Allsvenskan facts for kids
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Founded | 13 January 1924 |
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Country | ![]() |
Confederation | UEFA |
Number of teams | 16 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | Superettan |
Domestic cup(s) | Svenska Cupen |
International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Conference League |
Current champions | Malmö FF (26th title) (2023) |
Most championships | Malmö FF (26 titles) |
Most appearances | Sven Andersson (431) |
Top goalscorer | Sven Jonasson (254 goals) |
TV partners |
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Allsvenskan is the top professional football league for men's clubs in Sweden. It's often called "the All-Swedish" or "the Football All-Swedish." The league started in 1924. It's the highest level of football in Sweden. Teams can move up to Allsvenskan or down to a lower league called Superettan. This is called promotion and relegation.
The Allsvenskan season runs from late March or early April until early November. There are 16 clubs in the league. Each club plays every other club twice. They play one game at home and one game away. This means each team plays 30 matches in a season. In total, 240 matches are played across the league.
Allsvenskan is ranked 23rd among European leagues by UEFA. This ranking is based on how well Swedish clubs do in European competitions. The current champions are Malmö FF. They won the title in the 2023 season. The teams with the most Swedish championships are Malmö FF (23), IFK Göteborg (18), and IFK Norrköping (13). Allsvenskan has been running for 99 seasons without stopping. It even continued during World War II because Sweden stayed neutral.
Contents
- History of Allsvenskan
- What it Means to Win
- How the Competition Works
- Awards and Trophies
- Watching Allsvenskan
- The Clubs of Allsvenskan
- Stadiums and Locations
- Team Managers
- Players in Allsvenskan
- Previous Winners
- Team Achievements
- All-Time Allsvenskan Table
- Statistics
- Referees
- Allsvenskan in European Competitions
- See Also
History of Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan began in the 1924–25 Allsvenskan season. The first team to win was GAIS. Before Allsvenskan, there was a league called Svenska Serien. It had a southern and a northern group. In 1931, Allsvenskan started to decide the official Swedish football champions.
In the early days, teams from Norrland and Gotland were not allowed to play in the top league. This rule was slowly changed over time. In 1959, the season changed. It started in spring and ended in autumn, all within one calendar year. In 1973, the league grew to 14 teams.
In the 1970s, Malmö FF was very strong. They won Allsvenskan five times. They even reached the final of the 1979 European Cup Final in 1979. They lost to Nottingham Forest in that final.
From 1982, the league used a play-off system to decide the Swedish champions. In the late 1980s, Malmö FF won the league five times in a row. However, they only won two Swedish championships because of the play-off system. In 1990, teams started getting three points for a win instead of two. The play-off years were followed by two years of a special league called Mästerskapsserien.
In 1993, Allsvenskan went back to its classic format with 14 teams. IFK Göteborg won five Allsvenskan titles in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, Djurgårdens IF won three titles. Since 2008, the league has had 16 teams.
What it Means to Win
The team that wins Allsvenskan is called the Swedish football champions. They also get a gold medal. The team that finishes second gets a "Large Silver" medal. The third-place team gets a "Small Silver" medal. The fourth-place team gets a "Bronze" medal.
Sometimes, the Allsvenskan winner was not considered the Swedish champion. This happened between 1924 and 1930. During those years, the Swedish champion was decided by another competition. It also happened from 1982 to 1992. In those years, the champion was decided by play-offs or a special league.
How the Competition Works
Since 2008, there are 16 clubs in Allsvenskan. The season starts in late March and ends in early November. Each club plays every other club twice. This means they play 30 games in total. The two teams at the bottom of the league table are moved down to Superettan. The top two teams from Superettan move up to Allsvenskan. The third-lowest team in Allsvenskan plays a special play-off game. They play against the third-placed team in Superettan. The winner of this game gets to play in Allsvenskan next season.
The Allsvenskan winners get to play in the UEFA Champions League. The second and third-placed teams qualify for the UEFA Europa League. The team that wins the Svenska Cupen (Swedish Cup) also qualifies for the Europa League. If the Cup winner has already qualified for a European competition, the fourth-placed team in Allsvenskan gets the Europa League spot.
