Superserien Offseason: News You Can Use #2

SM FINAL 2026 IN CARLSTAD

In 2026, the Superserien final (SM Final) will once again be played in Sola Arena in Carlstad!

As the swedish federation, SWE3, announced, the Crusaders home town has won the bid for the second year running for hosting both the men’s and women’s finals.

With the Crusaders being reigning back-to-back champions in both leagues, it will for sure be an advantage to have home field advantage should they make it that far.

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MEAN MACHINES BRING BACK QB DAWSON HERL

The Mean Machines have made a huge splash as they announced the re-signing of QB Dawson Herl!

The former D-III signal caller arrived to Sweden with a bang last year as he was leading the league in all important Quarterback categories, including passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage while having no interception up until week 5 where he unfortunately went down with a season-ending injury in the Mean Machines CEFL quarterfinals clash with the Warsaw Eagles from Poland.

Now, with Herl being reunited with OC Acke Grünewald and one of the league’s best receiving cores, it will be interesting to see whether or not Stockholm can once again put together a prolific offense that can battle with anyone on any given day.

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CRUSADERS RECHARGE

The reigning champion Carlstad Crusaders has had some turnover within their lines.

After the successful extension of HC Christian Forsman, the back-to-back champions announced that Star-QB Slade Jarman is seeking a new adventure and will not return to Sweden in the upcoming season.

Jarman joined the Crusaders after a devastating 1-5 campaign in 2023 and led them to two straight championships losing only one game in the process. Big shoes to fill for his potential successor.

Filling big shoes is also what new Import LB Eric Bauroth will have to do to replace the retiring Matthias Eriksson and Alex Gudding. Both Linebackers were instrumental to the Crusaders success over the last decade and Eriksson can widely be regarded as one of, if not the best, swedish Linebackers of all time.Four times “LB of the Year”, four times “League Tackle Leader”, 2023 League MVP and 3 Swedish Championships between 2020 and 2025. Not exactly an easy task for the 24-year old german who joins the Crusaders from the SWARCO Raiders Tirol in the AFL, where he finished second in the league with 86 combined tackles.

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TYRESÖ ANNOUNCES HC JEMIDE & HAGLIND

Last year’s runner up has announced that HC Noghor Jemide will return for the 2026 season. Alongside him will be Carl Haglind, who comes back from a multiple-year hiatus in professional american football.

Though it is still unclear what roles they will each occupy, it seems like a smart and logical step for the Stockholm-based Royal Crows, since Jemide has also suited up to play on their Defensive Line for a couple of games last season.

Having a full time coach on the sidelines during the games could be a massive improvement for the talented Royal Crowns team, who will have their eyes set and yet another SM final after the 2025 loss to Carlstad.