Östersunds FK

Östersunds FK
Östersunds Fotbollsklubb, commonly known simply as Östersunds FK, Östersund 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 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. In 2017, Östersund won the Svenska Cupen and qualified for the UEFA Europa League. The club was relegated to Superettan in 2021.
Name
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
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. 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. 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 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. 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%. 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.
On 27 October 2015, the club was promoted to Allsvenskan for the first time. 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 victory against 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 against 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.
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. Together with two other people, Kindberg is suspected of submitting false invoices in several companies, according to the prosecutor. Several of these companies have strong ties to Östersunds FK and the club's sponsorship deals. 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.
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 they lost against 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 play qualification which they eventually won. Östersund played six seasons in Allsvenskan before they were relegated.
Season to season
European record
Overall record
Accurate as of 23 February 2018
Matches
Notes
2Q: Second qualifying round
3Q: Third qualifying round
PO: Play-off round
GS: Group Stage
R32: Round of 32
UEFA Team rank
The following list ranks the current position of Östersunds FK in UEFA ranking:
As of 21 September 2020.
Players
First-team squad
Notable players
This list of notable players includes those who have either been named player of the year at the club, or has become league top goalscorer, or went on to play in Allsvenskan (or for larger clubs abroad).
Alan Al-Kadhi
Alex Dyer
Alhaji Gero
Blair Turgott
Bobo Sollander
Brian Wake
Brwa Nouri
Connor Ripley
Christoffer Fryklund
Daryl Smylie
David Accam
Dennis Widgren
Douglas Bergqvist
Erik Lantto
Filip Rogić
Fouad Bachirou
Fredrik Aliris
Gabriel Somi
Hosam Aiesh
Jamal Blackman
Jamie Hopcutt
Joakim Lundstedt
Jonathan Routledge
Ken Sema
Kjell Jönsson
Lars Oscarsson
Lasse Mattila
Lee Makel
Mattias Eriksson
Matthew Barnes-Homer
Martin Johansson
Mikael Berg
Modou Barrow
Michael Tidser
Moon Seon-min
Paul Sheerin
Peter Amoran
Petter Augustsson
Rasmus Lindkvist
Ravel Morrison
Richard Offiong
Saman Ghoddos
Samuel Mensiro
Sotirios Papagiannopoulos
Thomas Isherwood
Tom Pettersson
Player records
Top 10 players with most games in ÖFK
Player of the season in ÖFK
Top 10 players with most goals in ÖFK
Management and boardroom
Technical staff
As of 24 January 2021
Boardroom
Östersunds FK (Föreningen)
Östersunds FK Elitfotboll AB
Coaches
Leif Widegren (1997)
Christer Andersson (1998)
Sören Åkeby (1999)
Jan Westerlund (1999–2001)
Hans Eskilsson (2002–2003)
Ulf Kvarnlöf (2004–2005)
Stefan Regebro (2006–2007)
Neil McDonald (2007)
Kalle Björklund (2008–2009)
Lee Makel (2010)
Graham Potter (2011–2018)
Ian Burchnall (2018–2020)
Amir Azrafshan (2020–2021)
Per Joar Hansen (2021–2022)
Magnus Powell (2022-)
Attendances
In recent seasons Östersunds FK have had the following average attendances:
Honours
League
Superettan (Tier 2)
Runners-up (1): 2015
Division 1 Norra (Tier 3)
Winners (1): 2012
Division 2 Norrland (Tier 3)*
Winners (1): 1999
Runners-up (3): 1998, 2003, 2005
Division 2 Norrland (Tier 4)*
Winners (1): 2011
Cups
Svenska Cupen
Winners (1): 2016–17
* League restructuring in 2006 resulted in a new division being created at Tier 3 and subsequent divisions dropping a level.
References
External links
Östersunds FK – official site
Football clubs in Jämtland County
Sport in Östersund
Association football clubs established in 1996
1996 establishments in Sweden
Svenska Cupen winners