Linde had already held various administrative roles in smaller clubs and associations since he was 15 years old and was also the auditor for IFK Göteborg between 1907 and 1909.
But as he ended his short career as a footballer, his new managerial and administrative career really took off.
He was part of the board of IFK Göteborg as paymaster in 1910 and 1911, and held a number of different positions on the board during the next ten years, such as master of ceremonies in 1917–1919 and 1921, chairman in 1920, and co-opted member in 1922.
He also acted as the team manager from 1917 to 1922.
During those years the club won three league titles, Svenska Serien in 1916–17 and Fyrkantserien in 1918 and 1919.
The Swedish championship was decided through the cup tournament Svenska Mästerskapet at the time, IFK won in 1918 and reached the semifinals in 1917 and 1920.

He built an impressive international contact network at IFK and dominated the development of the club for 15 years.
He brought Danish multi-athlete Nils Middelboe's football philosophy and knowledge to Sweden in 1913, and introduced pre-season training camps in 1917 (a revolutionary concept in Sweden at the time), an idea he had discovered in England during a field trip.
As football influences shifted from British to more Central European after the First World War, Linde visited Hungary in 1920 and was impressed by the quick short-passing play of MTK Budapest.
A year later, IFK Göteborg contracted Sándor Bródy to coach the  club.
Bródy became the first Central European head coach in Swedish football.
The hiring was the start of an influx of coaches from continental Europe to Sweden, including Willy Meisl, Imre Schlosser, and József Nagy.

At the time of recruiting Bródy, Linde had worked hard to incorporate small neighbourhood clubs, and with the help of their campaign "sports for everyone" ("idrott åt alla") IFK could field seventeen senior, junior and youth teams, a Scandinavian record.
The membership numbers also increased, and IFK was at the time one of the largest clubs in Europe in terms of members with 1,100.

In 1923 Linde moved to his birth place Malmö, where he continued his administrative career.
He was selected as chairman for the football section of IFK Malmö, the only club from Malmö to participate in the inaugural 1924–25 season of the new national league Allsvenskan.
He was chairman from 1922 to 1928, until he moved back to Gothenburg in 1928.
As soon as Linde was back in Gothenburg, he was again elected to the board of IFK Göteborg, as secretary from 1928 to 1930, and then chairman for the newly created football section board from 1931 onwards.
He was also back acting as team manager from 1928 until 1936, a period during which the team won medals in Allsvenskan all nine seasons, the highlight being the Swedish championship title in 1934–35.

Linde is credited with having discovered Herbert Carlsson—the top goalscorer of the 1920 Olympics—, and Gunnar Gren—one of Sweden's greates footballers, who Linde first saw at a juggling contest he arranged in 1934.
Gren, only 13 years old, won the contest against several Allsvenskan players, and Linde wrote a column about the artistry of Gren, likening him to Italian juggler and acrobat Enrico Rastelli.
Linde had already held various administrative roles in smaller clubs and associations since he was 15 years old and was also the auditor for IFK Göteborg between 1907 and 1909. But as he ended his short career as a footballer, his new managerial and administrative career really took off. He was part of the board of IFK Göteborg as paymaster in 1910 and 1911, and held a number of different positions on the board during the next ten years, such as master of ceremonies in 1917–1919 and 1921, chairman in 1920, and co-opted member in 1922. He also acted as the team manager from 1917 to 1922. During those years the club won three league titles, Svenska Serien in 1916–17 and Fyrkantserien in 1918 and 1919. The Swedish championship was decided through the cup tournament Svenska Mästerskapet at the time, IFK won in 1918 and reached the semifinals in 1917 and 1920.
He built an impressive international contact network at IFK and dominated the development of the club for 15 years. He brought Danish multi-athlete Nils Middelboe's football philosophy and knowledge to Sweden in 1913, and introduced pre-season training camps in 1917 (a revolutionary concept in Sweden at the time), an idea he had discovered in England during a field trip. As football influences shifted from British to more Central European after the First World War, Linde visited Hungary in 1920 and was impressed by the quick short-passing play of MTK Budapest. A year later, IFK Göteborg contracted Sándor Bródy to coach the  club. Bródy became the first Central European head coach in Swedish football. The hiring was the start of an influx of coaches from continental Europe to Sweden, including Willy Meisl, Imre Schlosser, and József Nagy.
At the time of recruiting Bródy, Linde had worked hard to incorporate small neighbourhood clubs, and with the help of their campaign "sports for everyone" ("idrott åt alla") IFK could field seventeen senior, junior and youth teams, a Scandinavian record. The membership numbers also increased, and IFK was at the time one of the largest clubs in Europe in terms of members with 1,100.
In 1923 Linde moved to his birth place Malmö, where he continued his administrative career. He was selected as chairman for the football section of IFK Malmö, the only club from Malmö to participate in the inaugural 1924–25 season of the new national league Allsvenskan. He was chairman from 1922 to 1928, until he moved back to Gothenburg in 1928. As soon as Linde was back in Gothenburg, he was again elected to the board of IFK Göteborg, as secretary from 1928 to 1930, and then chairman for the newly created football section board from 1931 onwards. He was also back acting as team manager from 1928 until 1936, a period during which the team won medals in Allsvenskan all nine seasons, the highlight being the Swedish championship title in 1934–35.
Linde is credited with having discovered Herbert Carlsson—the top goalscorer of the 1920 Olympics—, and Gunnar Gren—one of Sweden's greates footballers, who Linde first saw at a juggling contest he arranged in 1934. Gren, only 13 years old, won the contest against several Allsvenskan players, and Linde wrote a column about the artistry of Gren, likening him to Italian juggler and acrobat Enrico Rastelli.
Carl Linde (football manager)