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Östersunds FK

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Östersunds FK
Full nameÖstersunds Fotbollsklubb
Short nameÖFK
Founded31 October 1996; 28 years ago (31 October 1996)
GroundJämtkraft Arena, Östersund
Capacity8,545[1]
ChairmanPeja Lindholm
Head coachThomas Gabrielsson
Fredrik Åsmund Eliassen
LeagueSuperettan
2024Superettan, 14th of 16
Websiteostersundsfk.se
Current season

Östersunds Fotbollsklubb, commonly known simply as Östersunds FK, Östersund (Swedish pronunciation: [œstɛˈʂɵnːd]) or (especially locally) ÖFK, is a Swedish professional football club located in Östersund, Sweden, that plays in the Swedish second tier, Superettan. The club was formed in 1996 as a merger of several Östersund clubs. The club is affiliated with the Jämtland-Härjedalens Fotbollförbund[2] and play their home games at Jämtkraft Arena. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are red and black, predominantly in stripes and with red shorts and socks.

From its creation, the club played mostly in the third tier of Swedish football but in 2013 Östersund achieved promotion to the second tier, Superettan, after achieving two consecutive promotions. In 2016, Östersund was promoted to the Swedish first tier, Allsvenskan, for the first time.[3] In 2017, Östersund won the Svenska Cupen and qualified for the UEFA Europa League. The club was relegated to Superettan in 2021.[4]

Name

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The name 'Östersunds' is in a possessive clause in the Swedish language, which means it is incorrect to call the club anything other than Östersund in a short form based on the town name.

Background

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Östersunds FK was created in 1996 when the three local clubs Ope IF, IFK Östersund and Östersund/Torvalla FF merged, aiming to create a club in that would be able to establish itself in the top two tiers of Swedish football. The next year Frösö IF also joined the project. The newly formed club started out their existence in the third tier in 1997 and Östersund/Torvalla FF ceased to exist as a consequence.[5] IFK Östersund, Ope IF och Östersund/Torvalla FF (ÖTFF). In 2000 a fifth club, Fältjägarnas IF, was also merged into the club.

During the 2000s the club started taking on an English flavour and in 2007 the director of football Daniel Kindberg used his friendship with coaches Roberto Martínez and Graeme Jones to start a cooperation with Swansea City where Östersund would loan young players from the club. Swansea also came over to Östersund to play the inauguration game at the newly built stadium.[6] After a poor 2010 season the club was relegated to the fourth tier for the first time ever.

In 2011 Daniel Kindberg returned to the role as director of football and increased financial backing from local companies which enabled the hiring of more full-time staff. Following Jones' recommendation the club also brought in young English manager Graham Potter[7] who was working at an English university at the time. Through several successful signings, some coming from Potter's connections at Nike Football Academy, the club was able to win both the fourth tier and then the third tier immediately the year after.[8] The club was promoted to Superettan for the 2013 season and finished 10th that season.

In January 2014 the club announced that they had signed a half-billion kronor deal with the government of Libya to develop and educate Libyan football players. Under the terms of the deal, Östersunds FK would train 250 young men from Libya every year, except the first year in which they will receive 60 students. Those players would be taught English and computer skills in addition to sports theory and football training. The deal was expected to raise Östersund FKs yearly profits by over 50%.[9] The deal with the Libyan state never came to life, thus meaning no students came to Östersund and no money was received by the club.[10]

On 27 October 2015, the club was promoted to Allsvenskan for the first time.[11] In 2017, they managed to win their first major trophy, Svenska Cupen, after defeating IFK Norrköping 4–1 in the final, also qualifying for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, marking their first appearance in a European competition tournament. In their Europa League debut in the second qualifying round on 13 July 2017, Östersund earned a shock 2–0 over Turkish giants Galatasaray at the Jämtkraft Arena and eliminated them after a 1–1 draw in Istanbul. Two goals by Saman Ghoddos in a win over PAOK on 24 August saw them qualify for the group stage at the first time of asking, at the same time making them the only Swedish representative in the season's UEFA competition and making Graham Potter the only British manager in the Europa League group stage. After losing only one game in their campaign, they finished second in a group featuring Athletic Bilbao and Hertha Berlin, becoming the first Swedish club to progress beyond the Europa League group stage. In the round of 32 they managed to beat English side Arsenal 2–1 away but were eliminated 4–2 on aggregate after losing the first leg 3–0.[12]

On 17 April 2018, club chairman (also the director of football) Daniel Kindberg was taken into custody by the Swedish Economic Crime Authority, suspected on probable cause of serious fraud and for assisting in serious gross accounting violations.[13] Together with two other people, Kindberg is suspected of submitting false invoices in several companies, according to the prosecutor.[14] Several of these companies have strong ties to Östersunds FK and the club's sponsorship deals.[15][16] Several years before, in 2014, Kindberg was subject to criticism when Östersundshem, the municipal housing company where he was the CEO, became a big sponsor of Östersunds FK.[17][18]

On 11 June 2018, Graham Potter left Östersunds FK to take over as manager of Swansea City after eight seasons in charge.

