GAIS facts for kids
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| Full name | Göteborgs Atlet- & Idrottssällskap |
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| Nickname(s) | Makrillarna (the Mackerels) Grönsvart (Green-black) Gårdakvarnen (the Gårda Mill) |
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| Founded | 11 March 1894 1897 (football department) |
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| Ground | Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg | |||
| Capacity | 18,416 | |||
| Chairman | Stefan Tilk | |||
| Head coach | Fredrik Holmberg | |||
| League | Allsvenskan | |||
| 2024 | 6th of 16 | |||
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Göteborgs Atlet- och Idrottssällskap, often called GAIS or Gais, is a Swedish football club from Gothenburg. The club is known by its nicknames Makrillarna (the Mackerels) or Grönsvart (Green-black). These names come from their traditional green and black striped shirts and white shorts. GAIS plays its home games at Gamla Ullevi stadium.
GAIS is one of Sweden's oldest football clubs. It was a founding member of the top league, Allsvenskan, and also its first champion. The club has won four national championships and one national cup title. For many years, GAIS was known as a "yo-yo club" because it often moved between different leagues. However, after being promoted in 2022 and 2023, GAIS played in Allsvenskan in 2024 and finished in 6th place.
Contents
GAIS History: From Founding to Today
Early Days and First Wins
GAIS was started on March 11, 1894, in Gothenburg. The club's first goal was to promote sports like athletics and strength training. The football part of the club began in 1897. Their first official football game was in 1903 against local rivals Örgryte IS.
GAIS first played in the highest league, Svenska Serien, in 1915/16. They won their first national championship in 1919. They won again in 1922. When the new top league, Allsvenskan, started, GAIS won its first season in 1924/25. They won again in 1926/27. In 1930/31, GAIS won the league again, and this time, the league champions were officially recognized as national champions.
During the 1930s, GAIS was not as dominant. In 1938, they were moved down to a lower division. After three years, they returned to Allsvenskan in 1941–42 and finished second. In 1942, they won the Svenska Cupen for the first and only time.
The club stayed in Allsvenskan through the 1940s and early 1950s. They surprisingly won their fourth national championship in 1953/54. But the very next year, they were moved down again.
The 1960s and 1970s: Ups and Downs
GAIS returned to Allsvenskan in 1955/56. However, from the mid-1950s, the club struggled to stay in the top league for long periods. They were moved down in 1959 and spent four seasons in the second division. They briefly returned to Allsvenskan in 1964.
After another move down, they quickly returned to Allsvenskan in 1966. GAIS then stayed in the top league from 1966 to 1975, except for one year in 1971. In 1975, GAIS played in the UEFA Cup for the first time. They lost to a Polish club, Śląsk Wrocław. That same year, GAIS was moved down from Allsvenskan again.
Three Decades of Challenges: 1976–2006
Being moved down in 1975 was a tough moment for GAIS. They lost their spot as Gothenburg's top team to their rivals, IFK Göteborg. For the next five years, GAIS could not get back into Allsvenskan. In 1981, the club was even moved down to the third division due to money problems and poor performance.
Things looked difficult in 1982, but GAIS played very well in 1983. They earned a spot in the playoffs and won, moving back up to the second division.
In 1984, GAIS signed a talented player, Samir Bakaou, from Tunisia. He was called "the Black Pearl" and helped the team a lot. With him, GAIS became strong again. They almost got back to Allsvenskan in 1985 but lost in a penalty shootout. Finally, in 1987, GAIS returned to Allsvenskan after 11 years in lower divisions. They also reached the finals of the Svenska Cupen but lost.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, GAIS mostly fought to stay in Allsvenskan. They finished third in 1989, but usually were in the lower half of the league. In 1992, they were moved down again. The club faced its toughest time in 1997 when they were in the third division and had big money problems.
GAIS was promoted to the second division in 1998. In 1999, they made it back to Allsvenskan. However, they were moved down again in 2000 and then to the third division in 2001. After failing to return quickly in 2002, GAIS won their series in 2003 and got promoted back to Superettan (the second division).
In 2004, Roland Nilsson became the head coach. Under him, GAIS finished sixth in 2004. The next year, they finished third and played in the promotion playoffs for Allsvenskan. After a very close series, GAIS finally returned to Allsvenskan. They stayed there for seven seasons. After a strong fifth-place finish in 2011, they ended up in last place and were moved down in 2012. They remained in the second tier until 2021 when they were moved down again.
In 2022, GAIS played in the third division. But they quickly moved up, getting promoted two years in a row. As of 2024, they are back in Allsvenskan.
GAIS Supporters and Rivalries
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GAIS is the third most popular club in Gothenburg. About 13% of football fans in the city support GAIS. Their fans are known for being very loyal, no matter how well the club is doing. The oldest and main GAIS supporter group is called Makrillarna, started in 1961.
In 2018, the club did something special: they allowed a supporter to be an assistant manager for one game. This was very unusual for a Swedish football club.
