Västerviks Fotbollförening, commonly called Västerviks FF or VFF, is a Swedish association football club based in Västervik, Småland, Sweden.[1] The team competes in Division 3, the fifth tier of the Swedish football league system. The club was founded in 1988, when Västerviks AIS and Jenny BK decided to merge.

Västerviks FF
Full nameVästerviks Fotbollförening
Founded7 January 1988; 36 years ago (1988-01-07)
GroundBökensved IP
CoachJimmy Svensson
LeagueDivision 3
2020Division 3, 4th of 11

History edit

1988: Jenny BK and VAIS merge edit

It was on Thursday, January 7, 1988, that Jenny BK and VAIS wrote sports history in Västervik. Both clubs were gathered for the annual meeting in their respective premises in Folkets Hus, and it was that evening that Västerviks FF (VFF) was formed.

Jenny BK decided to close with 138 yes votes and two abstentions. At VAIS, it was a tougher tag. 98 members said yes to the closure, 33 said no, four ballots were blank and two were invalid. After the clubs' annual meetings, there was a joint gathering in the Theater Salon, where Västerviks FF was formed. The association's first chairman was Christer Svedebäck. The Board also had this composition: Per Larsson, Vice Chairman, Björn Adolfsson, Secretary, Lennart Pettersson, Treasurer, Arne Johansson, Sture Johansson, Sven-Åke Lindblad, Jan Svensson, Kjell Söderqvist and Ove Thörnlöf.

Chairman of the women's section: Benny Pettersson, men's section: Tomas Östin, youth section: Hans Svensson, finance section: Lennart Pettersson, marketing section: Sven-Åke Lindblad.

VFF's first budget ended at SEK 1.5 million. The club expected to have 35 teams in training and games during the premiere year. Sten-Bertil Myhrén became VFF's first senior coach, Benno Magnusson second coach and Tord Eriksson team manager. The women's team was led by Marie Bengtsson, Nils Ragnarsson and Classe Jacobsson. The club suit turned all yellow.[2]

Merited new acquisitions and major investment: 1988–90 edit

The first year as a new club, they faced Luton Town in a training match at Bökensved. Luton, who at this time played in the English top flight and were the reigning League Cup champions in the country (3–2 win in the final over Arsenal at Wembley) won by just 2–1 against VFF in front of 587 spectators.[3]

When VFF was formed, the goal was crystal clear for most people. The club would become an established Division II team, now Division 1, within the next few years and have a broad and active youth activity. The association made several spectacular signings to succeed with its goal. First out was Lennart Weidenstolpe who came from IFK Norrköping in 1989 and he was a playing coach for several years. Before 1990, the shooting king recruited Leif Eriksson and the Icelander Torir Olafsson. During the autumn season, ex-professional Janne Svensson strengthened the team to manage a new contract. Before 1991, the Russian Sergej Prigoda was recruited from Östers IF in Allsvenskan. On two occasions, VFF was close to reaching the goal Div. II.

Players edit

Current squad edit

As of 29 August 2021

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   SWE Elias Swärd
2 DF   SWE Tobias Palm
4 MF   SWE Simon Larsson
5 DF   SWE Fredrik Lindhe
6 DF   SWE Johan Lundin (vice-captain)
7 MF   SWE Amel Komina
8 MF   SWE Calle Sjögren
9 MF   SWE Alfred Grahn
10 MF   SWE Daniel Engel
11 FW   SWE Tim Håvestam
12 FW   SWE Christopher Sjöblad
14 DF   SWE Tobias Bertilsson
14 MF   SWE Magnus Eriksson
16 DF   SWE Jonathan Fält Öhr (captain)
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 DF   SWE Mehmet Tekbas
19 DF   SWE Josef Fenikh
19 FW   SWE Melvin Svensson
25 FW   SWE Hjalmar Grahn
94 GK   SWE Albin Liffner
- FW   SWE Anton Westerberg

Non-playing staff edit

Corporate hierarchy edit

Position Name
Chairman   Petter Grönwall
Secretary   Charlotta Fridell
Cashier   Carl-Johan Nirbrant
Register extract   Ulrika Gustafsson
SportAdmin, Fogis, Website   Daniel Karlsson
Market, Sales   Mattias Nordqvist
Real estate   Magnus Johansson

  Björn Karlsson

Stadium edit

Västerviks FF play their home matches at Bökensved, where city competitor and rival IFK Västervik also play their home matches.[4] However, the club trains and conducts its activities at Karstorp, which is located in the southern part of the city, where the association's clubhouse, Karstorps Gård, also is located.[5] At Bökensved there are three football pitches, one of which with artificial turf and lighting.

Women's team edit

Västerviks Damfotboll is a collaboration between Västerviks FF and IFK Västervik with the goal of strengthening women's football in Västervik. In the 2021 season, the A team played in Division 3 while the B team was in Division 4. The management staff consists of Tobias Ring, Mikael Gunnarsson and Fredrik Walfridsson. In October 2021, the A team qualified up to Division 2 after winning the series on goal difference.[6]

More edit

The club is affiliated to Smålands Fotbollförbund.[7]

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ "Västerviks FF". Retrieved 2013-06-01.
  2. ^ "Fotboll i Västervik". Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  3. ^ "När Carlhall imponerade mot internationellt motstånd – Västerviks-Tidningen". vt.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  4. ^ "Bökensveds idrottsanläggning - Västerviks kommun". www.vastervik.se. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  5. ^ "Karstorps Motionscenter - Västerviks kommun". www.vastervik.se. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  6. ^ "Västerviks Fotbollsförening - Dam". www.vasterviksff.se. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  7. ^ "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar 2013 – Västerviks FF". Retrieved 2013-06-01.

External links edit