Brita Ingegerd Olaisson is best known as the former wife of Swedish football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. She belonged to an important early chapter of Eriksson’s life, before his years managing England made him one of the world’s most recognizable football coaches. The couple married in 1977, had two children, Johan and Lina, and divorced in 1994 after roughly 17 years of marriage.
Unlike Eriksson, Brita did not build a public career around sport or celebrity. Reliable information about her childhood, profession and later life is limited, so her story is best told through the family history that can actually be documented rather than the unsupported personal details sometimes repeated by biography websites.
Quick Bio of Brita Ingegerd Olaisson
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Brita Ingegerd Olaisson |
| Known For | Former wife of Sven-Göran Eriksson |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Former Husband | Sven-Göran Eriksson |
| Marriage | 1977–1994 |
| Marriage Length | About 17 years |
| Children | Two |
| Son | Johan Eriksson |
| Daughter | Lina Eriksson |
| Profession | Not reliably established publicly |
| Date of Birth | Not reliably established |
| Later Marriage | Not reliably documented |
| Current Residence | Private/not firmly documented |
| Personal Net Worth | Not verified |
The best-established public facts about Brita concern her marriage and children. Eriksson’s biographies consistently identify her as his former wife and Johan and Lina as their children.
Who Is Brita Ingegerd Olaisson?
Brita Ingegerd Olaisson lived beside Sven-Göran Eriksson during one of the most transformative periods of his career.
When they married, Sven had not yet become the famous international manager remembered by millions of football fans.
He was Swedish.
He had played football at a modest level.
And he was beginning the coaching journey that would eventually take him across Sweden, Portugal, Italy, England, Mexico, Ivory Coast, China and the Philippines.
Brita was there near the beginning.
That gives her an important place in his personal story even though she largely avoided the public attention that later surrounded him.
Brita Was Swedish
Brita is generally identified as Swedish, matching the country where Eriksson was born and began his football career.
However, detailed reliable records of Brita’s early life are scarce.
Her exact birth date is not consistently established by major sources.
Neither are her parents, schooling or childhood home.
That creates an important warning for anyone writing about her.
A private person’s biography should not be filled with details simply because search engines produce people with similar names.
Unless a record can clearly be connected with Sven-Göran Eriksson’s former wife, it should not be treated as hers.
Who Was Sven-Göran Eriksson?
Sven-Göran Eriksson was born on February 5, 1948, in Sunne, Sweden.
Before coaching, he played as a defender in the lower levels of Swedish football.
A knee injury contributed to the end of his playing career, but another opportunity was already developing.
Coaching suited him.
And he turned out to be exceptionally good at it.
Eriksson’s rise would eventually make him one of Sweden’s most successful football managers and the first foreign manager of the England men’s national team.
Brita’s marriage to him covered much of the period when that reputation was being created.
Brita and Sven Married in 1977
Brita and Sven-Göran Eriksson married in 1977.
That date is particularly interesting when compared with Sven’s career.
He was still working in Sweden.
He had not yet managed Benfica.
He had not entered Italian football.
He had not won European trophies.
And England was decades away.
The young coach Brita married was ambitious, but his extraordinary international career had not yet unfolded.
Their marriage therefore began before the wealth and attention that later followed him.
Sven Was Beginning His Coaching Rise
Eriksson’s first major managerial opportunity came with Degerfors IF.
His work there attracted attention from IFK Göteborg.
Moving to Göteborg proved decisive.
He led the club to major domestic success and then to the 1981–82 UEFA Cup, defeating Hamburger SV in the final.
That European victory changed his career.
A Swedish manager who had been little known outside Scandinavia suddenly had a continental trophy on his résumé.
Foreign clubs noticed.
Brita’s family life was about to become international.
The Family Moved With Sven’s Career
Football managers rarely control where opportunities appear.
A successful season can bring an offer from another country.
A bad run can mean another move.
That instability affects spouses and children as much as coaches.
After his success in Sweden, Eriksson joined Benfica in Portugal.
He then entered Italian football.
Later he returned to Benfica before another lengthy period in Italy.
For Brita, marriage to an increasingly successful coach meant living beside a career that rarely stood still.
Their Son Johan Eriksson Was Born in 1979
Brita and Sven’s older child is their son, Johan Eriksson, born in 1979.
Johan remained connected with football partly through his father, although he did not become a famous manager on the same scale.
