GAIS
Encyclopedia
Göteborgs Atlet- och Idrottssällskap (en
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

: Gothenburg Athletics & Sports Association) is a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 football club based in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...

, currently playing in Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Swedish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan...

. The club is commonly referred to simply as GAIS, while its fans also refers to the club as grönsvart (green-black) or the mackerels because of the traditional shirt colours. Its home ground is Gamla Ullevi
Gamla Ullevi (2008)
Gamla Ullevi is a football stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden that opened on 5 April 2009. The stadium replaced the city's previous main football stadium, also called Gamla Ullevi, and is the home ground of three football clubs: GAIS, IFK Göteborg and Örgryte IS. It is also the national stadium for the...

, Gothenburg.

GAIS is one of the oldest football clubs in Sweden. The club was a founding member of Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Swedish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan...

 and also the first champions of said league. In all, GAIS has won four national championship titles, five league championship titles and one national cup title. Although GAIS has played a total of 49 seasons in Allsvenskan, in the 30 years from 1976 to 2005 it played only six seasons in the top division, and also six seasons as low as the third division. The club thus gained the reputation of being a yo yo club
Yo yo club
A yo-yo club is a sporting side that is regularly promoted and relegated. The phrase is most typically used in association football in the United Kingdom, especially in reference to promotion to and relegation from the Premier League....

, constantly going up and down through the league system. After the promotion to Allsvenskan in 2005, the club has played six straight seasons in Allsvenskan. A feat not achieved since the degradation in 1955.

GAIS is affiliated to the Göteborgs Fotbollförbund
Göteborgs Fotbollförbund
The Göteborgs Fotbollförbund is one of the 24 district organisations of the Swedish Football Association. It administers lower tier football in Göteborg.- Background :...

.

Formation and early glory

GAIS was founded 11 March 1894 at Ehdlunds Café, a café in the city centre. The founders had created the club in "patriotic purposes and to promote all kinds of sports". Its main activities were athletics
Athletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...

 and an assortment of strength sports. A football section was formed in 1897, and the first official game was played against local rivals Örgryte IS
Örgryte IS
Örgryte IS, also commonly referred to as ÖIS, is a Swedish football club based in Gothenburg.-History:The club was founded on 4 December 1887 and participated in the first football match in Sweden on 22 May 1892. Örgryte IS has won 12 national championship titles and one national cup title. After...

 in 1903. GAIS first appearance in the highest league at the time, Svenska Serien
Svenska Serien
Svenska Serien was the highest league in Swedish football, and was played 1910–1917, 1920–1921 and 1922–1924. It was then replaced by the current-day league Allsvenskan...

 was in 1915/16, finishing in fourth place. In 1919 the club won its first national championship beating Djurgårdens IF away in the finals. The same procedure would be repeated in 1922, this time against another Stockholm team, Hammarby IF
Hammarby IF
Hammarby Fotboll is a Swedish football club based in Johanneshov - just south of Södermalm, the southernmost district of Stockholm city centre...

.

GAIS won the first season of Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Swedish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan...

 in 1924/25, two points ahead of local rivals IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, the club has won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles, and two UEFA Cups....

. The feat was to be repeated in 1926/27, this time three points ahead of IFK Göteborg. Unfortunately, league champions didn't get recognised as national champions in the 1920s, but this was changed in 1930/31. GAIS won this year as well, six points ahead of AIK
AIK Fotboll
AIK, , an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben, , when needed internationally AIK Stockholm, is a Swedish football club based at Råsunda stadium in Solna, a municipality in Stockholm County bordering to Stockholm City Centre...

 and IFK Göteborg.

During the 30's GAIS slowly lost the dominance the club had exercised over Allsvenskan since its foundation, and in 1938 the club was relegated. Having spent three years in the second division, GAIS returned to Allsvenskan with a vengeance for the season of 1941/42 when the club finished in second place, and later in 1942 won Svenska Cupen
Svenska Cupen
Svenska Cupen , is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 98 teams compete, comprising the 16 teams from Allsvenskan and the 16 teams of Superettan...

 for its first (and until today only) time.

