GIF Sundsvall
| Full name | Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Giffarna Norrlandslaget (Northland team) | ||
| Short name | GIF | ||
| Founded | 25 August 1903 | ||
| Ground | NP3 Arena, Sundsvall | ||
| Capacity | 8,000 | ||
| Head coach | Erol Ates | ||
| League | Superettan | ||
| 2024 | Superettan, 13th of 16 | ||
| Website | http://www.gifsundsvall.se/ | ||
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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 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
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
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.
Supporters
The official supporter's club of GIF Sundsvall is called Patronerna. Formed in 1999, mostly as a joke by some friends supporting their friend, the club has in a short period of time amassed a strong reputation. 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
- Superettan
- Runners-up (3): 2011, 2014, 2021
- Division 1 Norra
- Winners (2): 1990, 1999
- Norrländska Mästerskapet
- Winners (1): 1942
- Runners-up (2): 1928, 1951
Players
First-team squad
- As of 21 April 2025[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Retired numbers
10 – Leif Forsberg, forward (1980–1988, 1990–2001)
Managers
| Name | Year(s) |
|---|---|
| Stig Sundqvist | 1955–58 |
| Jimmy Meadows | 1976 |
| Anders Grönhagen | 1986–89 |
| Jan Mattsson | 1990–92 |
| Anders Grönhagen | 1999–01 |
| Per Joar Hansen | 2002–03 |
| Patrick Walker | 2003 |
| Rikard Norling | 2004 |
| Jan Halvor Halvorsen | 2005 |
| Anders Högman | 2005 |
| David Wilson | 2005–06 |
| Mika Sankala | 2006–07 |
| Per Joar Hansen | 2008 |
| Sören Åkeby | October 2008 – November 12 |
| Roger Franzén | November 2012 – September 16 |
| Joel Cedergren | November 2012 – August 19 |
| Tony Gustavsson | August 2019 – December 2019 |
| Henrik Åhnstrand | 2019 – July 2022 |
| Brian Clarhaut | July 2022 – December 2022 |
| Douglas Jakobsen | January 2023 – June 2024 |
| Ion Doros | June 2024 – 12 July 2024 |
| Erol Ates | 12 July 2024–present |
Footnotes
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar – Medelpads Fotbollförbund – Svenskfotboll.se". Archived from the original on 2011-12-07. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
- ^ Eric Sköld (ed.): Boken om bandy, Uppsala: Bygd och Folk Förlag (1948), p. 469 (in Swedish)
- ^ "NP3 Arena" (in Swedish). GIF Sundsvall. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- ^ "Truppen" (in Swedish). GIF Sundsvall. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
External links
- Allsvenskan (Premier league) – Official site
- GIF Sundsvall – Official site
- Patronerna – Official supporter club site
- Superettan (Second tier league) – Official site