In later years, Johan appeared publicly when discussing his father’s life and illness.
That made him more visible than he had been during much of his childhood.
For Brita, Johan’s birth came early in her marriage, when Sven’s coaching career was still developing.
Soon the family would be dealing with the demands of international football.
Their Daughter Lina Eriksson Followed
Brita and Sven also had a daughter, Lina Eriksson.
Together, Johan and Lina were Sven’s two children.
That point is useful because Eriksson’s later romantic life became heavily covered by newspapers, particularly during his England years.
Despite those later relationships, Johan and Lina remained his children from his marriage to Brita.
Both would become especially important during the final period of their father’s life.
Brita Raised Children During Sven’s International Career
Imagine the family changes involved.
A Swedish coaching job becomes a Portuguese one.
Portugal becomes Italy.
Italy may mean another city and another club.
A manager’s future can depend on results every weekend.
For children, that creates a very different childhood.
For a spouse, it can mean continually adjusting family life around football.
Brita’s marriage covered exactly this kind of period.
While Sven’s name became increasingly familiar to football supporters, the family had to live with the practical consequences of his growing career.
Sven Became Successful at Benfica
After winning the UEFA Cup with IFK Göteborg, Eriksson moved to Benfica.
He won Portuguese league titles and helped establish himself as a manager capable of succeeding outside Sweden.
This was an important test.
Winning at home is one thing.
Winning in another football culture is harder.
Different language.
Different players.
Different expectations.
Eriksson succeeded.
That opened the door to Italy, where some of the biggest clubs and most demanding supporters in European football were waiting.
Italy Became a Huge Part of Sven’s Career
Eriksson went on to manage several Italian clubs.
His résumé included Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Lazio.
He won the Coppa Italia with Roma.
Later, with Sampdoria, he won another Coppa Italia.
But the most successful Italian chapter came with Lazio.
By then, however, his marriage to Brita had ended.
This creates a clear dividing line in his personal story.
Brita was there for much of the climb.
His greatest Lazio achievements arrived afterward.
The Marriage Lasted About 17 Years
Brita and Sven remained married from 1977 until 1994.
That is approximately 17 years.
During that time, they went from a relatively ordinary Swedish football family to a household connected with one of Europe’s increasingly prominent coaches.
The marriage also produced the two children who remained central to Sven’s family for the rest of his life.
Yet the relationship did not survive indefinitely.
By the early 1990s, Sven’s personal life was changing.
Why Did Brita and Sven-Göran Eriksson Divorce?
The couple divorced in 1994.
Sven later became famous for speaking unusually openly about his romantic life, including numerous affairs. In his memoir and later interviews, he acknowledged that he had been unfaithful during relationships and that his lifestyle had caused difficulties.
However, it is better not to reduce Brita’s divorce to one unsupported event.
The marriage lasted 17 years.
Only the people inside it knew every reason it ended.
Sven’s own later admissions provide context, but Brita’s personal perspective was not widely published.
Brita Did Not Turn the Divorce Into a Public Career
This is where Brita’s story becomes dramatically different from Sven’s.
After their divorce, Sven’s fame kept growing.
Brita became quieter.
She did not become a regular television commentator discussing her former husband.
She did not appear to publish a famous tell-all memoir.
She did not build a celebrity identity around being “Sven’s ex-wife.”
Her public trail became increasingly thin.
That privacy is probably one reason people search for her today.
There are many details about Sven.
There are comparatively few about Brita.
Sven’s Biggest Club Success Came After the Divorce
After his marriage to Brita ended, Eriksson’s club career reached another level.
He eventually became manager of Lazio.
There, he won major trophies, including the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Coppa Italia and, most famously, the Serie A title in 1999–2000.
That league championship remains one of the defining achievements of his career.
Lazio have not historically won Serie A frequently.
Guiding them to the title made Eriksson a major figure in Italian football history.
Then England called.
Sven Became England’s First Foreign Manager
In 2001, Eriksson took charge of the England men’s national football team.
The appointment was historic.
He became the first foreign manager to lead England.
That fact alone guaranteed enormous media attention.
England’s national team is followed obsessively.
Every squad choice becomes a debate.
Every match becomes a national event.
Every mistake gets analyzed.
For Sven, the job changed his public profile dramatically.
He was no longer merely a successful European club coach.
He became a celebrity in Britain.
