Niclas Carlnén left his role as CEO of Malmö FF last winter when the team was in a precarious situation, according to multiple reports. It was clear during the summer that he would leave after the season. Carlnén found it very difficult during the autumn that the team could not perform at a higher level, especially knowing he was leaving, according to Fotbolltransfers. He had to stand by his decision despite the crisis and believed the club would recover. Carlnén described the Malmö FF organization as so strong that he is not worried they will not get back on track, according to Fotbolltransfers. He admitted the ending was not what he had wished for, as he wanted to leave at a high point. Malmö FF is now more stable after a sixth-place finish in Allsvenskan last year and record losses, having won two of their opening matches and drawn one.
It was clear during the autumn that Carlnén would become Secretary General of the Swedish Football Association. According to Fotbollskanalen, Carlnén described having a son living near the football association's location as a contributing factor to taking the job, and stated that if he was to continue working in Swedish football, there is no other job like this one. Carlnén defends the Swedish Football Association selling TV rights to the highest bidder, even if not everyone can watch Sweden's matches. According to Fotbollskanalen, Carlnén described that the more money they can get, the better it is for Swedish football. There have been critical voices about men's national team matches and some of the women's Euro 2025 not being available to everyone, as rights holder Viaplay placed matches on a new sports channel and could not agree with telecom operator Tele 2 on access. Carlnén is clear that no one should expect the football association to try to lower prices so everyone can watch the national team matches. UEFA sells the rights for men's national team matches, but a large portion of the money goes to the association, which can give its views. According to Fotbollskanalen, Carlnén described that if they prioritized reach over price, they would have reduced financial resources and could not do everything they do today. He noted that an advantage of UEFA selling is that they also sell away matches, otherwise viewers might need more than one channel. According to Fotbollskanalen, Carlnén described that by going to UEFA, they give them the rights to sell media rights and cannot control distribution as much, and they have assessed that more money is better for Swedish football. He indicated there is a very high value on the media rights and that there will likely be a cost to watch the matches.