Changes Over Time
The Allsvenskan league has changed its format over the years. Here's a quick look at some of those changes:
From | To | Teams | Matches | Season Start | Season End | Play-offs |
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1924–25 | 1956–57 | 12 | 22 | Autumn | Spring | — |
1957–58 | 33 | Next autumn | — | |||
1959 | 1972 | 22 | Spring | Autumn | — | |
1973 | 1981 | 14 | 26 | — | ||
1982 | 1983 | 12 | 22 | Play-offs with eight teams | ||
1984 | 1990 | Play-offs with four teams | ||||
1991 | 1992 | 10 | 18 | Summer | League with six teams | |
1993 | 2007 | 14 | 26 | Autumn | — | |
2008 | Present | 16 | 30 | — |
If teams had the same number of points, the winner was decided by goal average until 1940–41. After that, it was decided by goal difference.
Awards and Trophies
The Trophy
The trophy given to the Swedish champions is called the Lennart Johanssons Pokal. It was created in 2001. The trophy is named after Lennart Johansson, a former head of UEFA. Before this, a different trophy was used. It was named after Clarence von Rosen. That trophy was replaced because von Rosen had connections to a Nazi leader. The Swedish Football Association wanted to avoid being linked to Nazism.
Player and Manager Awards
Besides the main trophy, players and managers also get awards. These include:
- Most valuable player
- Goalkeeper of the year
- Defender of the year
- Midfielder of the year
- Forward of the year
- Newcomer of the year
- Manager of the year
The player who scores the most goals in Allsvenskan also gets an award.
Watching Allsvenskan
In Sweden
In Sweden, you can watch Allsvenskan matches on Eurosport and Discovery+. These channels started broadcasting the games in 2020.
Around the World
Allsvenskan matches are also shown in many other countries. For example, in the UK, they were shown on Premier Sports and FreeSports. In the US, ESPN broadcasts one match per week. Other countries like Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Balkan countries also show the games.
Current TV Channels
Region | Broadcaster |
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Eurosport, Discovery+ |
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Sport Klub |
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Eurosport |
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TVB |
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NENT |
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4th Sports |
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Sportitalia |
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LiveScore |
The Clubs of Allsvenskan
A total of 67 clubs have played in Allsvenskan since it started in 1924. No club has been in the league every single season. AIK has played the most seasons, with 96 out of 100 total seasons. Malmö FF holds the record for playing the most seasons in a row: 63 seasons between 1936–37 and 1999. IFK Göteborg currently has the longest ongoing streak, starting their 48th season in 2024.
Here are the 16 clubs playing in Allsvenskan during the 2024 season:
Club |
Position in 2023 |
First season | Number of seasons | First season of current spell |
Titles | Last title |
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AIK | 11th | 1924–25 | 96 | 2006 | 6 | 2018 |
BK Häcken | 3rd | 1983 | 24 | 2009 | 1 | 2022 |
Djurgårdens IF | 4th | 1927–28 | 69 | 2001 | 8 | 2019 |
GAIS | 2nd in Superettan | 1924–25 | 55 | 2024 | 4 | 1953–54 |
Halmstads BK | 12th | 1933 | 57 | 2023 | 4 | 2000 |
Hammarby IF | 7th | 1924–25 | 56 | 2015 | 1 | 2001 |
IF Brommapojkarna | 14th | 2007 | 8 | 2023 | 0 | N/A |
IF Elfsborg | 2nd | 1926–27 | 81 | 1997 | 6 | 2012 |
IFK Göteborg | 13th | 1924–25 | 92 | 1977 | 13 | 2007 |
IFK Norrköping | 9th | 1924–25 | 84 | 2011 | 13 | 2015 |
IFK Värnamo | 5th | 2022 | 3 | 2022 | 0 | N/A |
IK Sirius | 8th | 1969 | 11 | 2017 | 0 | N/A |
Kalmar FF | 6th | 1949–50 | 37 | 2004 | 1 | 2008 |
Malmö FF | 1st | 1931–32 | 89 | 2001 | 26 | 2023 |
Mjällby AIF | 10th | 1980 | 13 | 2020 | 0 | N/A |
Västerås SK | 1st in Superettan | 1955–56 | 5 | 2024 | 0 | N/A |
Stadiums and Locations


Each Allsvenskan team plays its home games in a specific stadium. These stadiums are located in different cities across Sweden. Some stadiums have natural grass fields, while others use artificial turf. The capacity of the stadiums varies, from smaller ones holding 5,000 people to larger ones like Friends Arena, which can hold 50,000 fans.
