They travel from Florida to participate in Gothia Cup Innebandy

Florida Vikings FC is doing everything they can to make floorball grow bigger and stronger in the United States. Soon their B17 team will participate in Gothia Cup Innebandy.

Florida Vikings FC will make their debut in Gothia Cup Innebandy in January. The American team constantly wants to develop themselves and floorball in the USA.
– We hope that the Swedish teams and supporters will welcome us with open arms and help us grow so that even more teams can come from the USA in the future, says coach Daniel Williamsson.

The idea of ​​a floorball club in Orlando started back in 1999.
– In the beginning it was a group of friends in connection with my and my now wife's – also my biggest Vikings supporter – study time at University. We had brought sticks from Sweden with us when we went here. Then we started a club, Orlando Vikings Floorball, with a focus on developing youth floorball in the USA but also a senior team that participates in tournaments around the USA, says Daniel Williamsson.
A lot has happened since then.
– Since the beginning, hundreds of children, young people and adults have learned floorball and participated in our club. We are by far the largest youth club in the United States. We have a one-week camp every summer in July where children not only from the USA, but from all over the world come, especially Sweden and the Czech Republic. Some of the players in the club have went on to play for the USA U19 national team and men's and women's teams. Most of the current USA Floorball U19 players have had our camp as an important part of their development. In 2022 we started Florida Vikings FC as our semi-professional club. The same here, the focus was on developing youth floorball by showcasing the sport with a high level of play. We won the professional league two years in a row. Vikings has big plans with our professional team and has a lot of support both in Sweden, the USA and large parts of the floorball world. Stay tuned...

Florida Vikings FC is a real "family affair".
– I have played floorball for as long as I can remember. It has always been my favorite sport to play. My wife has also played a lot of floorball. Our three children – Liam, Emilynn and Luke – have played in the Vikings since they were little. They have represented the USA in U19, men's and women's teams and have also played temporarily in clubs in Sweden. I have represented the USA as a coach and selected the team that went to Denmark for the U19 World Championship. In that team, I have coached almost all the players over the years, in the Vikings or in the national team. I also coached the three-versus-three team in Finland.
How is the interest in floorball in Florida and in the United States in general?
– The interest has increased a bit, but not as much as we would like. We put a lot of work and energy into spreading the sport. We have achieved the goals we have set, but we have high demands on ourselves and want things to go faster. We've had many news channels report on us, but many people you talk to here in the USA still don't know what floorball is. We want floorball to become big in the USA, but there is not much money in the sport and therefore it is not progressing so quickly, says Daniel Williamsson.

Since 2019, they have arranged trips to Sweden and the Czech Republic, either as Vikings or USA Floorball.
– There have been both tournaments and camps. In the beginning we signed up as USA Floorball to be able to support all the clubs in the USA, but that created problems because people don't want national teams in the tournaments that exist. Therefore, we now only register our club teams. In 2019, I also became USA Floorball's youth director. I started the U16 national team, helped develop youth floorball throughout the United States and helped start several new clubs in the country, he says.
They have registered e team in the B17 category in Gothia Cup Innebandy.
– This year we have high expectations both for ourselves and for Gothia Cup Innebandy, because the tournament has an anniversary and will be inaugurated in Scandinavium – where FBC Kalmarsund also plays. They have three former Florida Vikings FC players, so that will add a lot. We will also have a camp and play a friendly match against Pixbo the day before the start of the tournament, so we can get up to match pace.

The idea is that the players will develop through their participation in Gothia Cup Innebandy in Gothenburg.
– Our Vikings trips to Sweden and the Czech Republic have developed floorball in the USA, and our U19 national team, to a whole new level. They learn an incredible amount that they take back to the USA and teach other kids who don't have the opportunity, or are ready, to go to a tournament at such a high level. We hope that the Swedish teams and supporters will welcome us with open arms and help us grow so that even more teams can come from the USA in the future and we can develop the sport, says Daniel Williamsson.