15-year-old and was a resident in blue and yellow for just over two decades. Her career is unparalleled in Swedish women's football. But perhaps her journey would not have been possible without the pioneers at the sewing factory in Öxabäck, who formed Sweden's first women's team after an evening at the pub. Kerstin Johnson and Kerstin Larsson helped write football history when the first series match in women's football was played in 1968. Private films reflect a time when the love of the game overcame mistrust and prejudice. Pia was then eight years old. She would become Sweden's first professional abroad. Pia was lured with pocket money and a promise to borrow the president's moped.