Sandvikens Idrottsförening, commonly known as Sandvikens IF, is a Swedish football club located in Sandviken. Formerly believed to have been founded in 1918 the club announced in 2026 that through historical research it had been discovered that the actual founding year was 1899. Sandvikens IF are affiliated to the Gestriklands Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Jernvallen.

The club has played 21 seasons in the top Swedish division Allsvenskan but is currently part of second tier Superettan.

History

Sandvikens IF was created in 1899 when cross-country skiing club Sandvikens Sportklubb and ice skating club Sandvikens Allmänna Skridskoklubb merged. In 1904 football was added to their activities as they merged with IK Kronan and thus acquired their football team.

When the new swedish football league system began in 1925 with Allsvenskan as its top division Sandviken started off in the second tier. In 1929 they qualified for promotion to the top level for the first time and as the first ever company town club to have done so. The 1930s became the first of two golden eras for the club with one third place and two fourth place finishes in Allsvenskan. Thus giving the club one small silver and two bronze medals, as it is the tradition in swedish football that the top four clubs are awarded medals each season.

The second golden era came during the 1950s. Under the guidance of foreign managers Dai Astley and Antonio Durán the club managed to re-establish itself in Allsvenskan and win another bronze medal. During this period Sandviken also set the record for their highest ever home attendance with 20,088 people watching a home game against IFK Norrköping. At the end of the 1961 Allsvenskan the club was relegated and has not returned to the top division since.

At the start of the 2000s Sandvikens IF was in crisis and according to the chairman "at the brink of ruin" with an impending bankruptcy due to debts to vendors, the municipality and the Swedish Enforcement Authority. After the clubs finances had been stabilized Sandviken achieved promotion in 2023 back to the second tier of swedish football Superettan for the first time in 30 years.

Trivia As Sandviken is an industrial community, dominated by the steel and metal corporation Sandvik, the team has been much influenced by this. The name of the home ground, Jernvallen, would translate approximately as The Iron Ground, while the nicknames Järngänget and Stålmännen are self-explaining in Swedish ("The Iron gang" and "The Men of Steel"). Stålmännen has a double meaning, as it also is the plural form of Stålmannen, the Swedish name for Superman.

Kit

Sandviken play in red shirts with white sleeves and shorts. The club had initially played in black and white colors but wanted to switch to something more colorful in the 1930s. The player Bertil Ericsson suggested that they should adopt the colors of his favorite club Arsenal F.C. and the members of the club held a vote where they approved of the change.

In 2020 Sandvikens IF signed an expanded deal with their long term kit supplier Adidas.

PeriodKit manufacturerShirt sponsor (chest)2020– AdidasSandvik

Recent seasons Summary of the ten most recent seasons for Sandvikens IF:

Season Division Tier Pos Pl W D L + - P Cup Attendances2016Division 24 12622229519682nd round6942017Ettan3102695123541321st round671201863012994739452nd round526201973012711524743Group stage79020206301695653357Group stage0202133017766234582nd round272202223020558233652nd round6542023 13020557732652nd round9072024Superettan263012711494143Group stage1,5112025103012513364741Group stage1,285

Stadium Sandvikens IF play their home games at Jernvallen, an area containing stadiums for multiple sports. Originally built in 1939 the old football stadium hosted two games at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. In 1991 it was converted into a bandy arena and the football was moved to a neighbouring pitch with a newly built small 700-seater stand. In 2026 the municipality announced their plans to build an additional stand so that the club could comply with the stadium requirements for playing in Superettan for which they have previously been given a temporary exemption.

Current squad

Out on loan

Notable players The following players were chosen by local newspaper Arbetarbladet as the greatest Sandvikens IF players of all time:

NameYears Gösta Dunker1922–1942 Einar Snitt1929–1940 Bertil Ericsson1933–1944 Fred Eklöf1942–1944, 1953–1958 Arne Hodin1953–1961 Lennart Andersson1955–1961 Stig Olsson1953–1961 Rolf Zetterlund1968–1971 Leif Jonsson1961–1976 Ronald Åman1973–1975 Jan Thunell197?–1982 Kim KällströmYouth player

Management Technical staff As of 11 September 2026 NameRole Thomas LagerlöfHead coach Elias Gärdh Assistant coach Jonas Rosén Elvin TahamiGoalkeeping coach Giuseppe Morelato Fitness coach Jens EngqvistTeam leader Ahmad SheikhaEquipment manager Rolf Lingvall

Previous Managers

Justus Gustavsson (1934) Axel Berglund (1936) John Nicholson (1938) Dai Astley (1955–1957) Antonio Durán (1958–1960) Fred Eklöf (1961) Emil Firics (1962) Stig Hedström and Jan Ekström (1963) Stig Hedström and Arne Hodin (1964) Ynge Berglund (1965) Josef Stroh (1966) Gunnar Jansson (1967–1968) Otto Dombos (1969–1971) Rune Karlsson (1972) Sid Huntley (1973) Vanco Markovski (1974) Rolf Olsson and Dan Nordfeldt (1975–1977) Otto Dombos and Dan Nordfeldt (1978–1980) Thomas Nordahl (1981–1984) Rolf Käck (1985–1986) Lars-Göran Berglund and Hans Garefelt (1987) Tore Lennartsson (1988–1989) Göran Vestermark and Jan Hellström (1990–1992) Jan Hellström and Mats Mossberg (1993–1994) Stuart McManus and Lennart Hedenström (1995) Stuart McManus and Mats Axelsson (1996–1998) Christer Andersson (1999–2000) Sulo Vaattovaara (2000–2002) Tony Jennevret (2002) Dennis Berglund (2003–2005) Jimmy Haaranen (2006–2008) John Wall (2008–2009) Peter Bergqvist (2009) Tony Andersson (2010–2013) Johan Forslöf (2013) Anders Boman (2013–2014) Stefan Lundin (2015–2017) Pelle Olsson (2017–2020) Martin Falk (2021) Thomas Gabrielsson (2021–2022) Eldar Abdulic (2023–2025)

Achievements

Allsvenskan: Best placement (3rd): 1935–36 (Small silver medal)

Footnotes

External links Sandvikens IF – official site