Football’s Loss, Floorball’s Star: The Story of Maja Viström

Named the world’s best floorball player by Innebandy Magazinet, Maja Viström has collected success at both club and international level. Yet her sporting career could easily have taken a very different path. Earlier in her life, she also played football — even representing her country at youth international level.

This time, our Off the Pitch section really goes off the pitch. Instead of a footballer, we are looking at the story of a floorball star. At not yet 25, Maja Viström is already considered a legend in her sport. But had she chosen differently, she might just as easily have become another of Sweden’s football stars. The path was certainly open to her.

In the Nordic countries, it is common for children to play several sports before eventually deciding which one to pursue more seriously. Smilla Holmberg, for instance, once focused on tennis, Kosovare Asllani played ice hockey, while Fridolina Rolfö and Stina Blackstenius both spent time on the handball court.

Judging by the consistently strong performances of Nordic nations across major sporting events, the approach clearly works. Blackstenius herself has said that her background in handball still helps her today — both sports demand quick decision-making and excellent spatial awareness.

Maja Viström’s story follows a similar pattern. Alongside floorball, she spent many years playing football as well — and excelled in both. While steadily building her career in floorball, she was also producing impressive performances on the football pitch. In Sweden, where both sports are extremely popular, the level of competition is high. Yet Viström managed to stand out in both disciplines.

I am not done with football yet

In football, she even represented Sweden at U17 level and made appearances for Umeå IK’s senior team. At the same time, she was playing floorball in the top domestic league — a remarkable balancing act for a teenager.

Eventually, however, combining the two sports became increasingly difficult, and Viström had to make a choice.

“My last football season with Umeå IK was a lot of fun,” she recalled. “But especially during the summer, I realised how much I missed floorball. I still really like football — I enjoy following players like Felicia Schröder, who became the top scorer in the Swedish league at just 18 and won the title with Häcken. It was a difficult decision, but I believe it was the right one. Floorball is simply closer to my heart.”

Even so, she has not completely ruled out a return to the football pitch. Viström says she does not consider her football career entirely finished. Like Stina Blackstenius, she also recognises the benefits of having played two sports at a high level.

“You run a lot in both sports,” she explained. “And from football I also developed my ability to control the ball. In floorball it’s obviously much smaller, but the principle is similar.”

It is impossible to know how her career might have unfolded had she chosen football. What is certain, however, is that her decision to focus on floorball has brought remarkable success. In addition to being named the world’s best floorball player of 2024, she has won numerous titles with her club Thorengruppen. As captain of Sweden’s U17 national team she won silver at the World Championship, and with the senior national team she has already brought home two gold medals.