GIF Sundsvall

Summary

Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall, more commonly known as GIF Sundsvall (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɡɪfː ˈsɵ̂nː(d)sval]),[1] Giffarna or simply Sundsvall, is a Swedish professional football club based in Sundsvall. The club is affiliated with Medelpads Fotbollförbund and plays its home games at NP3 Arena with a capacity of roughly 8 000 spectators.[2] Formed on 25 August 1903, the club has played 19 seasons in Sweden's highest football league Allsvenskan, the club's first season in the league was in 1965.

GIF Sundsvall
Full nameGymnastik- och
Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall
Nickname(s)Giffarna
Norrlandslaget (Northland team)
Short nameGIF
Founded25 August 1903; 120 years ago (1903-08-25)
GroundNP3 Arena, Sundsvall
Capacity8,000
Head coachDouglas Jakobsen
LeagueSuperettan
2023Superettan, 10th
WebsiteClub website

GIF Sundsvall is placed twenty-second in the overall Allsvenskan table maratontabellen. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are blue, yellow and white. Nevertheless, white is not articulately present in today's kit it has a strong history within the club.

History edit

 
A chart showing the progress of GIF Sundsvall through the swedish football league system. The different shades of gray represent league divisions.
 
GIF Sundsvall in their traditional blue and white kits during an Allsvenskan game against Malmö FF.

The club was formed on August 25, 1903, at Matilda Anderssons Café. At that time, GIF Sundsvall stood for "Godtemplarnas Idrotts Förening Sundsvall" which mainly was for Teetotallers 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, 1987–89, 1991, 2000–06, 2008, 2012 and 2015–19.

GIF Sundsvall earlier had women's football, bandy and ice hockey on the program. The bandy team became district champions for Västernorrland in 1921.[3] The hockey team folded in the late 1960s. 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.

Stadium edit

 
Exterior of Idrottsparken, earlier known as Norrporten Arena.

GIF Sundsvall's home stadium is NP3 Arena, formerly known as Idrottsparken and Norrporten Arena. It is located in the heart of Sundsvall and was inaugurated on August 6, 1903. It was renovated in 2001–2002 and it can now hold a capacity of 8,000, with 5,000 under roof.[4]

Between 2006 – 2016 the name was changed to Norrporten Arena and during 2017 the club expect to present a new sponsor and name of the stadium. The stadium's grass is artificial turf since 2004.

The record attendance was 16,507 against Högadals IS on October 15, 1961.

 
A panorama of NP3 Arena in Sundsvall.

Supporters edit

The official supporter's club of GIF Sundsvall is called Patronerna. Formed in 1999, mostly as a joke by some friends supporting[further explanation needed] their friend, the club has in a short period of time amassed a strong reputation[citation needed]. The name is mainly a historical reference to the sawmill owners who were very powerful in Sundsvall during the post-industrial-revolution era. In 2005, FP-tifo, the group who designs the club's terrace choreography, won the Swedish tifo awards arranged by Canal+.

Achievements edit

Players edit

First-team squad edit

As of 18 September, 2023[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   SWE Oscar Jonsson
2 DF   GHA Kojo Peprah Oppong (on loan from IFK Norrköping)
3 DF   SWE Fredrik Lundgren
4 DF   SWE Alexander Blomqvist
5 DF   SWE Dennis Olsson
6 DF   SWE Rasmus Lindkvist
7 MF   SWE Erik Andersson
8 MF   SWE Ludvig Nåvik
9 FW   SWE Linus Hallenius
11 MF   SWE Jesper Carström
12 DF   SWE Ludvig Sandberg (on loan from Hammarby IF)
13 MF   SWE Paya Pichkah
14 FW   SWE Johan Bengtsson
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF   SWE Robert Lundström
16 MF   SWE Marcus Burman
17 FW   SWE Alexander Larsson (footballer)
18 DF   SWE Lucas Forsberg
19 DF   SWE Teodor Stenshagen
20 MF   SWE Elias Durmaz (on loan from AIK)
21 FW   SWE Pontus Engblom
22 MF   SWE Albin Palmlöf
23 GK   SWE Gustav Molin
29 MF   SWE Edwin Dellkrans
30 MF   SWE Dušan Jajic
33 MF   SWE Yonis Shino
44 MF   SWE Oliver Stojanovic Fredin

Out on loan edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
FW   HAI Ronaldo Damus (to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC)

Retired numbers edit

10 – Leif Forsberg, forward (1980–1988, 1990–2001)

Managers edit

Footnotes edit

References edit

  1. ^ Jöran Sahlgren; Gösta Bergman (1979). Svenska ortnamn med uttalsuppgifter (in Swedish). p. 23. Archived from the original on 2020-03-29. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  2. ^ "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar – Medelpads Fotbollförbund – Svenskfotboll.se". Archived from the original on 2011-12-07. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
  3. ^ Eric Sköld (ed.): Boken om bandy, Uppsala: Bygd och Folk Förlag (1948), p. 469 (in Swedish)
  4. ^ "NP3 Arena" (in Swedish). GIF Sundsvall. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Truppen" (in Swedish). GIF Sundsvall. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2023.

External links edit

  • Allsvenskan (Premier league) – Official site
  • GIF Sundsvall – Official site
  • Patronerna – Official supporter club site
  • Superettan (Second tier league) – Official site