The 5–1 Germany Victory Became Legendary
One of Eriksson’s most famous England nights came in September 2001.
England beat Germany 5–1 in Munich during World Cup qualifying.
Michael Owen scored a hat-trick.
Steven Gerrard and Emile Heskey also scored.
For England supporters, the result became unforgettable.
Eriksson’s calm personality suddenly looked perfect for the job.
Expectations grew enormously.
England qualified for the 2002 World Cup, where the team reached the quarter-finals before losing to Brazil.
England Reached Three Straight Quarter-Finals
Under Eriksson, England reached the quarter-finals of three consecutive major tournaments:
the 2002 World Cup,
Euro 2004,
and the 2006 World Cup.
The team included players such as David Beckham, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry.
Some supporters believed that generation should have gone further.
Others note that international knockout football can turn on extremely small moments.
Either way, Eriksson’s England years became one of the most closely examined periods of his life.
And his romantic relationships became almost as famous as the football.
Sven’s Relationship With Nancy Dell’Olio Became Huge News
After his marriage to Brita, Eriksson entered a long relationship with Italian lawyer Nancy Dell’Olio.
Their relationship became particularly famous during his England years.
British tabloids followed them intensely.
Sven also admitted to affairs, including relationships that generated major headlines while he was England manager.
Brita’s behavior after their divorce could hardly have been more different.
While Sven’s private life became front-page material, his former wife stayed away from the spotlight.
Brita Was Not Nancy Dell’Olio
This may sound obvious, but searches sometimes blur Sven’s relationships together.
Brita Ingegerd Olaisson was his wife.
They married in 1977 and divorced in 1994.
Nancy Dell’Olio was a later long-term partner, not the mother of Johan and Lina.
Sven was also later linked publicly with other women.
Keeping these relationships separate matters when writing an accurate family biography.
Johan and Lina belong to Sven’s marriage with Brita.
What Did Brita Ingegerd Olaisson Do for a Living?
Her profession is not firmly documented in the strongest readily available sources.
Several low-quality biography pages assign careers to private celebrity spouses without providing evidence.
That should be avoided.
Brita’s documented importance comes primarily through her marriage to Sven and motherhood of Johan and Lina.
This does not mean she never worked.
It simply means her professional history is not sufficiently established in reliable public sources to describe confidently.
There is nothing wrong with leaving a question unanswered when evidence is weak.
When Was Brita Ingegerd Olaisson Born?
A precise, strongly sourced birth date for Brita is difficult to establish.
Some online databases may attach dates to people with similar Swedish names.
But without a reliable connection to Sven’s former wife, those records should not be used.
Therefore, her exact age should not be presented as a confirmed fact.
This is especially important with Scandinavian names, where public-record search results can easily produce multiple individuals.
Brita’s private status makes careful identification essential.
Did Brita Remarry?
There is no well-established major source confirming a later marriage for Brita.
That does not mean she remained single.
It means her later romantic life is private.
After a 1994 divorce, she had decades in which she could have built an entirely different personal life.
But unless reliable documentation establishes those details, a biography should not guess.
Sven’s later relationships are heavily documented because he remained famous.
Brita’s are not.
That difference reflects publicity, not necessarily the absence of a personal life.
Where Is Brita Ingegerd Olaisson Today?
Brita’s current residence and everyday life are not firmly established in reliable public reporting.
She appears to have remained largely outside the celebrity world after divorcing Sven.
Her children, however, returned to public attention during their father’s final years.
That provided occasional glimpses of the family without turning Brita herself into a public figure.
Her ability to remain private despite her former husband’s worldwide fame is one of the most striking aspects of her story.
Sven Later Returned to Club Management
After England, Eriksson’s career continued around the world.
He managed Manchester City.
He became Mexico’s national-team coach.
He managed Ivory Coast at the 2010 World Cup.
He later worked with Leicester City.
Then came jobs in China and a later role connected with the Philippines national team.
Few managers have built careers across so many different countries.
Brita had witnessed the earlier international expansion.
By this stage, however, they had been divorced for many years.
Sven Announced He Had Cancer in 2024
In January 2024, Eriksson publicly revealed that he had terminal pancreatic cancer.
He said doctors believed he had, at best, around a year to live.
The announcement produced an enormous response from football fans around the world.
People who had criticized his tactics suddenly focused on the person.