Team | Location | Stadium | Turf | Stadium capacity |
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AIK | Solna | Friends Arena | Natural | 50,000 |
BK Häcken | Gothenburg | Bravida Arena | Artificial | 6,316 |
Djurgårdens IF | Stockholm | Tele2 Arena | Artificial | 30,000 |
GAIS | Gothenburg | Gamla Ullevi | Natural | 18,454 |
Halmstads BK | Halmstad | Örjans Vall | Natural | 10,873 |
Hammarby IF | Stockholm | Tele2 Arena | Artificial | 30,000 |
IF Brommapojkarna | Stockholm | Grimsta IP | Artificial | 5,000 |
IF Elfsborg | Borås | Borås Arena | Artificial | 16,200 |
IFK Göteborg | Gothenburg | Gamla Ullevi | Natural | 18,454 |
IFK Norrköping | Norrköping | Nya Parken | Artificial | 16,000 |
IFK Värnamo | Värnamo | Finnvedsvallen | Natural | 5,000 |
IK Sirius | Uppsala | Studenternas IP | Artificial | 10,522 |
Kalmar FF | Kalmar | Guldfågeln Arena | Natural | 12,182 |
Malmö FF | Malmö | Stadion | Natural | 22,500 |
Mjällby AIF | Hällevik | Strandvallen | Natural | 7,500 |
Västerås SK | Västerås | Hitachi Energy Arena | Artificial | 7,044 |
Team Managers
The managers are the coaches who lead the teams. Here are the current managers in Allsvenskan:
Name | Club | Appointed | |
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Henning Berg | AIK | 2 July 2023 |
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Pål Arne Johansen | BK Häcken | 27 December 2023 |
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Kim Bergstrand Thomas Lagerlöf |
Djurgårdens IF | 16 November 2018 |
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Fredrik Holmberg | GAIS | 9 November 2021 |
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Magnus Haglund | Halmstads BK | 7 May 2019 |
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Kim Hellberg | Hammarby IF | 14 December 2023 |
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Andreas Engelmark Olof Mellberg |
IF Brommapojkarna | 5 December 2022 |
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Jimmy Thelin | IF Elfsborg | 6 December 2017 |
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Jens Berthel Askou | IFK Göteborg | 7 June 2023 |
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Andreas Alm | IFK Norrköping | 29 December 2023 |
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Anes Mravac | IFK Värnamo | 17 November 2023 |
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Christer Mattiasson | IK Sirius | 5 December 2022 |
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Henrik Jensen | Kalmar FF | 28 December 2022 |
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Henrik Rydström | Malmö FF | 17 November 2022 |
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Anders Torstensson | Mjällby AIF | 14 November 2022 |
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Kalle Karlsson | Västerås SK | 2 August 2021 |
Players in Allsvenskan
Rank | Player | Apps | Goals |
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1 | ![]() |
431 | 0 |
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431 | 20 | |
3 | ![]() |
416 | 0 |
4 | ![]() |
411 | 24 |
5 | ![]() |
410 | 254 |
Most Appearances
Sven Andersson and Andreas Johansson hold the record for playing the most games in Allsvenskan. They both played 431 matches. Sven Jonasson has the record for playing the most matches in a row, with 332 games.
Foreign Players
Before 1974, foreign players were not allowed in Allsvenskan. On April 13, 1974, Ronald Powell from England became the first foreign player. In 1977, Melke Amri from Tunisia was the first non-European player. In 1978, Teitur Þórðarson from Iceland became the first foreign player to win Allsvenskan.
