Atvidabergs FF
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| Full name | Åtvidabergs Fotbollförening |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1 July 1907 as Åtvidabergs IF |
| Ground | Kopparvallen, Åtvidaberg |
| Capacity | 8,100 |
| Chairman | Muharrem Demirok |
| Head coach | Roar Hansen |
| League | Superettan |
| 2016 | Superettan, 6th |
| Website | Club home page |
Åtvidabergs Fotbollförening, also known simply as Åtvidabergs FF, Åtvidaberg, Åtvid or (especially locally) ÅFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Åtvidaberg. The club is affiliated with Östergötlands Fotbollförbund and plays their home games at Kopparvallen. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are blue and white. Formed on 1 July 1907 as Åtvidabergs IF, the club was most successful during the 1970s when they won two national championship titles and two national cup titles. With a population of around 7000, Åtvidaberg is the smallest town ever to bring home a Swedish league title. They currently play in Superettan, where the season lasts from April to November.
During the 1920s, small town club Åtvidabergs IF played in the fifth tier of swedish football. Local businessman Elof Ericsson was however determined to change this. He became chairman of the board and took the initiative of separating the different sections of the multisport club, thus forming a new club, Åtvidabergs FF, out of the football section. Through his company Facit, which employed a large portion of the small Åtvidaberg population, he was also able to increase the funding for the team.
Åtvidaberg became early forerunners with their strategy to scout players nationally instead of just locally. Since all players in Sweden at the time were amateurs, their ability to offer new signings a good job at the Facit factory made them an attractive club to play for. This, together with the hiring of foreign coaches like Kálmán Konrád, helped the club move up through the divisions, establishing them in the second tier and playing one year in Allsvenskan.
The years that followed would prove to be Åtvidabergs FF's most successful ever. During this period, they recruited players like Ralf Edström, Roland Sandberg and Conny Torstensson.
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