Clubs welcomed him back.
Supporters sent messages.
Former players spoke warmly about him.
And his children, Johan and Lina, became especially important during his final months.
Johan and Lina Supported Their Father
Johan and Lina were with Sven through the final stage of his illness.
In the documentary Sven, the family discussed his life and diagnosis.
Johan spoke publicly about his father’s condition, while Lina also appeared in coverage surrounding the documentary and his final months.
This brought Brita’s children into public view in a way they had generally avoided before.
They were no longer simply names in a famous manager’s biography.
They were adult children facing the loss of their father.
Sven-Göran Eriksson Died in August 2024
Sven died on August 26, 2024, at age 76.
His death was announced by his family and widely reported across international media.
Tributes came from across football.
England.
Sweden.
Italy.
Portugal.
Former players.
Former clubs.
Supporters.
His career had touched football in many countries.
But behind those public tributes was a smaller family story.
Johan and Lina had lost their father.
And Brita had lost the man with whom she had shared 17 years of marriage and two children, whatever the nature of their relationship decades after divorce.
His Children Released a Moving Message
After Sven’s death, Johan and Lina thanked supporters for the kindness shown to their father.
They had helped care for him during his illness and participated in the public farewell surrounding his final months.
For readers researching Brita, this is significant.
Her most lasting public connection to Sven is not simply a marriage certificate.
It is their children.
Their marriage ended in 1994.
But Johan and Lina permanently connected their families.
That bond continued long after the divorce.
Brita’s Son Johan Became More Visible After Sven’s Diagnosis
Johan had spent most of his life away from the kind of fame that followed his father.
Sven’s illness changed that somewhat.
Media outlets interviewed him.
He spoke about his father’s health.
He appeared in documentary coverage.
The public saw a son rather than a football celebrity.
That is an important distinction.
Johan’s visibility came during a deeply personal family moment, not because he was trying to become famous.
Lina Also Maintained a Private Life
Lina similarly stayed outside the constant media attention surrounding Sven’s England career.
She became more visible during the documentary and final period of her father’s life.
Like Brita, she appears to value privacy.
This may be one of the strongest similarities between mother and daughter.
The Eriksson name could easily have opened doors to celebrity publicity.
Neither woman built her identity around it.
What Is Brita Ingegerd Olaisson’s Net Worth?
Brita’s personal net worth is not reliably documented.
This is an area where biography sites frequently create unsupported figures.
Sven earned significant money during decades of high-level football management.
But a former husband’s earnings do not automatically tell us an ex-wife’s finances.
Brita and Sven divorced in 1994.
We do not have sufficiently reliable public information about their financial settlement, Brita’s later assets, investments or income.
Therefore, attaching a precise dollar amount to her would be speculation.
Brita Was Part of Sven’s Life Before England Fame
For British readers, Sven’s story may feel as if it began in 2001.
It did not.
By the time England appointed him, he had already spent decades coaching.
And by then, his marriage to Brita had already been over for years.
Brita belonged to an earlier Sven.
The Swedish coach.
The young father.
The manager moving through Portugal and Italy.
The man building the reputation that eventually persuaded England to make history by appointing a foreign manager.
That makes her part of the foundation of his story.
Their Marriage Covered Huge Career Changes
When Brita married Sven in 1977, his future was still uncertain.
By their 1994 divorce, he had:
won the UEFA Cup with IFK Göteborg,
won major trophies with Benfica,
managed major Italian clubs,
and established himself internationally.
That is an extraordinary transformation inside one marriage.
Brita saw his life move from Swedish football into the elite European game.
The world would later know much more about him.
But she experienced the years when that international reputation was being built.
Why Do People Search for Brita Ingegerd Olaisson?
Interest increased again after Sven’s illness and death.
People began reading about his complete life.
Not only England.
Not only Lazio.
Not only Nancy Dell’Olio.
They wanted to know about his family.
Who were his children?
Who was their mother?
Was Sven ever married?
That search leads directly to Brita Ingegerd Olaisson.
And then readers discover something unexpected.
The woman who spent 17 years married to one of football’s most famous managers is herself remarkably difficult to find in the public record.
Her Privacy Is Part of the Story
It is tempting to view missing information as a problem.
In Brita’s case, it tells us something.
She was married to a globally famous man.
Her former husband’s relationships later became tabloid stories.
Her children eventually appeared in a documentary.