Rank | Player | Apps | Goals |
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1 | ![]() |
410 | 254 |
2 | ![]() |
260 | 194 |
3 | ![]() |
181 | 180 |
4 | ![]() |
176 | 179 |
5 | ![]() |
288 | 162 |
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267 | 162 |
Top Scorers
Sven Jonasson has scored the most goals in Allsvenskan history. He scored 254 goals in 410 games. Gunnar Nordahl has been the top scorer four times, which is a record.
Previous Winners
This list shows the teams that won the Allsvenskan league each season. Remember, the league winner wasn't always the official Swedish champion, especially in the 1980s. For a full list of Swedish champions, you can check List of Swedish football champions.
- Key
Season when the league winner was not the Swedish champion | |
Season when no Swedish champion was awarded |
Team Achievements
Medal Table
At the end of each season, the top four teams in Allsvenskan receive medals. The champions get a gold medal. The second-place team gets a "big silver" medal. The third-place team gets a "small silver" medal. The fourth-place team gets a bronze medal. This tradition of giving four medals is unique. It might be because in older competitions, both losing semi-finalists received bronze medals.
The table below shows how many medals each club has won. Points are given for each medal: 5 points for gold, 3 for big silver, 2 for small silver, and 1 for bronze. This table is updated up to the end of the 2023 season.
Rank | Club | Gold ![]() |
Big Silver ![]() |
Small Silver ![]() |
Bronze ![]() |
Points |
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1 | Malmö FF | 26 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 203 |
2 | IFK Göteborg | 13 | 13 | 16 | 10 | 146 |
3 | IFK Norrköping | 13 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 113 |
4 | AIK | 6 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 107 |
5 | Helsingborgs IF | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 85 |
6 | Djurgårdens IF | 8 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 79 |
7 | IF Elfsborg | 6 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 75 |
8 | GAIS | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 44 |
9 | Östers IF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 38 |
10 | Örgryte IS | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 34 |
11 | Halmstads BK | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 32 |
12 | Hammarby IF | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 22 |
13 | Kalmar FF | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 19 |
14 | Åtvidabergs FF | 2 | 2 | - | 1 | 17 |
15 | Örebro SK | - | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 |
16 | BK Häcken | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
17 | Degerfors IF | - | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
18 | IK Sleipner | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
19 | Landskrona BoIS | - | - | 1 | 3 | 5 |
Sandvikens IF | - | - | 1 | 3 | 5 | |
21 | IFK Malmö | - | 1 | - | - | 3 |
Jönköpings Södra IF | - | 1 | - | - | 3 | |
Råå IF | - | 1 | - | - | 3 | |
24 | Trelleborgs FF | - | - | 1 | 1 | 3 |
25 | IK Brage | - | - | - | 3 | 3 |
Honored Clubs (Stars)
In European football, clubs often get a golden star above their badge for winning 10 league titles. In Sweden, this star usually means 10 Swedish championship titles. This is because the league winner wasn't always the Swedish champion. Clubs started adding stars around 2006. AIK was the first in 2000.
Here are the clubs with stars:
- Statistics updated as of the end of the 2021 season
Club | Swedish championship titles | Allsvenskan titles | Stars | Introduced |
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Malmö FF | 23 | 26 | ![]() ![]() |
2006 |
IFK Göteborg | 18 | 13 | ![]() |
2006 |
IFK Norrköping | 13 | 13 | ![]() |
2006 |
AIK | 12 | 6 | ![]() |
2000 |
Djurgårdens IF | 12 | 8 | ![]() |
2006 |
Örgryte IS | 12 | 2 | ![]() |
2006 |
Winning Cities
Town or city | League wins | Clubs |
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Malmö |
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Malmö FF (26) |
Gothenburg |
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IFK Göteborg (13), GAIS (4), Örgryte IS (2), BK Häcken (1) |
Stockholm |
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Djurgårdens IF (8), AIK (6), Hammarby IF (1) |
Norrköping |
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IFK Norrköping (13), IK Sleipner (1) |
Helsingborg |
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Helsingborgs IF (7) |
Borås |
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IF Elfsborg (6) |
Halmstad |
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Halmstads BK (4) |
Växjö |
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Östers IF (4) |
Åtvidaberg |
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Åtvidabergs FF (2) |
Kalmar |
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Kalmar FF (1) |
All-Time Allsvenskan Table
The "all-time Allsvenskan table" is a record of all the results from every team that has played in Allsvenskan since 1924–25. It counts three points for a win, even though this rule started in 1990. Games played in play-offs or special leagues are not included. This table is updated up to the end of the 2023 season.