GAIS has a strong rivalry with another Gothenburg team, IFK Göteborg. When GAIS plays in the top league, about 4,500 to 7,000 fans usually attend games. In the second league, it's about 3,000 to 4,000 fans. More people come to games against local rivals like IFK Göteborg, Örgryte IS, and IF Elfsborg, as well as against big teams from Stockholm and Skåne.
GAIS Players
Current First-Team Squad
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Players on Loan
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Retired Jersey Numbers
- 15 – Fredrik Lundgren, a defender and midfielder who played for GAIS from 1999–2002 and 2003–2012.
Famous Players
Karl-Alfred Jacobsson was chosen as "player of the century" and "player of the millennium" by GAIS fans. The supporter group Makrillarna gives out an award called "The Honorary Mackerel" to the best player each season since 1961.
Frank Jacobsson- Leif Andersson
- Bo Palle
- Gunnar Gren
- Leif Forsberg
- Leif Wendt
- Kurt Axelsson
- Kent Grek
- Jan Olsson
- Hasse Samuelsson
- Hasse Johansson
- Sten Pålsson
- Kjell Uppling
- Eine Fredriksson
- Sune Persson
- Nils Norlander
- Mikael Johansson
- Mikael Berthagen
- Morgan Lagemyr
- Osborn Larsson
- Lallo Fernandez
- Håkan Lindman
- Niklas Sjöstedt
Samir Bakaou- Sören Järelöv
- Ulf Johansson
Steve Gardner- Tony Persson
- Jens Wålemark
- Lenna Kreivi
Erik Holmgren- Tinos Lappas
- Thomas Hallberg
- Stefan Martinsen
- Niclas Johansson
- Mårten Jonsson
- Per Johansson
- Magnus Gustafsson
- Thomas Hvenfelt
- Anders Holmberg
- Ivan Ottordahl
- Mathias Gravem
- Ville Viljanen
- Stefan Vennberg
- Fredrik Lundgren
- Dime Jankulovski
Richard Ekunde- Bobbie Friberg da Cruz
Wánderson- Kenneth Gustafsson
Eric Bassombeng- Lars Göthfelt
- Joel Anell
GAIS Managers
- Knut Holmberg (1938–42)
- Gösta Holmberg (1940–41)
- Helge Liljebjörn (1941–43)
- Holger Jernsten (1943–49)
- George Raynor (1947–48)
Willy Wolf (1949–51)- Helge Ahlström (1951–52)
- Sven Jacobsson (1952–54)
- Gösta Hallberg (1954–56)
- Sixten Rosenqvist (1955–57)
- Karl-Erik Grahn (1956–59)
- Curt Thorstensson (1960–61)
István Takács (1962)- Gunnar Gren (1963–64)
- Holger Hansson (1965–67)
- Gunnar Gren (1968–69)
- Holger Hansson (1970–72)
- Vilmos Várszegi (1973–76)
- Rune Jingård (1976)
- Arne Lindqvist (1977)
- Lars Hedén (1978–79)
Tom Lilledal (1980)- Bosse Nilsson (1981)
- Bo Falk (1982–92)
- Bengt-Arne Strömberg (1993–96)
- Hans Gren (1997–98)
- Lennart Ottordal (1999–00)
- Kent Kierdorf (2001)
- Lennart Ottordal (2001–02)
- Roberto Jacobsson (2003)
- Roland Nilsson (2004–07)
- Magnus Pehrsson (2008)
- Alexander Axén (2009 – Jul 2012)
Jan Mak (Aug–Oct 2012)- Benjamin Westman (Oct–Dec 2012)
- Thomas Askebrand (2013–2014)
- Per-Ola Ljung (2014 – Aug 2015)
- Jesper Ljung (Aug–Dec 2015)
- Benjamin Westman (2016–2017)
- Patrik Ingelsten (Jun–Jul 2017)
- Bosko Orovic (2017 – Jul 2019)
- Patrik Ingelsten (Jul–Sep 2019)
- Tomas Erixon (Sep–Dec 2019)
- Stefan Jacobsson (Dec 2019 – Nov 2021)
- Fredrik Holmberg (Nov 2021–)
GAIS Achievements
National Championships
- Swedish Champions
- Winners (4): 1919, 1922, 1930–31, 1953–54
League Titles
- Allsvenskan:
- Winners (4): 1924–25, 1926–27, 1930–31, 1953–54
- Runners-up (4): 1925–26, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1941–42
- Superettan:
- Runner-up (1): 2023
- Division 1 Södra:
- Winners (1): 1987, 2022
- Runners-up (2): 1995, 1999
- Svenska Serien:
- Winners (1): 1923–24
Cup Wins
- Svenska Cupen:
- Winners (1): 1942
- Runners-up (1): 1986–87
- Svenska Mästerskapet:
- Winners (2): 1919, 1922
European Competitions
- Intertoto Cup:
- Winners (1): 1990
See also
In Spanish: GAIS Gotemburgo para niños