On 31 October 2021, they were relegated from Allsvenskan after their loss to Varberg BoIS. In the 2022 season, Östersunds FK managed to barely escape relegation from Superettan, the second tier of Swedish men's professional football. The team ended up in 14th place and therefore had to qualify which they did. Östersund played six seasons in Allsvenskan before they were relegated.[19]

Season to season

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Season Level Division Section Position Movements Svenska Cupen
1997 Tier 4 Division 2 Norrland 7th
1998 Tier 4 Division 2 Norrland 2nd Promotion Playoffs
1999 Tier 4 Division 2 Norrland 1st Promotion Playoffs
2000 Tier 4 Division 2 Norrland 5th
2001 Tier 4 Division 2 Norrland 3rd
2002 Tier 4 Division 2 Norrland 5th Round 1
2003 Tier 4 Division 2 Norrland 2nd DNQ
2004 Tier 4 Division 2 Norrland 4th Round 1
2005 Tier 4 Division 2 Norrland 2nd Promoted Round 3
2006[a] Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 11th Round 2
2007 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 11th Round 2
2008 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 10th Round 2
2009 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 11th Round 2
2010 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 13th Relegated Round 3
2011 Tier 4 Division 2 Norrland 1st Promoted Round 2
2012 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 1st Promoted Round 2[b]
2013 Tier 2 Superettan 10th
2014 Tier 2 Superettan 5th Group stage, 3rd
2015 Tier 2 Superettan 2nd Promoted Round 2
2016 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 8th Group stage, 3rd
2017 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 5th Winner
2018 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 6th Semi-finals
2019 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 12th Group stage, 2nd
2020 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 13th Group stage, 2nd
2021 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 16th Relegated Quarter-finals
2022 Tier 2 Superettan 14th Round 2
2023 Tier 2 Superettan 5th Group stage, 4th
  1. ^ League restructuring in 2006 resulted in a new division being created at Tier 3 and subsequent divisions dropping a level.[20]
  2. ^ No final was played in 2012, due to the Swedish cup moving to a autumn-spring format, with the 2012-13 final being played in 2013.

European record

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Overall record

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Accurate as of 23 February 2018
Competition Played Won Drew Lost GF GA GD Win%
UEFA Europa League 14 8 3 3 19 13 +6 057.14
Total 14 8 3 3 19 13 +6 057.14

Matches

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Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 2Q Turkey Galatasaray 2–0 1–1 3–1
3Q Luxembourg Fola Esch 1–0 2–1 3–1
PO Greece PAOK 2–0 1–3 3–3 (a)
Group J Spain Athletic Bilbao 2–2 0–1 2nd
Germany Hertha BSC 1–0 1–1
Ukraine Zorya Luhansk 2–0 2–0
R32 England Arsenal 0–3 2–1 2–4
Notes
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • 3Q: Third qualifying round
  • PO: Play-off round
  • GS: Group Stage
  • R32: Round of 32

UEFA Team rank

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The following list ranks the current position of Östersunds FK in UEFA ranking:

Rank Team Points
89 Sweden Malmö FF 16.000
116 Italy Torino FC 12.330
117 Croatia HNK Rijeka 10.500
118 Cyprus AEK Larnaca FC 10.000
119 Sweden Östersunds FK 10.000
120 Moldova FC Sheriff Tiraspol 10.000
121 Turkey Osmanlispor 8.000
145 Sweden AIK 6.000
187 Sweden IFK Norrköping 3.975
188 Sweden BK Häcken 3.975

As of 21 September 2020.[1]

Players

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First-team squad

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As of 15 July 2024[21]

