Gefle IF facts for kids
 |
||||
| Full name | Gefle Idrottsförening | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 5 December 1882 as Gefle SK | |||
| Ground | Gavlevallen, Gävle | |||
| Capacity | 6,500 | |||
| Chairman | Robert Strid | |||
| Head coach | Rawez Lawan | |||
| League | Ettan | |||
| 2024 | Superettan, 15th (relegated) | |||
|
||||
Gefle Idrottsförening, often called Gefle IF or just Gefle, is a professional football club from Gävle, Sweden. The club plays its 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 15 seasons in Allsvenskan, which is Sweden's top football league. Their first season there was in 1933–34. Currently, the team plays in Ettan Norra, which is the third level of Swedish football.
Contents
History of Gefle IF Football Club
How Gefle IF Started
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, the club focused mostly on winter sports. Rowing was their only summer activity. In 1896, the club started regular football training. This was thanks to Robert Carrick, an English accountant. He grew up in Gävle but learned about football while studying in England. He brought the new sport back to Sweden and introduced it to Gefle IF.
Early Success and Challenges
Gefle IF found success around the year 1900. They won the Rosenska Pokalen, a big Swedish cup at the time, three times. However, they did not join another major tournament, Svenska Mästerskapet, because traveling was too expensive. This meant their best team never got to play against Örgryte IS, another strong team from Gothenburg.
More and more football clubs started in the early 1900s. Gefle IF found it hard to stay at the top. When the first Swedish league, Svenska Serien, began in 1910, Gefle IF was not included. When they joined the second level of the league in 1912–13, they finished last.
Moving Up and Down the Leagues
For most of the 20th century, Gefle IF 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. Sadly, Rosén had been ill and passed away shortly after the promotion. Per "Pelle" Olsson, who had worked for the club for a long time, took over as manager. He helped the team stay in the top league. Olsson managed the team until 2014.
Gefle IF Supporters
Gefle IF's supporters were a bit late in forming an official fan club. This was because the team often played in the second or third divisions. In the mid-1990s, more fans started traveling to away games. Finally, in 2001, "Sky Blues" was founded as the official supporter group.
In 2009, Gefle IF changed their home shirt from sky blue to white. The club had played in white for its first 80 years. This change upset some fans, and they stopped singing in the stadium's fan sections. Before the 2011 season, they found a solution. The team kept the white home shirt but brought back sky blue for their new away kit.
Then, for the 2015 Allsvenskan season, they found an even better compromise. 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 a plan with Gävle Municipality to build a new stadium. The new stadium, Gavlevallen, was ready for the 2015 season.
Gefle IF in European Competitions
Gefle IF has played in European competitions a few times. They qualified through the Fair Play initiative. This means they got to play because they showed good sportsmanship, not just because of their league position or cup wins.
| 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 |
Current Players of Gefle IF
First-team squad
|
|
Managers of Gefle IF
Over the years, many people have managed Gefle IF. Here are some of them:
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 (2020–2024)
- Rawez Lawan (2025–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
