Gefle IF facts for kids
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| Full name | Gefle Idrottsförening | |||
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| Founded | 5 December 1882 as Gefle SK | |||
| Ground | Gavlevallen, Gävle | |||
| Capacity | 6,500 | |||
| Chairman | Malin Rogström | |||
| Head coach | Mikael Bengtsson | |||
| League | Superettan | |||
| 2023 | Superettan, 9th | |||
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Gefle Idrottsförening, often called Gefle IF or just Gefle, is a professional football club from Gävle, Sweden. The club is connected with the Gestriklands Football Association. They play their home games at Gavlevallen and their team colors are blue and white.
Gefle IF was started on December 5, 1882, first known as Gefle SK. The club has played fifteen seasons in Sweden's top football league, Allsvenskan. Their first season in the top league was in 1933–34. Currently, the team plays in Superettan, which is the second-highest football league in Sweden.
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History of Gefle IF
Gefle IF began as Gefle SK in December 1882. Just a few months later, they changed their name to Gefle IF. The name "Gefle" is an old way to spell the town Gävle, used from the 1500s to the early 1900s.
At first, this club focused on many different sports, especially winter sports. Their only summer activity was rowing. In 1896, the club started regular football training. An English accountant named Robert Carrick led these sessions. He grew up in Gävle but learned about football while studying in England. He brought this new sport back to Sweden and introduced it to Gefle IF.
The club quickly became successful around the year 1900. They won one of the biggest Swedish cups at that time, called Rosenska Pokalen, three times. However, Gefle decided not to join another major Swedish football tournament, Svenska Mästerskapet, because traveling was too expensive. This meant their best team never got to play against the other strong team of that time, Örgryte IS from Gothenburg.
In the early 1900s, many new football clubs started. Gefle could not stay as dominant as before. When the first Swedish league, Svenska Serien, began in 1910, Gefle IF was not included. When they joined the second level of the league system in 1912–13, they finished last.
For the rest of the 20th century, the club usually moved between the second and third levels of Swedish football. They only had two short times in the top league, Allsvenskan. One was in the early 1930s and another in the early 1980s. Between 1979 and 1981, Gefle IF and Brynäs IF joined together and played as Gefle IF/Brynäs. But they split up again in 1982.
In 2004, manager Kenneth Rosén helped the club return to the top division. They finished second in the 2004 Superettan season. After this success, Per "Pelle" Olsson, who had worked with the club for a long time, became the new manager. He helped the club stay in the top league. Olsson managed the team until 2014.
Gefle IF Supporters
Because Gefle was often a second or third division club, their fans were a bit slow to create an organized supporters' club. In the mid-1990s, more fans started traveling to away games. Finally, in 2001, the "Sky Blues" group was officially formed as the club's main supporter group.
In 2009, Gefle IF made some fans unhappy by changing their home shirt color from sky blue to white. The club had played in white during its first 80 years. This change caused some fan groups to stop singing in the special sections of the home stadium.
Eventually, before the 2011 season, they found a solution. The team kept the white shirt for home games but brought back sky blue for their new away kit. Then, for the 2015 Allsvenskan season, they launched a new sky blue and white striped kit. This design was inspired by the Argentina national football team. This decision made both the fans and the club happy.
Gefle IF Stadium
Gefle IF played at Strömvallen for 92 years. This stadium was built in 1923. On May 30, 2013, the club announced that they had agreed with Gävle Municipality to build a new stadium. The new stadium, called Gavlevallen, was ready for the 2015 season.
Gefle IF in European Competitions
Gefle IF has played in European football competitions several times. This means they played against teams from other countries.
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | UEFA Cup | First qualifying round |  Llanelli |
1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| 2010–11 | UEFA Europa League | First qualifying round |  NSÍ Runavík |
2–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 |
| Second qualifying round |  FC Dinamo Tbilisi |
1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 | ||
| 2013–14 | UEFA Europa League | First qualifying round |  Narva Trans |
5–1 | 3–0 | 8–1 |
| Second qualifying round |  Anorthosis |
4–0 | 0–3 | 4–3 | ||
| Third qualifying round |  Qarabağ FK |
0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 |
Gefle did not qualify for these European competitions by winning cups or finishing very high in their league. Instead, they qualified each time through the Fair Play initiative. This means they were recognized for playing fairly and showing good sportsmanship.
Gefle IF Players
First-team squad
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Gefle IF Managers
Robert Carrick (1900–07)
Sven Klang (1933–34)- Erik Nilsson (1935)
Václav Simon (1945–46)- Erik Norin (1960)
- Matts Larsson (1961)
- Sven Bergsten (1963)
- Sigge Parling (1965)
- Jörgen Stark (1970–71)
- Lennart Söderberg (1972–75)
Peter Antoine (1976)- Rune Karlsson (1977)
- Bo Andersson (1978–79)
- Leif Widén (1980–81)
- Stefan Lundin (1982–83)
- Björn Bolling (1984)
- Bo Andersson (1985–86)
- Lennart Söderberg (1987–89)
Marek Skurczyński (1990–92)- Stefan Lundin (1992–96)
- Pelle Olsson (1996–02)
- Kenneth Rosén (2003–04)
- Pelle Olsson (2005–13)
- Roger Sandberg (2014–2016)
- Thomas Andersson (2016–2017)
- Poya Asbaghi (2017)
- Johan Mjällby (2018)
- Marcus Bengtsson (2018–2019)
- Mikael Bengtsson (2020–present)
Gefle IF Achievements
League Titles
- Superettan:
- Second Place (1): 2004
- Division 1 Norra:
- Winners (1): 2022
- Second Place (1): 1995
Cup Wins
- Svenska Cupen:
- Second Place (1): 2006
- Rosenska Pokalen:
- Winners (3): 1899, 1900, 1902
See also
In Spanish: Gefle IF para niños
