Östersunds FK

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 and since 2016 play in the Swedish first tier, Allsvenskan. The club was formed in 1996 as a merger of several Östersund clubs. The club is affiliated to the Jämtland-Härjedalens Fotbollförbund[2] and play their home games at Jämtkraft Arena. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are black and red. Since its creation, the club has played mostly in the third tier of Swedish football but in 2013 Östersund achieved promotion to the second tier, Superettan, for the first time ever, after achieving two consecutive promotions,[3] and since 2016 they play in the Swedish first tier, Allsvenskan.

Östersunds FK
Full nameÖstersunds Fotbollsklubb
Founded31 October 1996 (31 October 1996)
GroundJämtkraft Arena, Östersund
Capacity8,644[1]
ChairmanMathias Rasteby
ManagerIan Burchnall
LeagueAllsvenskan
2019Allsvenskan, 12th
WebsiteClub website

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.[4] 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.[5] 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[6] 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.[7] 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%.[8] 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.[9]

On 27 October 2015, the club was promoted to Allsvenskan for the first time.[10] 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, Östersunds 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.[11]

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.[12] Together with two other people, Kindberg is suspected of submitting false invoices in several companies, according to the prosecutor.[13] Several of these companies have strong ties to Östersunds FK and the club's sponsorship deals.[14][15] 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.[16][17]

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

Season to season
Season Level Division Section Position Movements
1997 Tier 3 Division 2 Norrland 7th
1998 Tier 3 Division 2 Norrland 2nd Promotion Playoffs
1999 Tier 3 Division 2 Norrland 1st Promotion Playoffs
2000 Tier 3 Division 2 Norrland 5th
2001 Tier 3 Division 2 Norrland 3rd
2002 Tier 3 Division 2 Norrland 5th
2003 Tier 3 Division 2 Norrland 2nd
2004 Tier 3 Division 2 Norrland 4th
2005 Tier 3 Division 2 Norrland 2nd Promoted
2006[lower-alpha 1] Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 11th
2007 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 11th
2008 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 10th
2009 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 11th
2010 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 13th Relegated
2011 Tier 4 Division 2 Norrland 1st Promoted
2012 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 1st Promoted
2013 Tier 2 Superettan 10th
2014 Tier 2 Superettan 5th
2015 Tier 2 Superettan 2nd Promoted
2016 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 8th
2017 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 5th
2018 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 6th
2019 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 12th
  1. League restructuring in 2006 resulted in a new division being created at Tier 3 and subsequent divisions dropping a level. [18]

European record

Overall record
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
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 2Q Galatasaray 2–0 1–1 3–1
3Q Fola Esch 1–0 2–1 3–1
PO PAOK 2–0 1–3 3–3 (a)
Group J Athletic Bilbao 2–2 0–1 2nd
Hertha BSC 1–0 1–1
Zorya Luhansk 2–0 2–0
R32 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

Players

First-team squad
As of 9 March 2020.[19]

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

No. Position Player
1 GK Aly Keita
3 DF Kalpi Ouattara
4 DF Thomas Isherwood
5 MF Rewan Amin
7 MF Nebiyou Perry
8 FW Isak Ssewankambo
9 FW Francis Jno-Baptiste
10 FW Jordan Attah Kadiri
11 MF Henrik Bellman
13 MF Ludvig Fritzson
15 MF Alex Purver
16 GK Sixten Mohlin
18 FW Blair Turgott
19 DF Eirik Haugan
No. Position Player
20 MF Felix Hörberg
21 MF Simon Kroon
22 MF Charlie Colkett
23 DF Samuel Mensiro
24 DF Ronald Mukiibi
28 DF Marco Weymans
30 GK Andrew Mills
33 MF Gustav Wikstrand
34 MF Pontus Kindberg
35 MF Isac Häggman
36 MF Robin Wikberg
77 DF Noah Sonko Sundberg
80 MF Frank Arhin
88 FW Jerell Sellars

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player

Notable players

This list of notable players includes those who have either been named player of the year at the club,[20] or has become league top goalscorer, or went on to play in Allsvenskan (or for larger clubs abroad).

Management

Technical staff

As of 19 August 2019[22]

Name Role
Bo Ottosson Director of Football
Vacant Technical Director
Ian Burchnall Head Coach
Shaun Constable Assistant Coach
Brian Wake Assistant Coach
David Preece Goalkeeper Coach
Rafael Roldán Bermúdez Assistant Coach
Moubarak Abdallah Equipment Manager
Bengt-Uno Nilsson Equipment Manager
Bobo Sollander Social Coach
Jenny Larsson Physiotherapist
Jan Hansson Doctor
Michael Lagercrantz Physiotherapist
Lisa Brandén Physiotherapist
Alexander Kindberg Team Manager
Niclas Lidström Press Officer
Joakim Jansson Security Manager
Per Staffansson Supporter Liaison Officer

Managers

Attendances

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.[25]
Season Average Attendance Division / Section Level
2005 573 Div 2 Norrland Tier 3
2006 535 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2007 1,060 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2008 1,104 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2009 1,134 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2010 992 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2011 783 Div 2 Norrland Tier 4
2012 1,695 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2013 3,320 Superettan Tier 2
2014 3,022 Superettan Tier 2
2015 3,857 Superettan Tier 2
2016 5,914 Allsvenskan Tier 1
2017 5,265 Allsvenskan Tier 1

* Attendances are provided in the Publikliga sections of the Svenska Fotbollförbundet website. [26]

Honours

League
  • Superettan (Tier 2)
    • Runners-up (1): 2015
  • Division 1 Norra (Tier 3)
    • Winners (1): 2012
  • Division 2 Norrland (Tier 3)*
  • Division 2 Norrland (Tier 4)*

Cups

* League restructuring in 2006 resulted in a new division being created at Tier 3 and subsequent divisions dropping a level. [27]

Footnotes

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

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