The club then stayed in Allsvenskan throughout the 1940s and the early 1950s, quite unexpectedly winning its fourth national championship one single point ahead of Helsingborgs IF
Helsingborgs IF
Helsingborgs IF , commonly referred to as Helsingborg and locally HIF, is a Swedish football club located in Helsingborg. They are currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan...

 in the season of 1953/54. The clinching game was the last one of the season; a nail biting no score draw at Stadsparksvallen in Jönköping. The following year, equally unexpectedly, disaster struck when the club finished third last and was relegated.

The swingin' sixties & seventies

GAIS returned to Allsvenskan the following season (1955/56), but from the mid-50's the club lost its former continuity and would never spend more than five years in a row in Allsvenskan. Thus, the club was relegated in 1959 and spent four seasons in the second division, returning to Allsvenskan briefly in 1964, returning to the second division in 1965 but was promoted back to Allsvenskan again in 1966. GAIS remained in Allsvenskan during 1966–1975, except for a year in the second division in 1971, and in 1975 the club made its first appearance in the UEFA cup playing Śląsk Wrocław in the first leg. GAIS lost out to the polish club after winning 2–1 at home but losing 2–4 away. The very same year GAIS got relegated from Allsvenskan for the sixth time, this time due to scoring two goals less than Halmstads BK
Halmstads BK
Halmstads Bollklubb, also called HBK or just Halmstad, is a Swedish football club located in Halmstad in the southwest of Sweden. The club, formed 6 March 1914, competes in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan, and has won 4 national championship titles and 1 national cup title...

.

Thirty years of underperformance: 1976–2006

The relegation in 1975 would in retrospect prove to be a turning point for the worse in the history of GAIS. Unable to qualify for Allsvenskan in 1976, and furthermore losing the qualifying spot to now arch-rivals IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, the club has won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles, and two UEFA Cups....

, GAIS lost the position as Gothenburg's leading team that had been enjoyed throughout the early 70's. The club consistently failed to qualify for Allsvenskan during the following five years, and in 1981, due to economical problems and a surprisingly weak performance by the squad, GAIS got relegated to the Swedish third division.

Unable to make it back up to the second division in 1982, the future of GAIS looked bleak. But due to a massive performance in the latter part of the season of 1983 the club secured the qualifying spot seven points ahead of IK Oddevold
IK Oddevold
IK Oddevold is a Swedish football club located in Uddevalla, the name "Oddevold" being an older form of Uddevalla. The club, formed on 3 July 1932, currently plays in Sweden's third-flight league, Division 1...

, and beat Mönsterås GoIF in the qualifying round for the second division.

In 1984, GAIS made what was to become one of the club's most spectacular signings to this date. Tunisian midfielder Samir Bakaou
Samir Bakaou
Samir Bakaou is a Tunisian football midfielder who played for Tunisia. He also played for Al-Wahda, GAIS and Västra Frölunda IF- Record at FIFA Tournaments :-External links:*...

 left his former club Étoile Sportive du Sahel
Étoile Sportive du Sahel
The Étoile Sportive du Sahel is a sports club from Sousse in the Sahel region of Tunisia, known primarily for its football team. The club also has sections for handball, volleyball, basketball, judo and wrestling...

 to join the Gothenburg side, and proved to be the injection of flair and energy that the club had been needing so badly. With "the Black Pearl" as playmaker and notorious goalscorer, GAIS was once again a force to be reckoned with and made it to the qualifying round to Allsvenskan in 1985, only to lose out to Djurgårdens IF after a penalty shoot-out in a highly controversial game.

Failing to qualify in 1986 as well, GAIS finally made it back to Allsvenskan in 1987. Eleven long years of struggling in the lower series were over. For the second time in club history, GAIS made it to the finals of Svenska Cupen
Svenska Cupen
Svenska Cupen , is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 98 teams compete, comprising the 16 teams from Allsvenskan and the 16 teams of Superettan...

 as well, but lost out 2–0 to opposing side Kalmar FF
Kalmar FF
Kalmar FF is a Swedish football club located in Kalmar. Formed 10 January 1910, the club has won three national cup titles and 1 league title. Kalmar FF currently play in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan....



During the late 80's and early 90's GAIS mostly fought for its survival in Allsvenskan. With the exception of a 3rd place in 1989, the club had to settle for the lower half of the series. Relegation followed the season of 1992, and GAIS had yet again to face a long and tortuous walk through the Swedish second division. The nadir was reached in 1997 when the club had been relegated to the third division, ran a huge economical deficit and finished third in the series. This season would be the starting point of possibly the worst yo-yo experience any Swedish football club has ever experienced.