Yet Brita herself remained mostly invisible.
That is unusual.
Perhaps it was deliberate.
Perhaps it simply reflected a life outside entertainment and sport.
Either way, a biography should respect that privacy rather than filling the silence with invented details.
Final Thoughts
Brita Ingegerd Olaisson is an important but private figure in Sven-Göran Eriksson’s story.
She was his wife during the formative years of his international coaching career.
They married in 1977 and had two children, Johan and Lina Eriksson. Their marriage lasted until 1994, covering approximately 17 years and much of Sven’s rise from Swedish football into major European management.
During those years, Sven transformed professionally.
He moved from Swedish football to Benfica.
He entered Serie A.
He managed clubs including Roma, Fiorentina and Sampdoria.
The even greater achievements with Lazio and England came after the marriage ended.
Sven’s later personal life became extraordinarily public.
His relationship with Nancy Dell’Olio and his affairs received enormous attention, particularly while he managed England. Sven himself later spoke openly about his romantic history.
Brita took almost the opposite route.
She remained private.
Her exact birthday is not reliably established.
Her professional history is not well documented.
A later marriage is not firmly confirmed.
Her current residence and personal finances remain outside trustworthy public reporting.
What is clear is the family connection.
Johan and Lina remained central to Sven’s life, especially after his terminal cancer diagnosis in 2024. They supported their father and spoke publicly during his final months.
Sven died on August 26, 2024, aged 76, bringing tributes from across world football.
For Brita, his death closed another chapter in a connection that had begun many decades earlier.
She knew Sven before England.
Before the tabloids.
Before the global celebrity.
She was there when he was building his career, moving across Europe and raising two young children.
Today, Brita Ingegerd Olaisson remains known mainly through that family history.
Yet her ability to maintain a quiet life after being married to one of football’s most recognizable managers may be the most distinctive part of her story.
FAQs About Brita Ingegerd Olaisson
Who is Brita Ingegerd Olaisson?
Brita Ingegerd Olaisson is the former wife of Swedish football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. They married in 1977 and had two children before divorcing in 1994.
When did Brita Olaisson marry Sven-Göran Eriksson?
Brita and Sven married in 1977, during the early years of his coaching career.
How long were Brita and Sven married?
Their marriage lasted about 17 years, from 1977 until 1994.
How many children did Brita and Sven have?
They had two children, a son named Johan and a daughter named Lina.
Who is Johan Eriksson?
Johan is Brita and Sven’s son. He became more publicly visible during his father’s terminal illness and spoke about Sven’s health and final months.
Who is Lina Eriksson?
Lina is Brita and Sven’s daughter. Like her brother, she maintained a relatively private life but appeared publicly around the documentary and final period of her father’s life.
Why did Brita and Sven-Göran Eriksson divorce?
They divorced in 1994. Sven later acknowledged infidelity during his romantic relationships, but Brita’s own detailed account of why their marriage ended has not been widely published.
What did Brita Ingegerd Olaisson do for a living?
Her professional history is not firmly documented in major reliable public sources, so assigning her a specific career would be speculative.
How old is Brita Ingegerd Olaisson?
Her exact date of birth is not reliably established in the strongest sources reviewed, so a precise current age should not be stated as confirmed.
Did Brita Olaisson remarry?
No later marriage is firmly established by reliable public reporting reviewed for this profile.
Was Brita married to Sven when he managed England?
No. Brita and Sven divorced in 1994. He became England manager in 2001.
Was Brita Olaisson the mother of Sven’s children?
Yes. Brita is the mother of Sven’s two children, Johan and Lina.
Was Nancy Dell’Olio Sven-Göran Eriksson’s wife?
No. Nancy Dell’Olio was Sven’s later longtime partner. Brita was his former wife.
When did Sven-Göran Eriksson die?
Sven died on August 26, 2024, aged 76, after announcing earlier that year that he had terminal pancreatic cancer.
What is Brita Ingegerd Olaisson’s net worth?
Her personal net worth has not been independently verified. Exact figures appearing on unsourced biography websites should be treated as speculation.
Where is Brita Ingegerd Olaisson now?
Her current location and everyday life are not firmly documented in reliable public reporting. She has remained largely outside the spotlight since her divorce.
For more detailed celebrity-family biographies, hidden life stories, and interesting profiles behind famous names, visit Topper Magazine.
