2 May 2027
Sunday
Process
39 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

26 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

A brace, and Hussein Carneil takes the afternoon — 8.96

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Hussein Carneil provided it, and the 8.96 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Emmanuel Yeboah

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Matias Siltanen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

Hussein Carneil sends Halmstad past Falkenberg

It finished 3‑2, and it was Hussein Carneil’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Halmstad.

Match

Whatever happens, Halmstad do not lose

6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

André Boman falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The terraces

Halmstad supporters have found a favourite in Hussein Carneil

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Hussein Carneil has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Squad

No hiding place for Gastón Tedesco

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gastón Tedesco, and the manager let it.

Squad

Costly mistake from William Lykke

An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. William Lykke knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.

In brief

Back issues
38 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

19 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Matias Siltanen signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Matias Siltanen and Halmstad agree another 5 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Matias Siltanen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Otso Liimatta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Júnior Brumado

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Loan watch

Sam Wijk wants to come home

“I did not go to Atvidaberg to sit and watch. I want to come back to Halmstad and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Emmanuel Yeboah

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Halmstad share the spoils with Gefle

A 1‑1 draw with Gefle leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Player ratings

Júnior Brumado never got going

5.64 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.

Player ratings

Omar Faraj changes it off the bench

He was not in the side at half past three and he had settled it before five. Half an hour, and Halmstad had a different afternoon.

In brief

37 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

12 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Matias Siltanen at 20 — 8.56

The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Matias Siltanen did not need any: 8.56, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Squad

Matias Siltanen in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. André Boman is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Matias Siltanen

At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Squad

The manager makes an example of William Lykke

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Emmanuel Yeboah

Marked 8.03 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Match

Halmstad share the spoils with Hammarby

A 1‑1 draw with Hammarby leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Squad

When it matters, Rami Kaib plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

Market

Talks stall between Halmstad and Gastón Tedesco

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

In brief

36 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

5 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Rami Kaib in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Rocco Ascone shuts the door

Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Boardroom

Graduation day at Halmstad

7 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.

Squad

André Boman falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Market

Carl Lustig steps up from the Halmstad academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Carl Lustig has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

One of our own: John Berg joins the Halmstad first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. John Berg is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Halmstad promote Nils Olsen from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Nils Olsen has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market

Marcus Jansson steps up from the Halmstad academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Marcus Jansson has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Match

Halmstad get the job done against IF Elfsborg

A 1‑0 win over IF Elfsborg, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

In brief

35 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

29 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Gastón Tedesco: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Halmstad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Real improvement from Matias Siltanen at Halmstad

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Matias Siltanen is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Otso Liimatta falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

In brief

34 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

William Lykke is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Otso Liimatta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

Lucas Kåhed in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

33 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

15 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Halmstad turn down KR for Malte Persson

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Rami Kaib was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Kåhed is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

Tim Rönning signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tim Rönning and Halmstad agree another 3 years.

Squad

Otso Liimatta has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Halmstad will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

Market

Vincent Johansson leaves for nothing

Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Vincent Johansson leaves Halmstad the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.

In brief

32 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

8 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Rami Kaib in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Iliass Bel Hassani stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Iliass Bel Hassani and Halmstad agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Otso Liimatta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

31 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

1 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Vincent Johansson hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Halmstad can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Rami Kaib was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. André Boman is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

30 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

22 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

GIF Sundsvall come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Halmstad did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

Rami Kaib in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

André Boman falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

In brief

29 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Rami Kaib was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Otso Liimatta falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Market

Adam Wihed moves on

Gefle pay $31.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

In brief

28 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Halmstad turn down FC Nordsjaelland for Malte Persson

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Market

Aleksander Damnjanović Nilsson moves on

Hammarby pay $410.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Otso Liimatta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

André Boman gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

Eyes on Sam Wijk again

The phone has started ringing about Sam Wijk again, and this time the name on the line is IF Elfsborg. Halmstad are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

When it matters, Otso Liimatta plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

In brief

27 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

André Boman keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Halmstad may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Erko Jonne Tõugjas puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Halmstad, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Eyes on Malte Persson again

The phone has started ringing about Malte Persson again, and this time the name on the line is FC Nordsjaelland. Halmstad are listening politely and promising nothing.

In brief

26 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Erko Jonne Tõugjas

20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Halmstad lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

Rami Kaib in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Otso Liimatta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

25 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Joel Allansson damages knee ligaments — 16 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 16 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Rami Kaib was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Otso Liimatta falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

In brief

24 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Joel Allansson damages knee ligaments — 23 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 23 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Squad

Rami Kaib in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Sam Wijk is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

In brief

23 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Joel Allansson damages knee ligaments — 30 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 30 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Rami Kaib was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Real improvement from Ibrahim Gomis at Halmstad

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ibrahim Gomis is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

In brief

22 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Joel Allansson

38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Halmstad lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

William Lykke is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Squad

Rami Kaib in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

  • Squad Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work
21 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. André Boman is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

No hiding place for Gastón Tedesco

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gastón Tedesco, and the manager let it.