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 Guinea GUI Aly Keita (captain)
3 DF Canada CAN Chrisnovic N'sa
4 DF Norway NOR Kristian Novak
5 DF Nigeria NGA Sunday Anyanwu
6 DF Sweden SWE Jakob Hedenquist
7 MF United States USA Nebiyou Perry
8 MF Brazil BRA Erick Brendon
9 FW Sweden SWE Sebastian Karlsson Grach
10 FW Sweden SWE Simon Marklund
11 MF Ukraine UKR Mykola Musolitin
12 GK Iceland ISL Adam Ingi Benediktsson
13 DF Nigeria NGA Onahi Ogbu
14 FW Guatemala GUA Arquimides Ordóñez (on loan from Cincinnati)
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 MF England ENG Jamie Hopcutt
16 FW Sweden SWE Albin Sporrong
18 DF Sweden SWE Philip Bonde
19 MF Sweden SWE André Nader
20 MF Nigeria NGA Michael Aduragbemi Oluwayemi
21 MF Sweden SWE Simon Kroon
22 MF Sweden SWE Ahmed Bonnah
23 DF Sweden SWE Ali Suljić
24 MF Sweden SWE Henrik Norrby
25 MF Norway NOR Mansour Sinyan
27 DF Syria SYR Ziad Ghanoum
28 MF Ivory Coast CIV Yannick Adjoumani
77 GK Kenya KEN Arnold Origi

Notable players

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This list of notable players includes those who have either been named player of the year at the club,[22] or has become league top goalscorer, or went on to play in Allsvenskan (or for larger clubs abroad).

Brian Wake became the combined top goalscorer of all six regional fourth tier leagues in 2011 with 24 goals in 20 games.[23]

Player records

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Top 10 players with most games in ÖFK

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Nr Name Games Goals
1 Guinea Sweden Aly Keita 213 0
2 Sweden Lars Oscarsson 212 10
3 Ghana Sweden Samuel Mensiro 204 4
4 Sweden Martin Johansson 193 15
5 England Sweden Jamie Hopcutt 190 47
6 Sweden Daniel Westerlund 184 58
7 Sweden Dennis Widgren 179 3
8 Sweden Petter Jacobsson 172 7
9 Sweden Bobo Sollander 163 24
10 Iraq Sweden Brwa Nouri 154 23

Player of the season in ÖFK

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Year Name
1997 Scotland Paul Sheerin
1998 Sweden Mattias Eriksson
1999 Sweden Mikael Berg
2000 Sweden Lars Oscarsson
2001 Finland Sweden Lasse Mattila
2002 Sweden Kjell Jönsson
2003 Sweden Fredrik Aliris
2004 Sweden Martin Johansson
2005 Sweden Joakim Lundstedt
2006 Sweden Erik Lantto
2007 Sweden Erik Lantto
2008 England Lee Makel
2009 Sweden Bobo Sollander
2010 Sweden Christoffer Fryklund
2011 England Sweden Brian Wake
2012 Sweden Petter Augustsson
2013 Ghana Sweden Samuel Mensiro
2014 The Gambia Sweden Modou Barrow
2015 Comoros France Fouad Bachirou
2016 Sweden England Douglas Bergqvist
2017 Iran Sweden Saman Ghoddos
2018 Iran Sweden Saman Ghoddos
2019 Montenegro Sweden Dino Islamovic
2020 Guinea Sweden Aly Keita
2021 Guinea Sweden Aly Keita
2022 Sweden Ludvig Fritzson

Top 10 players with most goals in ÖFK

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Nr Name Goals Games
1 Sweden Daniel Westerlund 58 184
2 England Sweden Jamie Hopcutt 47 190
3 Iran Sweden Saman Ghoddos 41 93
4 Sweden Joakim Lundstedt 33 97
5 England Sweden Brian Wake 26 33
6 Sweden Bobo Sollander 24 163
7 Iran Sweden Brwa Nouri 23 154
8 Sweden Daniel Johansson 21 36
8 Jamaica England Blair Turgott 21 68
10 Montserrat England Alex Dyer 19 93

Management and boardroom

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Technical staff

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As of 24 January 2021[24]

Name Role
Sweden Richard Persson Chairman
Sweden Peja Anderson CEO
Sweden Stefan Lundin Sporting Director
Head Coach
Norway Fredrik Åsmund Eliassen Assistant Coach
Kenya Arnold Origi Goalkeeping Coach
Libya Moubarak Abdallah Equipment Manager
Vacant Doctor
Sweden Jenny Larsson Head of Physiotherapists
Sweden Michael Lagercrantz Physiotherapist
Sweden Lisa Brandén Physiotherapist
Sweden David Lidström Hultén Press Officer
Vacant Supporter Liaison Officer

Boardroom

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Östersunds FK (Föreningen)

Name Role
Sweden Richard Persson Chairman
Sweden Johan Lidenmark Boardmember
Sweden Ulf Ringdahl Boardmember
Sweden Åsa Bromée Boardmember
Sweden Åsa Trolle Boardmember
Sweden Mårten Ulander Boardmember

Östersunds FK Elitfotboll AB

Name Role
Sweden Tom Pripp Chairman
Sweden Kjell Andersson CEO
Sweden Tommy Holmgren Vice Chairman
Sweden Kent Hellström Board member

Coaches

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Englishman Neil McDonald helped the team avoid relegation during his short time with the club at the end of the 2007 season.[25]

