Åtvidabergs FF

Elof Ericsson (1887–1961)

During the 1920s, the small town club Åtvidabergs IF played in the fifth tier of Swedish football. However, local businessman Elof Ericsson was 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]

A chart showing the progress of Åtvidabergs FF through the swedish football league system. The different shades of gray represent league divisions.

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]

Åtvidaberg playing a game against BK Häcken in the 2012 Allsvenskan.

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 the nearby city of Linköping, that did not have a club in the higher divisions. The proposal 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. During the upcoming seasons, Åtvidaberg finished mid-table in the top tier with the help of the three key players that long had stayed faithful with the club: goalkeeper Henrik Gustavsson (that made 487 league appearances between 1997 and 2015), central defender Daniel Hallingström (350 appearances and 29 goals between 1999–2000 and 2002–2015) and midfielder Kristian Bergström (489 appearances and 118 goals between 1992–1997 and 2004–2015). All three players retired after the 2015 season, as Åtvidaberg finished 16th and last in Allsvenskan and got relegated back to Superettan.

Two years later, in 2017, the club got relegated from Superettan to the third tier, Division 1.

As of 8 August 2023[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SWE Hugo Claesson 2 DF  SWE Fredrik Cårebo 3 DF  SWE Carl Thulin 4 DF  SWE Adrian Petersson 5 DF  SWE Mohammad Ahmadi 6 DF  SWE Amer Jusic 7 DF  AFG Habib Askar 8 MF  SWE Oskar Stejdahl 9 FW  SWE Liam Filip Andersson 10 MF  SWE Benjamin Tannus 11 FW  SWE Emanuel Chabo 12 FW  SWE Theo Lind

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF  SWE Filip Lindblom 17 MF  SWE Casper Creutz 19 FW  SWE Albin Bergström 19 FW  SWE Erik Grandelius 21 FW  GHA Frederick Acheampong 22 DF  SWE Hannes Lennartsson 23 MF  SWE Kevin Johansson 24 FW  SWE José Segura Bonilla 29 DF  SWE Pontus Eriksson 30 GK  SWE Theo Cederholm 70 MF  SWE Gustav Rydberg

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

As of 1 July 2023[8]

Name Role Anders Bååth Head coach Henrik Gustavsson Assistant coach Anders Ale Goalkeeping coach Pontus Hydén Fitness coach Bengt Holmudd Masseur Kalle Torvaldsson Club doctor

• Allsvenskan:
  • Winners (2): 1972, 1973
  • Runners-up (2): 1970, 1971
• Superettan:
  • Winners (1): 2011
  • Runners-up (1): 2009

• Svenska Cupen:
  • Winners (2): 1969–70, 1970–71
  • Runners-up (4): 1946, 1972–73, 1978–79, 2005