Squad

When it matters, Rocco Ascone plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

In brief

20 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Omar Faraj lights up a European night for Halmstad

2‑0 against Saburtalo, and a performance that will be described to people who were not there for the rest of the season. Omar Faraj was at the centre of the description.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Niilo Mäenpää

24 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.

Squad

Rocco Ascone signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rocco Ascone and Halmstad agree another 4 years.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Otso Liimatta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

One of those days for Hussein Carneil

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.87, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

The terraces

Halmstad supporters have found a favourite in Hussein Carneil

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Hussein Carneil has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Omar Faraj

Marked 8.51 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

Måns Andersson out for 15 days

The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Måns Andersson, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Player ratings

Rocco Ascone shuts the door

Defensive actions: 17, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

In brief

19 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

André Boman signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” André Boman and Halmstad agree another 4 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Rami Kaib was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Otso Liimatta falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

In brief

18 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

A European night to remember for Halmstad

0‑0 against Groningen, under lights, against people who do not speak the same language as the crowd. These are the evenings a club measures its decade in, and there are never as many of them as anybody expects.

Squad

Rami Kaib keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Halmstad may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Niilo Mäenpää has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Halmstad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from William Lykke

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Rami Kaib in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Halmstad cannot find the net

3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.

The terraces

Halmstad supporters have found a favourite in Otso Liimatta

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Otso Liimatta has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Squad

André Boman falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Niilo Mäenpää

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

In brief

17 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Omar Faraj: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Halmstad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Gustav Friberg has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Halmstad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Rami Kaib was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

16 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Only the photograph left for Hussein Carneil

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hussein Carneil will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Halmstad the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Rami Kaib in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Otso Liimatta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

15 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

A European lesson for Halmstad

0‑1 against Krasnodar. Continental football is unforgiving about the things a domestic league lets a side get away with, and this was a night spent finding out which of those the club still has.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Rami Kaib was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

No hiding place for Júnior Brumado

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Júnior Brumado, and the manager let it.

Loan watch

Sam Wijk has seen enough of AIK

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Halmstad, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.

Squad

Pascal Gregor left out for the big one

A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Pascal Gregor will call it something else in private.

Squad

When it matters, Rocco Ascone plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

Market

Halmstad and Niilo Mäenpää are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Player ratings

Emil Hansson runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 11. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

Joel Nilsson never got going

5.65 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.

In brief

14 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Niilo Mäenpää has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Halmstad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Jesper Westermark says Halmstad went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Otso Liimatta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Malkolm Moënza

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Loan watch

Malte Persson has seen enough of Hammarby

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Halmstad, and 5 appearances in 11 say he has earned the hearing.

Squad

A promise honoured for Emil Hansson

It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Halmstad told Emil Hansson something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.

In brief

13 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

A European lesson for Halmstad

0‑1 against Krasnodar. Continental football is unforgiving about the things a domestic league lets a side get away with, and this was a night spent finding out which of those the club still has.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Hussein Carneil

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Gustav Friberg has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Halmstad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Otso Liimatta falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Lucas Kåhed was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to William Lykke

At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Match

Júnior Brumado sends Halmstad past IFK Norrkoping

It finished 1‑0, and it was Júnior Brumado’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Halmstad.

Player ratings

One of those days for Júnior Brumado

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.43, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Pascal Gregor gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

12 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Halmstad

8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Market

Hussein Carneil has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Halmstad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Boardroom

Måns Andersson has agreed to leave Halmstad for nothing

He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.

Squad

Rami Kaib in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

A bad afternoon for Halmstad against Malmo FF

1‑2 to Malmo FF, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Emmanuel Yeboah

At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Player ratings

One of those days for Emmanuel Yeboah

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.73, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

William Lykke gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

André Boman falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

In brief

11 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The wait goes on for Halmstad

7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Halmstad

The unbeaten run reaches 11. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Iliass Bel Hassani yet — 8.42

At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.42 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Squad

Real improvement from William Lykke at Halmstad

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. William Lykke is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Rami Kaib was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Otso Liimatta falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Emil Hansson

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Rami Kaib

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Loan watch

Sam Wijk has seen enough of AIK

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Halmstad, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.

In brief

10 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Halmstad do the business in Europe

1‑1. Continental football is where a club finds out what it actually is, and Halmstad came through the finding-out well against Saburtalo.

Market

Only the photograph left for Niilo Mäenpää

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Niilo Mäenpää will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Halmstad the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Match

10 unbeaten for Halmstad

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Halmstad did not have in the autumn.

Match

The wait goes on for Halmstad

6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Squad

William Lykke keeps Halmstad in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Rami Kaib in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Otso Liimatta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

Emil Hansson in the eights

A performance of 8.88 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

A month that belonged to Ludvig Arvidsson

The young player of the month award goes to a 18-year-old at Halmstad who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.

