GIF Sundsvall
Encyclopedia
GIF Sundsvall is a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 football club
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 located in the city of Sundsvall
Sundsvall
-External links:* - Official site from Nordisk Familjebok - Sundsvalls tourist information bureau. - The alternative guide to Sundsvall. - Blog with photos from Sundsvall....

. The club, formed on 25 August 1903, is currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Swedish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan...

. The club is affiliated to Medelpads Fotbollförbund
Medelpads Fotbollförbund
The Medelpads Fotbollförbund is one of the 24 district organisations of the Swedish Football Association. It administers lower tier football in the historical province of Medelpad in Norrland.- Background :...

.

History

The club was formed on August 25 in 1903 at Matilda Anderssons Café. At that time, GIF Sundsvall stood for "Godtemplarnas Idrotts Förening Sundsvall" which mainly was for Teetotallers
Teetotalism
Teetotalism refers to either the practice of or the promotion of complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages. A person who practices teetotalism is called a teetotaler or is simply said to be teetotal...

 up until the alcohol demands was lightened in 1920. The initials then came to stand for, to this day still, "Gymnastik och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall" (Gymnastics and sports club Sundsvall).

The club reached the first tier of the domestic football in 1965. The club has since been a "yo-yo team" mainly playing in the second division but with Allsvenskan stints in 1975, 1987–1989, 1991, 2000–2006 and 2008.

GIF Sundsvall earlier had women's football and ice hockey on the program. The hockey team folded in the late 60's, in 1985 the women's team was transferred to Sundsvalls DFF. This mainly because the women's team was disappointed with the lack of support from the men's team.

Norrporten Arena


Norrporten Arena, formerly known as Idrottsparken, is located in the heart of Sundsvall and was inaugurated on August 6, 1903. It was renovated in 2001-2002 for the club's previous stint in Allsvenskan and it can now hold a capacity of 8,000, with 5,000 under roof. In 2006 the stadium's name was officially changed to Norrporten Arena but the name isn't fully adopted by the fans.

Top attendance: 16,507 vs Högadal on October 15, 1961.

Patronerna

The official supporter's club of GIF Sundsvall is called Patronerna. Formed in 1999, mostly as a joke by some friends supporting their friend, the club has in a short period of time amassed a strong reputation. The name is mainly a historical reference to the sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

 owners who were very powerful in Sundsvall during post industrial revolution
Post-industrial society
If a nation becomes "post-industrial" it passes through, or dodges, a phase of society predominated by a manufacturing-based economy and moves on to a structure of society based on the provision of information, innovation, finance, and services.-Characteristics:...

-era. FP-tifo, Patronerna's fraction of tifo
Tifo
Tifo, originally the Italian word for the phenomenon of supporting a sport team, is mostly used as a name for any spectacular choreography displayed by supporters on the terraces of an arena or stadium in connection with a sport event, mostly a football match....

-supporters, won the Swedish tifo-awards sponsored by Canal+
Canal Digital
Canal Digital is a Scandinavian television distributor and internet service provider that was founded in March 1997 as a joint venture between the French pay-TV company Canal+ and the Norwegian telecommunications operator Telenor...

, in 2005.

Achievements

  • Superettan
    Superettan
    Superettan is the second highest league in the league system of Swedish football and comprises 16 Swedish football teams. It was created in 2000. Before that, the second level league in Sweden had been Division 1....

    :
    • Runners-up (1): 2011
  • Division 1 Norra
    Division 1 Norra
    Division 1 Norra is one of two leagues of the third level, Division 1, in the league system of Swedish football and comprises 14 Swedish football teams...

    :
    • Winners (2): 1990, 1999
  • Norrländska Mästerskapet
    Norrländska Mästerskapet
    Norrländska Mästerskapet was a Swedish football cup held to decide the Champions of Norrland. As teams from a large part of northern Sweden, approximately above the province of Medelpad, were not allowed to play in the Swedish league system until the 1952–53 season, the best team from the...

    :
    • Winners (1): 1942
    • Runners-up (2): 1928, 1951

Current squad

As of 19 September, 2011:

For season transfers, see transfers winter 2011–2012.

