Scania Cup breaks new records after pandemic comeback

Foto: Bildbyrån

The Covid-19 pandemic canceled the last two editions. But this year, nothing could stop the prestigious Scania Cup from arranging the unofficial Nordic championships.
– We’ve set a new record in participating teams this year, so it has been clear that many have missed the possibility of playing these kinds of tournaments, says Erik Lindell, Tournament Director of Scania Cup.

Being an invitational tournament, Scania Cup has a high status across all the Nordic countries and is well known for being a prestigious event for basketball youth teams. 

– We believe that the tournament is perceived as something extra and we invest a lot in quality, for example a three-referee system that is unique in a youth context. This year we’ve raised the bar further with individual prizes in all games, decoration in all arenas and player presentations before each game. All in all, we are convinced that the participants get an experience beyond the ordinary, says Lindell.

166 teams were invited for the 2022 edition of Scania Cup, playing over 450 games between April 14-18. A new record for the 40 year old youth tournament that many have been looking forward to after two canceled editions.

Being able to arrange the Scania Cup again felt extremely good and is very important for our club on many different levels. Easter has always been associated with the Scania Cup for Södertälje BBK and now the order has been restored.

Some say it is tournament fever around youth sports right now. Is this something you noticed during this year's edition? 

– We broke a new participant record for the Scania Cup, so it was clear that many missed the opportunity to participate in tournaments. There have been very positive signals from participating teams and leaders.

"Streaming is an important service for us"

But number of participants was not the only record that was beaten.
Just like previous editions, all games were broadcasted live and on demand on Scania Cup’s own streaming channel, thanks to a long term partnership with Solidsport. 

This year with a record high interest, reaching almost 30 000 unique views.

This has made it possible for us to give everyone the opportunity to follow the tournament without being on site, which for us is an important service. We believe that it creates even more interest in the Scania Cup and strengthens the quality of the tournament.

This has also created a new source of income for you as a tournament organizer. What has that meant for Scania Cup and Södertälje BBK?

– Initially, we have made a large investment to be able to offer broadcasts from all games and much of the revenue until now has covered the investment. Now we can use the surplus income for new investments to develop the Scania Cup. This year, we were able to invest in mobile speakers for all arenas to further increase the atmosphere for the participants with warm-up music and player presentations.

All the games from this year and previous editions are now stored on their streaming channel. Meaning that anyone can still watch all games on demand or whenever they want on solidsport.com/scaniacup