Sunpine expands collaboration with LHF/MSSK

LHF/MSSK's work to promote women's hockey has become a TV documentary and international news. Now SunPine is signing a new major sponsorship agreement.

– It is thanks to companies like SunPine that we can develop women's hockey, says forward star Emma Nordin.

SunPine, which manufactures the pine diesel that reaches the market via Preem as Sweden's only Nordic Ecolabelled diesel, Preem Evolution Diesel, has a clear sponsorship policy. When it comes to elite sports, they only sponsor women.

Magnus Edin, CEO, SunPine:

– We want to give back to the local community in the region and have therefore become involved in elite sports. But since gender equality is a given for us, we specifically want to help correct the conditions for elite female athletes. It is a fundamental flaw in the structure that there is such a large economic difference as there is today.

Last fall, the company pulled off a coup when it chose to match UEFA's Champions League bonus to the Swedish Championship winners Piteå IF.

Edin:

– They received 250,000 for qualifying for the Champions League from UEFA, if the men's team Malmö FF had qualified they would have received 220 million. That's an unreasonable difference. So we matched that bonus with 250,000 and urged others to do the same.

Today, the Swedish women's team Piteå IF has received over an extra million from various sponsors.

Regarding LHF/MSSK, Edin has followed the investment that has been made and is impressed:

– You are doing a good job at the club that will develop women's hockey in the long term, of course we want to support that work, says Edin.

Emma Nordin, one of the stars of LHF/MSSK:

– It feels fantastic that we can get this support from a company that shares our values. It's really great that the business community wants to sponsor us.

Michelle Karvinen, LHF/MSSK:

– It feels great to have you on the match jersey, we are proud of it. It is important for us to have this opportunity to develop women's hockey. It is important to me personally.