In brief

9 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Halmstad refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 15 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Rocco Ascone

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Match

8 unbeaten for Halmstad

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Halmstad did not have in the autumn.

Market

Gustav Friberg is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Halmstad is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Match

No end in sight to Halmstad's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Halmstad has to find a result from somewhere.

Boardroom

Halmstad to lose Gustav Friberg for free

There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Gustav Friberg has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Rami Kaib was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rocco Ascone is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

Emil Hansson runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

8 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

A European night to remember for Halmstad

0‑0 against Groningen, under lights, against people who do not speak the same language as the crowd. These are the evenings a club measures its decade in, and there are never as many of them as anybody expects.

Squad

William Lykke keeps Halmstad in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market

Hussein Carneil has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Halmstad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Lucas Kåhed

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Boardroom

Hussein Carneil signs for Djurgarden while still at Halmstad

The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Hussein Carneil has agreed terms with Djurgarden for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.

Match

Whatever happens, Halmstad do not lose

7 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

Rami Kaib in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Joel Nilsson

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

Rocco Ascone falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

In brief

7 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Hussein Carneil runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

A move Ibrahim Gomis would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Ibrahim Gomis is living that version at Halmstad, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

Otso Liimatta falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Otso Liimatta

At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Squad

William Lykke gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Otso Liimatta

Marked 8.71 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Loan watch

Sam Wijk wants to come home

“I did not go to AIK to sit and watch. I want to come back to Halmstad and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.

Squad

Ibrahim Gomis signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ibrahim Gomis and Halmstad agree another 3 years.

Match

Honours even between Halmstad and Helsingborg

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

6 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Júnior Brumado breaks IFK Goteborg hearts

Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Júnior Brumado scored in the 85th minute, IFK Goteborg had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Halmstad took the lot.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Niilo Mäenpää

30 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.

Market

Niilo Mäenpää is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Halmstad is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Lucas Kåhed in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The terraces

Halmstad supporters have found a favourite in Rocco Ascone

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Rocco Ascone has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Match

Júnior Brumado the difference as Halmstad beat IFK Goteborg

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Júnior Brumado. 1‑0 against IFK Goteborg, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

Júnior Brumado in the eights

A performance of 8.32 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

André Boman falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Player ratings

One of those days for Rocco Ascone

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

In brief

5 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A one-man rearguard from William Lykke

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Otso Liimatta falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Omar Faraj at his very best

Marked 8.09. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Halmstad.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Emil Hansson

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Emmanuel Yeboah

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Halmstad share the spoils with Kalmar FF

A 1‑1 draw with Kalmar FF leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

In brief

4 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Rami Kaib in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Halmstad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Otso Liimatta is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

Halmstad get the job done against Atvidaberg

A 2‑1 win over Atvidaberg, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Player ratings

One of those days for Lucas Kåhed

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.98, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to William Lykke

At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Squad

Omar Faraj gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Halmstad

7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Emmanuel Yeboah

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Hussein Carneil runs his contract down

4 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Halmstad money.

In brief

3 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

The small margins put Halmstad out

Out, 1‑1 to BK Hacken, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

The terraces

The ground has had enough

“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 6 of the 27 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Rami Kaib was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Rocco Ascone gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Words at Halmstad training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. André Boman is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Emmanuel Yeboah

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Costly mistake from William Lykke

An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. William Lykke knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.

Market

Still no ink between Halmstad and Lucas Kåhed

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Halmstad, another week without a signature from Lucas Kåhed.

Market

Halmstad bring in an old head

Álvaro Brun is 39 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.

In brief

2 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

A brace, and Omar Faraj takes the afternoon — 8.51

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Omar Faraj provided it, and the 8.51 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Market

Only the photograph left for Niilo Mäenpää

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Niilo Mäenpää will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Halmstad the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

A move Lucas Kåhed would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Lucas Kåhed is living that version at Halmstad, and it tends to show in the first month.

Boardroom

Halmstad to lose Niilo Mäenpää for free

There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Niilo Mäenpää has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.

Squad

Omar Faraj signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Omar Faraj commits to Halmstad for another 3 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Rami Kaib was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Otso Liimatta falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Match

Omar Faraj the difference as Halmstad beat Falkenberg

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Omar Faraj. 2‑1 against Falkenberg, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

The terraces

Halmstad supporters have found a favourite in Rocco Ascone

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Rocco Ascone has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

In brief

1 Edition

The Halmstad Courier

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Joel Allansson stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Joel Allansson and Halmstad agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Halmstad

Pascal Gregor was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Market

No place for Pascal Gregor in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Pascal Gregor has his answer from Halmstad; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Emmanuel Yeboah

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

André Boman falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

The manager makes an example of André Boman

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Market

Talks stall between Halmstad and Niilo Mäenpää

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

Market

The clock runs on Jesper Westermark's contract

24 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.

Match

No goals between Halmstad and Gefle

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Gefle will be the happier side with the point.

In brief