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Gee plays basketball full-time

"I was at a training camp in Italy six years ago and was asked if I wanted to play for the Dolphins basketball club in Norrköping. I applied for a residence and work permit as a sportsman via the Swedish Embassy. For me to get a permit, the Swedish Sports Confederation also had to say OK, which they did. Since then I have been faithful to my club."
 
"Basketball is all I know and here in Sweden I have gained an identity and made myself a name — I'm Gee here. Obviously I miss my family in Texas, but 'the club is my family' and I want to stay in Sweden. The cold winters in Sweden are offset by the even finer springs here."
282 people were granted residence and work permits in Sweden as professional athletes in 2010. Of these, 90 were US citizens.

The five most common kinds of sports is fotball, ice hockey, basketball, bandy and volleyball.

Facts


Anyone who wants to work in Sweden and comes from a country outside the EU must have a work permit. An application to be allowed to work in Sweden can be made via the Swedish Migration Board website or via a Swedish mission abroad.

For more information about work permits, read here.


United States

Population: 314,700,000 (2009)
Government: republic
Area: 9,372,614 km²
Capital: Washington
Official language: English
Religion: about 78 per cent identify themselves as Christians
 
In the 19th century and up until 1930 almost 1.3 million Swedes emigrated to the United States. The great majority of the Swedish emigrants settled in Minnesota and in the State of Washington as well as in and around Chicago, Illinois.

Over the years Swedish sports stars have attracted a lot of attention in the United States. They include the Swedish ice hockey players in the NHL and the golfer Annika Sörenstam.

Sidan senast uppdaterad: 2012-01-11