Åtvidabergs Fotbollförening, also known simply as Åtvidabergs FF, Åtvidaberg, Åtvid or (especially locally) ÅFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Åtvidaberg. The club is affiliated with Östergötlands Fotbollförbund and plays their home games at Kopparvallen.[1] The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are blue and white. Formed on 1 July 1907 as Åtvidabergs IF, the club was most successful during the 1970s when they won two national championship titles and two national cup titles.[2] With a population of around 7000, Åtvidaberg is the smallest town ever to bring home a Swedish league title. They currently play in Superettan, where the season lasts from April to November.
History
Initial rise through the divisions
Elof Ericsson (1887–1961)
During the 1920s, small town club Åtvidabergs IF played in the fifth tier of swedish football. Local businessman Elof Ericsson was however determined to change this. He became chairman of the board and took the initiative of separating the different sections of the multisport club, thus forming a new club, Åtvidabergs FF, out of the football section. Through his company Facit, which employed a large portion of the small Åtvidaberg population, he was also able to increase the funding for the team.
Åtvidaberg became early forerunners with their strategy to scout players nationally instead of just locally. Since all players in Sweden at the time were amateurs, their ability to offer new signings a good job at the Facit factory made them an attractive club to play for. This, together with the hiring of foreign coaches like Kálmán Konrád, helped the club move up through the divisions, establishing them in the second tier and playing one year in Allsvenskan.[3]
The peak of Åtvidaberg's success
After his father's death in 1961, Gunnar Ericsson took over responsibility for both Facit and Åtvidabergs FF. In 1966, he managed to get the Brazilian national team to hold their pre-World Cup camp in Åtvidaberg. The years that followed would prove to be Åtvidabergs FF's most successful ever. During this period, they recruited players like Ralf Edström, Roland Sandberg and Conny Torstensson.
In 1967, they were promoted to Allsvenskan and five years later they won the league for the first time ever and repeated the year after in 1973. Ironically this golden age came at exactly the same time as the Facit company, which had enabled the success, struggled greatly and eventually was sold off to Electrolux.[3]
New millennium revival
After struggling greatly in the 1990s and falling as low as the fourth tier with attendance numbers in the hundreds,[4] Åtvidaberg had managed to climb back up to the second tier again by the start of the new millennium. In an effort to further strengthen their organization and finances, the club started a cooperation with reigning champions Djurgårdens IF in 2003.[5] The deal also included a loan of several Djurgården players to Åtvidaberg. In 2005, the Djurgården chairman said that the team should move to nearby Linköping which doesn't have a club in the higher divisions. This was met by a negative reaction from the Åtvidaberg supporters. The cooperation finally collapsed in 2006 when Åtvidaberg Municipality refused to cover any potential economic losses for Djurgården.[6]
In the following years, Åtvidaberg finished in the top half of the Superettan table and finally in 2009 they were promoted back to Allsvenskan for the first time since 1982. They were relegated again but bounced back immediately and achieved an eighth-place finish in the 2012 Allsvenskan.
Players
First-team squad
- As of 9 March, 2016[7]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Current youth players with first-team experience
- As of 1 August 2015[upper-alpha 1]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. |
|
Position |
Player
|
| 12 |
 |
FW |
Simon Marklund
|
| 22 |
|
DF |
Lucas Öhrn |
|
|
| No. |
|
Position |
Player
|
| 30 |
|
GK |
Gustaf Halvardsson |
|
Out on loan
- As of 2 February 2015
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
For season transfers, see transfers winter 2014–15.
Achievements
League
- Allsvenskan:
- Winners (2): 1972, 1973
- Runners-up (2): 1970, 1971
- Superettan:
- Winners (1): 2011
- Runners-up (1): 2009
Cups
- Svenska Cupen:
- Winners (2): 1969–1970, 1970–1971
- Runners-up (4): 1946, 1972–1973, 1978–1979, 2005
Managers
Footnotes
- ↑ Current youth players who at least have sat on the bench in a competitive match.
- ↑ The title of "Swedish Champions" has been awarded to the winner of four different competitions over the years. Between 1896 and 1925 the title was awarded to the winner of Svenska Mästerskapet, a stand-alone cup tournament. No club were given the title between 1926 and 1930 even though the first-tier league Allsvenskan was played. In 1931 the title was reinstated and awarded to the winner of Allsvenskan. Between 1982 and 1990 a play-off in cup format was held at the end of the league season to decide the champions. After the play-off format in 1991 and 1992 the title was decided by the winner of Mästerskapsserien, an additional league after the end of Allsvenskan. Since the 1993 season the title has once again been awarded to the winner of Allsvenskan.[2]
Notes
External links
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