P19 Allsvenskan: Forging Sweden’s Future Stars
Jonathan Fadugba explores why the P19 Allsvenskan – part of the Wyscout Youth Pack – is a hotbed for talent and picks out some star performers from the latest edition.
Youth football in Sweden is separated into several different divisions and age groups across both men’s and women’s football, with organised, structured competition aimed at developing and preparing the nation’s best talents for first team football. There are league championship competitions at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-19 level, with the Under-19 Allsvenskan (P19) representing the highest level of elite youth football in Sweden.
The best academies in Sweden all compete, and the competition is often strong. Academies like those at Malmö FF, AIK or Brommapojkarna are among the best across Europe for elite player development—with countless players from these youth leagues going on to play at professional level, for the Swedish national team and, in many cases, even earn big money moves abroad.
However, a bit like the Premier League 2 in England, the P19 Allsvenskan doesn’t receive much mainstream coverage on a national level. Nevertheless, as part of Hudl Wyscout’s Youth Competitions Pack—which covers over 190 of the best youth tournaments around the world—scouts, academy directors and heads of recruitment are able to monitor the next generation of Swedish stars before they become household names.
The famous academy club based in Stockholm has produced an enormous amount of talent over the years - players like Anders Limpar, John Guidetti, and more recently Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall (both at Tottenham Hotspur), Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal) and Ludwig Augustinsson (Anderlecht). Known as BP, they won the league by nine points in 2025 to succeed BK Häcken as champions.
Other champions in recent years at youth level include Hammarby IF in 2022, whose manager at senior level Kim Hellberg was recently appointed by Middlesbrough, and IFK Norrköping in 2023—showing the diversity of clubs producing title-winning academy teams.
Emerging talents
Over the past year, once again a large number of U19 talents excelled enough at junior level to be given opportunities in the first teams of Allsvenskan clubs. The transition can take time for some, while others adapt almost immediately—thrust into the limelight never to look back.
If we take a look at some standout performers at Under-19 level in 2025, we can gain some clues over who to keep an eye on as the new season in Sweden starts to approach in 2026.
Kevin Filling: AIK's strike sensation
Perhaps the most high profile breakthrough academy graduate of the 2025 Allsvenskan season was AIK starlet Kevin Filling. A regular at P19 level where he scored 4 goals for AIK’s junior team, the Swedish youngster showed enough in just eight early season appearances to be offered a first team opportunity at one of Stockholm’s biggest clubs. And when the chance arrived, he did not disappoint.
Funnily enough, in April 2025 the then-16-year-old Filling was scoring for AIK U19s against IFK Gothenburg. Just two months later, he made national headlines when he scored a key goal after making his debut in a big game for AIK’s first team… against IFK Gothenburg again. From junior team to senior team, in front of 38,000+ fans, in just eight weeks.
Filling showed at junior level exactly the credentials that led to his first team call-up: speed, athleticism, ability in behind, sharp finishing instincts and a striker’s eye for goals.
Watching footage of Filling for the U19s, he is a striker who plays on the shoulder of defenders looking to get on the last line of defences and break into space. For example, against Helsingborgs IF U19s, a backpass causes chaos for the opponents due to Filling’s pace and pressing intent, unbalancing the defence and causing the goalkeeper to take a risk flying off his line to close down the space.
In the image above, we see Filling playing on the last line with space in behind. Like every good number nine, he makes a small decoy step forward to trick the defender Jonas Bager into thinking he is dropping deep. Bager steps forward, and this seemingly minor action creates just enough space between the two centre-backs for Filling to pounce. He curves his run in the space left by Bager and stretches the game vertically looking for the ball into the space behind.
Bager buys the decoy hook, line and sinker. Filling is in. Clearly onside, the excellent shuffle and timing of his run leaves him to streak away clear on goal. A one-on-one like this at 16 years old might faze most people. But the Sweden youth international remains calm in front of a baying home crowd, and finishes low and cool past the goalkeeper for his first ever senior goal.
As always happens whenever a teenage forward shows any amount of promise, Filling was almost immediately linked to other high profile clubs—Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund just two among many. The Manchester Evening News would later counter the United rumours with reports that their interest in Filling was not concrete.
Nonetheless, as is the nature of modern football, having had his breakthrough season in 2025—he scored another senior goal against IF Brommapojkarna to make it two goals in nine appearances (229 minutes) total—should Filling continue to fulfil his early promise in 2026 there will no doubt be suitors lined up ready to make their interest known.
Other U19s Standouts to Watch
Kevin Filling is not the only one from the P19 Allsvenskan to keep an eye on in the coming year.
Finlay Neat is another prolific striker at that level. Originally from Scotland, the forward moved to Sweden as a 13-year-old when his father, who is a marine biologist, got a job as a professor at the World Maritime University in Malmö.
He signed for Malmö FF and hit 18 goals in just 17 outings in the 2025 P19 season: half of them for MFF and the other half for IK Sirius, who he joined last summer on a first team contract with the promise of game time in 2026.
Elsewhere, Christopher Sliwo at Djurgårdens IF hit 18 goals, joint top scorer in the P19 Allsvenskan 2025 season level with Finlay Neat. A strong finisher with some useful qualities in forward areas, Sliwo is another to be rewarded with an ‘A-team’ contract at DIF, where he will train with the first team squad whilst still remaining eligible for the youth team.
Dion Gashi is another player who, similar to Filling, has experienced a small taste of first team football whilst still predominantly playing in the younger age categories.
Finally, a word on champions Brommapojkarna. Leart Krasniqi was a source of goals and assists, his 18 direct goal involvements catching the eye of Hammarby who moved to secure the Albanian youth international.
Elsewhere, tall technical striker David Isso was one of the team’s top scorers, while the exploits of Kamilcan Sever and tricky winger Sion Oppong saw them promoted to the senior team. At the other end of the pitch, goalkeeper Carl Phillip Isaksson topped the charts for prevented goals and fellow ‘keeper John-Oliver Lacayo is a Sweden youth international who has already debuted for the first team.
With talent like this emerging every season, the P19 Allsvenskan remains essential viewing for scouts across Europe. And with access to the Wyscout Youth Pack, you’ll never miss the next breakthrough star from Sweden's elite development system.