GAIS was promoted to the second division in 1998, and made it back to Allsvenskan after the season of 1999 by finishing in second place and defeating Kalmar FF in the qualifying round. Finishing second to last in Allsvenskan in 2000, the club continued its fall through the second division in 2001 and was relegated to the third division for the season of 2002. From now on, things slowed down when GAIS failed to qualify for the second division and had to remain in the third during 2003. After a hard-fought battle throughout 2003 against local competitors Ljungskile SK
Ljungskile SK
Ljungskile SK is a Swedish football club located in Ljungskile, a town within Uddevalla Municipality. The club, formed 1926 currently play in Superettan. Ljungskile SK is famous for their promotions between 1990 to 1997...

, GAIS finally ended up winning the series by goal difference. In the qualifying round for the second division, the club faced Mjällby AIF
Mjällby AIF
Mjällby AIF is a Swedish football club located in Mjällby. The club, formed in 1939, won the title of Sweden's second-level of football Superettan in the 2009 season and thus gained promotion to the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan...

 and defeated them 2–1 away as well as home.

In 2004 GAIS signed Roland Nilsson
Roland Nilsson
Roland Nilsson is a Swedish football manager and the current manager of FC Copenhagen. As a player, Nilsson played 116 games for Sweden, making him second only to Thomas Ravelli in international appearances for Sweden...

 as head coach, and with him at the lead the club finished 6th in the second division. During the following season, facing competition from newly relegated AIK
AIK Fotboll
AIK, , an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben, , when needed internationally AIK Stockholm, is a Swedish football club based at Råsunda stadium in Solna, a municipality in Stockholm County bordering to Stockholm City Centre...

 and Östers IF
Östers IF
Östers IF is a Swedish football club located in Växjö. The club, formed 20 April 1930 , is currently playing in the second Swedish league called Superettan. In 1968, Öster won Allsvenskan as newcomers. The club is affiliated to the Smålands Fotbollförbund...

, GAIS managed to finish 3rd and got to play Landskrona BoIS
Landskrona BoIS
Landskrona BoIS is a Swedish professional football club located in Landskrona, which currently plays in the second highest Swedish division, Superettan. The club, formed on 7 February 1915 was a merger of two clubs from the city of Landskrona; IFK Landskrona and Diana...

 for qualification to Allsvenskan. After beating Landskrona 2–1 at home and drawing them 0–0 in an extremely tight away game, where GAIS forward Wilton Figueiredo
Wilton Figueiredo
Wílton Aguiar Figueiredo is a Brazilian centre forward playing for Swedish club Malmö FF . After a season with Swedish side, GAIS, he was brought to the Swedish capital and the club AIK after both GAIS and AIK were promoted to the Swedish top flight, the Allsvenskan in 2005...

 got his second yellow card after 30 minutes of play and manager Roland Nilsson substituted defender Kenneth Gustafsson
Kenneth Gustafsson
Kenneth Gustafsson is a Swedish footballer who currently plays for Swedish side Gunnilse IS in the Swedish second division, which is the 4th highest in Sweden. He has earlier represented clubs in the top leagues in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland....

 for himself during the last 25 minutes, the end of the yo yo-ing was finally reached.

As of 2009, GAIS is playing its fourth season in a row in Allsvenskan. Notable players include captain Fredrik Lundgren
Fredrik Lundgren
Fredrik Lundgren is a Swedish footballer . He is currently playing for GAIS where he also are the team captain. He came to the club in 1999 from Torslanda IK.-External references:*...

, goalkeeper Dime Jankulovski
Dime Jankulovski
Dime Jankulovski is a Macedonian-Swedish football goalkeeper, currently playing for GAIS.Jankulovski played one cap for Sweden in 2000.-References:* *...

, defender Richard Ekunde
Richard Ekunde
Richard Ntomba Ekunde is a Congolese footballer, currently playing for Swedish club GAIS. He came to the club from Åtvidabergs FF in 2006....

 and midfielder Wanderson do Carmo
Wanderson do Carmo
Francisco Wánderson do Carmo Carneiro, , commonly known as Wánderson, is a Brazilian footballer currently playing for GAIS. Wánderson is usually deployed as an attacking midfielder or second striker....

