GIF Sundsvall

Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall, more commonly known as GIF Sundsvall (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɡɪfː ˈsɵ̂nː(d)sval])[1] 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 Idrottsparken.[2] Formed on 25 August 1903, the club has played 17 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
Founded25 August 1903 (1903-08-25)
GroundIdrottsparken, Sundsvall
Capacity7,700
ChairmanJohan Nikula
Head coachHenrik Åhnstrand
LeagueSuperettan
2020Superettan, 6th
WebsiteClub website

History
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 Helsingborgs IF.

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.

Idrottsparken
Idrottsparken, earlier known as Norrporten Arena.
Further information: Idrottsparken (Sundsvall)

GIF Sundsvall's home stadium is Idrottsparken, formerly known as 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 7,700, with 5,000 under roof.

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.

Top attendance: 16,507 vs Högadal 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

Players

First-team squad
As of 25 August 2020[4]

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  ENG Lloyd Saxton
2 DF  SWE Anton Eriksson
3 DF  SWE David Myrestam
4 DF  SWE Alexander Blomqvist
5 DF  SWE Dennis Olsson
6 MF  GHA Abdul Halik Hudu
7 MF  NOR Oliver Berg
8 MF  SWE Pontus Silfwer
11 MF  SWE Tobias Eriksson
14 MF  SWE Paya Pichkah
16 DF  SWE Johan Andersson (on loan from Djurgården)
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 DF  SWE Albin Ekström
18 MF  SWE Jesper Carström
19 DF  SWE Teodor Stenshagen
20 DF  SWE Niklas Dahlström
21 FW  SWE Pontus Engblom
23 MF  SWE Ludvig Nåvik
24 MF  SWE Johan Blomberg
29 GK  SWE Andreas Andersson
33 MF  SWE Albin Palmlöv
— MF  ENG Jamie Hopcutt

Retired numbers

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

Managers

Footnotes

    References
    1. Jöran Sahlgren; Gösta Bergman (1979). Svenska ortnamn med uttalsuppgifter (in Swedish). p. 23.
    2. "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar – Medelpads Fotbollförbund – Svenskfotboll.se". Retrieved 2011-01-12.
    3. Eric Sköld (ed.): Boken om bandy, Uppsala: Bygd och Folk Förlag (1948), p. 469 (in Swedish)
    4. "Truppen" (in Swedish). GIF Sundsvall. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
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