Former players

Stefan Ålander Tomas Brolin
Tomas Brolin
Per Tomas Brolin is a Swedish former professional football player who had a successful period with A.C. Parma during the early nineties winning the 1992 Coppa Italia, the 1993 Cup Winners' Cup, the 1993 UEFA Super Cup and the 1995 UEFA Cup.Brolin also played for the Swedish national team,...

 Mikael Dahlberg
Mikael Dahlberg
Mikael Dahlberg is a Swedish footballer, currently part of the Gefle IF squad. Dahlberg usually plays as striker.Dahlberg began his career in Mariehem SK from Umeå. He moved to GIF Sundsvall in the 2004 season and made his Allsvenskan debut against Örebro SK on July 18, 2004. Dahlberg was capped...

 Tobias Eriksson
Tobias Eriksson
Tobias Eriksson is a Swedish footballer, currently playing for Kalmar FF.-External links:*...

 Lennart "Foppa" Forsberg Leif "Lill-Foppa" Forsberg Anders Grönhagen
Anders Grönhagen
Anders Grönhagen is a manager and former football player. He signed as manager for the Norwegian Premier League club Fredrikstad F.K. on January 29, 2007 to replace Knut Torbjørn Eggen.- Manager career :...

 Conny Klack
Conny Klack
Conny Klack, born 1940, is a Swedish footballer who played in Sandvikens IF before being transferred to GIF Sundsvall. He was a strong full-back and a part of the team that took GIF Sundsvall to the Swedish premier division in 1965. After his years in GIF Sundsvall he played for local rival IFK...

 Mikael Lustig
Mikael Lustig
Carl Mikael Lustig is a Swedish footballer playing for Rosenborg BK in the Norwegian Premier League. His favoured position is right back but due to his height he can also play as a central defender.-Early career:...

 Hannes Sigurdsson Göran "Pisa" Nicklasson
Göran Nicklasson
Göran Nicklasson is a former Swedish footballer.- Career :Nicklasson played in IFK Göteborg during the 1960s and 1970s in Allsvenskan. In 1969 he became Swedish champion with the team....

 Per Nilsson
Per Nilsson (footballer)
Per Nilsson is a Swedish footballer. He plays in central defense for 1. FC Nuremberg of the German Bundesliga.-Sweden:...

 Gunnar Samuelsson Håkan Sandberg

Managers

Jan Mattsson (1990–91) Anders Grönhagen
Anders Grönhagen
Anders Grönhagen is a manager and former football player. He signed as manager for the Norwegian Premier League club Fredrikstad F.K. on January 29, 2007 to replace Knut Torbjørn Eggen.- Manager career :...

 (1986–89), (1999-01) Per Joar Hansen
Per Joar Hansen
Per Joar Hansen is a Norwegian football coach, who grew up in the small community of Trofors in Nordland. He played for and coached Rosenborg BK, and he has coached GIF Sundsvall and Aalesunds FK...

 (2002–03) Patrick Walker (2002–04) Rikard Norling
Rikard Norling
Rikard Norling is a Swedish football manager and the current manager of Malmö FF in Allsvenskan.Forced to retire early from his professional playing career due to an injury Norling started a coaching career at the age of 22...

 (2004) Jan Halvor Halvorsen
Jan Halvor Halvorsen
Jan Halvor Halvorsen is a former Norwegian football player, who is currently an assistant coach with the New York Red Bulls.-Club career:...

 (2005) Anders Högman (2005) David Wilson (2006) Mika Sankala (2006–07), (2008-Ass.) Per Joar Hansen
Per Joar Hansen
Per Joar Hansen is a Norwegian football coach, who grew up in the small community of Trofors in Nordland. He played for and coached Rosenborg BK, and he has coached GIF Sundsvall and Aalesunds FK...

 (2007–08) Sören Åkeby
Sören Åkeby
Sören "Snuffe" Åkeby is a Swedish football manager who currently manages GIF Sundsvall. Along with Zoran Lukić, Åkeby managed Djurgårdens IF from 1999 to 2003. The two were very successful during the first years of the 21st century winning the Allsvenskan in 2002 and 2003...

(2008-)

External links

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