[26]

Attendances

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In recent seasons Östersunds FK have had the following average attendances:

Jämtkraft Arena opened up in 2007 with a friendly game between Östersunds FK and Swansea City.[27]
Season Average Attendance Division / Section Level Stadium
2005 573 Div 2 Norrland Tier 3 Hofvallen
2006 535 Div 1 Norra Tier 3 Hofvallen
2007 1,060 Div 1 Norra Tier 3 Jämtkraft Arena
2008 1,104 Div 1 Norra Tier 3 Jämtkraft Arena
2009 1,134 Div 1 Norra Tier 3 Jämtkraft Arena
2010 992 Div 1 Norra Tier 3 Jämtkraft Arena
2011 783 Div 2 Norrland Tier 4 Jämtkraft Arena
2012 1,695 Div 1 Norra Tier 3 Jämtkraft Arena
2013 3,320 Superettan Tier 2 Jämtkraft Arena
2014 3,022 Superettan Tier 2 Jämtkraft Arena
2015 3,857 Superettan Tier 2 Jämtkraft Arena
2016 5,914 Allsvenskan Tier 1 Jämtkraft Arena
2017 5,265 Allsvenskan Tier 1 Jämtkraft Arena
2018 6,020 Allsvenskan Tier 1 Jämtkraft Arena
2019 4,808 Allsvenskan Tier 1 Jämtkraft Arena
2020 (COVID) -- Allsvenskan Tier 1 Jämtkraft Arena
2021 1,500 (COVID) Allsvenskan Tier 1 Jämtkraft Arena
2022 1,661 Superettan Tier 2 Jämtkraft Arena

* Attendances are provided in the Publikliga sections of the Svenska Fotbollförbundet website. [28]

Honours

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League

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Cups

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* League restructuring in 2006 resulted in a new division being created at Tier 3 and subsequent divisions dropping a level. [29]

References

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  1. ^ "Evenemangsarena: Jämtkraft Arena". www.ostersund.se. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar – Jämtland-Härjedalens Fotbollförbund – Svenskfotboll.se". Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar 2013 – Östersunds FK". Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  4. ^ "TV: Från vinst mot Arsenal till allsvensk nedflyttning - här är ÖFK:s uppgång och fall". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Östersunds FF Historia" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 17 September 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Östersunds satsar brittiskt" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  7. ^ McRae, Donald (12 February 2018). ""Graham Potter: 'I've shown there's another path for English managers'" The Guardian 12 Feb 2018". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  8. ^ "ÖFK Tillbakablick" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  9. ^ "Superettan klubb får en halvmiljard" (in Swedish). 8 January 2014. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  10. ^ Sjölund, Fredrik (4 March 2015). "Libyen-samarbete skjuts upp ytterligare". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  11. ^ Calle Lindberg (27 October 2015). "Östersunds FK allsvenskt för första gången" (in Swedish). SVT Sport. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Playing Arsenal is like Christmas': How Graham Potter transformed Ostersund and inspired Sweden's north". The Independent. 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  13. ^ "Låt spelarna fokusera på matchen". Östersunds FK. 17 April 2018. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Uppgifter: Daniel Kindberg anhållen efter ekobrottsrazzian i morse". Östersunds-Posten. 17 April 2018. Archived from the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  15. ^ "Miljonsponsring till ÖFK från Kindbergs affärspartner utreds". Fotbollskanalen. 17 April 2018. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  16. ^ Alamaa, Håkan; Sellén, Patric (17 April 2018). "Sollefteåföretagare betalade miljoner till ÖFK". SVT. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Östersunds FK: Underbar och älskad av alla?". Offside. 16 March 2016. Archived from the original on 5 August 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  18. ^ "ÖFK-basen sitter på flera stolar - medger: "Min makt är enorm"". Fotbollskanalen. 24 October 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  19. ^ "Östersunds FK åker ur allsvenskan". www.aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). 30 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  20. ^ "GAIS – Lagfacta – Östersunds FK". Retrieved 9 March 2010.[permanent dead link‍]
  21. ^ "Östersunds FK Team". Östersunds FK. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  22. ^ "Östersunds FF Klubben". Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  23. ^ "Brian Wake – målkung i förbundsserierna". Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  24. ^ "Truppen 2015". Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  25. ^ "Heta möten mot Vasalund". Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  26. ^ "Östersunds FF Klubben". Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  27. ^ "Swansea till Östersund!!!". Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  28. ^ "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar – Svenska Fotbollförbundet – svenskfotboll.se". Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  29. ^ "GAIS – Lagfacta – Östersunds FK". Retrieved 9 March 2010.[permanent dead link‍]
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