.

Domestic

  • Swedish Champions
    Swedish football champions
    Swedish football champions is a title held by the winners of the highest Swedish football league played each year, Allsvenskan. IFK Göteborg holds the record of most titles with 18 Swedish championships. After winning the 2011 Allsvenskan, Helsingborgs IF are the reigning Swedish football...

    • Winners (4): 1919, 1922, 1930–1931, 1953–1954

League

  • Allsvenskan
    Allsvenskan
    Allsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Swedish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan...

    :
    • Winners (4): 1924–1925, 1926–1927, 1930–1931, 1953–1954
    • Runners-up (4): 1925–1926, 1932–1933, 1933–1934, 1941–1942
  • Division 1 Södra
    Division 1 Södra
    Division 1 Södra is one of two leagues in the third level, Division 1, in the league system of Swedish football and comprises 14 Swedish football teams. Division 1 Södra had status as one of the official second level leagues from 1987 to 1999, but was replaced by Superettan in 2000...

    :
    • Winners (1): 1987
    • Runners-up (2): 1995, 1999
  • Svenska Serien
    Svenska Serien
    Svenska Serien was the highest league in Swedish football, and was played 1910–1917, 1920–1921 and 1922–1924. It was then replaced by the current-day league Allsvenskan...

    :
    • Winners (1): 1923–1924

Cups

  • Svenska Cupen
    Svenska Cupen
    Svenska Cupen , is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 98 teams compete, comprising the 16 teams from Allsvenskan and the 16 teams of Superettan...

    :
    • Winners (1): 1942
    • Runners-up (1): 1986–1987
  • Svenska Mästerskapet
    Svenska Mästerskapet
    Svenska Mästerskapet was a Swedish football cup held to decide the Swedish Champions between 1896 and 1925.-Previous winners:-Cup champions:...

    :
    • Winners (2): 1919, 1922

Supporters

The core of GAIS' supporters has for a long time been coming from the working class-districts of Gothenburg, and the club and its supporters harbours a fierce rivalry with Gothenburg's other traditional working class-team IFK Göteborg. Attendance rates is normally around 5000, with greater numbers attending against local rivals IFK and IF Elfsborg as well as teams from Stockholm and Skåne.

Current squad

As of 13 April 2011

Out on loan

For season transfers, see transfers winter 2011–2012.

Noted players

Wánderson do Carmo
Wanderson do Carmo
Francisco Wánderson do Carmo Carneiro, , commonly known as Wánderson, is a Brazilian footballer currently playing for GAIS. Wánderson is usually deployed as an attacking midfielder or second striker....

 Karl-Alfred Jacobsson Sören Järelöv Samir Bakaou
Samir Bakaou
Samir Bakaou is a Tunisian football midfielder who played for Tunisia. He also played for Al-Wahda, GAIS and Västra Frölunda IF- Record at FIFA Tournaments :-External links:*...


Footnotes

A. The title of "Swedish Champions" has been awarded to the winner of four different competitions over the years. Between 1896 and 1925 the title was awarded to the winner of Svenska Mästerskapet
Svenska Mästerskapet
Svenska Mästerskapet was a Swedish football cup held to decide the Swedish Champions between 1896 and 1925.-Previous winners:-Cup champions:...

, a stand-alone cup tournament. No club were given the title between 1926 and 1930 even though the first-tier league Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Swedish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan...

 was played. In 1931 the title was reinstated and awarded to the winner of Allsvenskan. Between 1982 and 1990 a play-off
Allsvenskan play-offs
The Allsvenskan play-offs was a Swedish football cup held to decide the Swedish football champions between 1982 and 1990. The cup was created to increase the average attendance for Allsvenskan since public interest had dropped remarkably in the previous years. The four best placed teams in...

 in cup format was held at the end of the league season to decide the champions. After the play-off format in 1991 and 1992 the title was decided by the winner of Mästerskapsserien
Mästerskapsserien
Mästerskapsserien was a short-lived Swedish football league played 1991 and 1992 to decide the Swedish Champions. The top six teams from Allsvenskan qualified for Mästerskapsserien while the four bottom had to play the promotion and relegation Kvalsvenskan league with four and two teams from...

, an additional league after the end of Allsvenskan. Since the 1993 season the title has once again been awarded to the winner of Allsvenskan.

External links

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