16 May 2026  | By: Christoffer Jönsson | Smålands Posten

🇸🇪 Full Article available here: https://www.smp.se/sport/emma-fran-hjortsberga-ager-en-hockeyklubb-i-england/

Emma Finnerty from Hjortsberga, outside Alvesta, had little interest in hockey just a few years ago.

Now she and her husband own an entire ice hockey club in the United Kingdom.

“If you had told me that ten or fifteen years ago, I probably would have laughed,”

says Emma, describing the journey to becoming CEO and owner of a club that now wants to become the best in Europe.

When people think about sport in the UK, football usually comes to mind before ice hockey. Emma Finnerty (formerly Karlsson) from Hjortsberga never imagined she would one day work in hockey — neither when she studied at Kungsmad School in Växjö nor when she lived in the United States.

Today, she is CEO and owner of Manchester Storm, an ice hockey club playing in the UK’s top league, with ambitions of becoming the best club in Europe.

So how did this happen?

Emma grew up in Sjöatorp, just outside Hjortsberga. After secondary school in Alvesta, she studied in Växjö before spending a year in the United States as an au pair. She stayed in the US, studied in North Carolina, and later moved to Seattle.

While living in Seattle, she met Canadian hockey coach Ryan Finnerty, with whom she now has two children.

“He was coaching in Glasgow when we met, and I really wanted to move closer to home — maybe not Sweden, but at least somewhere in Europe,” she says.

“It worked out well, so I moved to Glasgow and we stayed there for a few years.”

Emma says the lifestyle of a coach can be demanding, with long travel and uncertain job security. She and Ryan began thinking about the future.

“We wanted something more. As a coach you move around constantly, and we felt we wanted to settle somewhere.”

In 2017, an opportunity came up to become owners of Manchester Storm together with a business partner. The Finnertys accepted and moved to Manchester.

In 2023, the business partner stepped away, and since then Emma and Ryan have run the club themselves. Emma is CEO while Ryan serves as General Manager.

Emma explains their roles:

“In my role as CEO, I run the club like a business — finances, budgeting, revenues, costs, strategy, and so on.

Ryan works more as sporting director, building the team and handling recruitment, agents, and all of that”.

Manchester Storm competes in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). In recent seasons, the club has finished mid-table, but ambitions are now much higher.

“Our vision is to become the biggest club in Europe. When you think of Manchester, you think of Manchester United and Manchester City — and then hopefully we’ll come third after them,” Emma says.

She explains that the club’s current arena only holds 2,500 spectators, making it difficult to compete financially with clubs like Nottingham and Sheffield, which attract larger crowds and have bigger budgets.

But from August, Manchester Storm will return to their former home — AO Arena (formerly Manchester Arena) — which has a much larger capacity.

“The dream or vision ever since we took over the club has always been to return to Manchester Arena — or AO Arena as it’s called now. That’s where Manchester Storm was founded in 1995.”

Emma believes the move will significantly increase attendance and help the club compete with the league’s top teams.

“The arena is right in the city centre beside Victoria Station, one of the biggest train stations. You just go up one staircase and you’re at the arena. It’s incredibly easy to get there and leave afterwards.”

When asked how much she knew about hockey before meeting Ryan, Emma laughs.

“Not at all. I enjoyed watching hockey, but I definitely wasn’t deeply involved in it.”

“It’s a unique industry, and it’s not really something you can study for. I’ve learned a lot along the way.”

Looking back, she admits she is sometimes surprised by where life has taken her.

“If you had told me ten or fifteen years ago, I probably would have laughed. It’s been an interesting journey.”

Although she occasionally misses Sweden, Emma says Manchester now feels like home, and the family plans to stay there long-term.

“The club has become more like a family business. Hopefully it’s something our children might take over in the future.”

Emma Finnerty
Born: 25 January 1982 in Hjortsberga (Alvesta Municipality)
Lives: Manchester, England
Family: Husband Ryan and children Novali (8) and Charlie (4)
Occupation: CEO and owner of Manchester Storm ice hockey club