He began working for the Swedish Ice Hockey Association in 1961, sat on its board of directors from 1981 to 2002, and was its vice-chairman for eight years.

[2] He also served as vice chairman and treasurer of the Swedish Central Association for the Promotion of Sports.

[1][3][4] From 1968 to 1980, he coached the Sweden men's national under-18 ice hockey team at eleven tournaments in the IIHF European Junior Championships, and won three gold, four silver and two bronze medals.

[1] At the 1975 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, felt that Sweden had to adjust its style of play to compete with the dominant Soviet Union national junior ice hockey team, and he added more players to the team with toughness and strength compared to the usual passing and speed.

[1][8][9] He served as a deputy to the general secretary for the 2006 IIHF World Championship hosted in Riga, Latvia.

[1][10] The IIHF named him a recipient of the Paul Loicq Award in 2006, for contributions to international ice hockey.

[12] Markus Näslund felt that "his generation associates Tovland with tre kronor", and that "he was one of the great servants of faith, who devoted large parts of his life to hockey and our national team".