Malmö FF is currently at the top of this all-time table. They took the lead from IFK Göteborg in 2012. IFK Göteborg has spent the most seasons at the top, with 48 seasons as leaders. They also held the lead for 35 seasons in a row. A total of 67 clubs have played at least one season in Allsvenskan.
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Statistics
UEFA Rankings
These numbers show how Swedish football leagues rank compared to other European leagues. This is based on how well their clubs do in European competitions.
This is the UEFA League Ranking for 2018–2023:
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This is the UEFA 5-year Club Ranking as of May 19, 2022:
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Attendance
Year | Spectators per match |
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2016 |
9,127
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2017 |
9,215
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2018 |
8,423
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2019 |
9,166
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2020 |
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N/A |
2021 |
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N/A |
2022 |
9,958
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The record for the highest average number of fans at home games was set by Hammarby in 2022. They had 26,372 fans per match. Most other attendance records for Allsvenskan were set in the 1959 season. That was the first season the league changed from an autumn-spring format to a spring-autumn format. In 1959, the highest attendance at a single match was 52,194. This was for an Örgryte game against IFK Göteborg. The highest average attendance for the whole league was also in 1959, with 13,369 fans per game.
In the past, AIK often had the highest attendance for the season. They were followed by IFK Göteborg and Örgryte. But for the last twenty years, Hammarby has had the most fans. This is partly because they moved to the larger Tele2 Arena. Other teams that have had the best attendance for at least one season include Helsingborg, Malmö FF, Djurgården, GAIS, Örebro SK and Öster.
Referees
Allsvenskan has 23 active referees for matches as of the 2020 season. Seven of these referees are fully certified by FIFA, which means they can referee international games. There are also twelve other referees certified by the Swedish Football Association who have refereed Allsvenskan matches. Four more referees are available but have not yet refereed an Allsvenskan game.
FIFA Certified Referees
- Mohammed Al-Hakim
- Andreas Ekberg
- Kristoffer Karlsson
- Glenn Nyberg
- Bojan Pandžić
- Martin Strömbergsson
- Kaspar Sjöberg
Allsvenskan in European Competitions
Malmö FF was the runner-up in the European Cup in 1978–79. They lost 1–0 to Nottingham Forest in the final. IFK Göteborg won the UEFA Cup twice. They won in 1981–82 against Hamburger SV and again in 1986–87 against Dundee United. IFK Göteborg also reached the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1985–86.
The following teams have played in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, or UEFA Europa Conference League:
Club | UEFA Champions League | UEFA Europa League | UEFA Conference League |
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IFK Göteborg | 1992–93 (SF) 1994–95 (QF) 1996–97 (GS) 1997–98 (GS) |
N/A | |
Malmö FF | 2014–15 (GS) 2015–16 (GS) 2021–22 (GS) |
2011–12 (GS) 2018–19 (R32) 2019–20 (R32) 2022–23 (GS) |
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Helsingborgs IF | 2000–01 (GS) | 2007–08 (R32) 2012–13 (GS) |
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AIK | 1999–2000 (GS) | 2012–13 (GS) | |
IF Elfsborg | N/A | 2007–08 (GS) 2013–14 (GS) |
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BK Häcken | N/A | 2023–24 (GS) | |
Halmstads BK | N/A | 2005–06 (GS) | |
Östersunds FK | N/A | 2017–18 (R32) | |
Djurgårdens IF Fotboll | N/A | N/A | 2022–23 (R16) |
See Also
In Spanish: Allsvenskan para niños
- Damallsvenskan
- List of Allsvenskan top scorers
- List of foreign Allsvenskan players
- Seasons in Swedish football
- Sports attendances