Örgryte IS in 1896, the first Swedish football champions
Swedish football champions (Swedish: Svenska mästare i fotboll) is a title held by the winners of the highest Swedishfootball league played each year, Allsvenskan.[1]Malmö FF are the holders of the record of most titles with 24 Swedish championships, the most recent of which was won in 2024. The title has been contested since 1896 in various competition formats.[2] The first Swedish Champions, Örgryte IS, were declared in 1896 when the club won the cup tournament Svenska Mästerskapet. This happened before there existed any Swedish national association, which was created in 1904. The winners of Svenska Mästerskapet between 1896 and 1904 have retroactively been declared holders of the title by the Swedish Football Association (SvFF)[citation needed]. After the creation of the SvFF, the title continued to be held by the winners of Svenska Mästerskapet until 1925, even though a Swedish first national league, Svenska Serien, started in 1910.[3] Svenska Mästerskapet was discontinued in 1925.
In 1924–25, a new Swedish national league was created, Allsvenskan, but the Swedish Champions title was not awarded to the winners of that league until 1930–31.[4] Since then, the winners of Allsvenskan are considered Swedish Champions, with a few exceptions. Between 1982 and 1990, the title was given to the winners of a play-off held after Allsvenskan was finished, and the following two years, 1991 and 1992, the title was given to the winners of Mästerskapsserien, a continuation league with the best teams from Allsvenskan.[5]
The current trophy, Lennart Johanssons Pokal, has been awarded since 2001, with Hammarby IF being the first winners. Johansson himself handed out the trophy in Sundsvall on 27 October 2001. The first trophy which was in use from 1904 to 2000 was named von Rosen's Pokal after the first chairman of the Swedish FA Clarence von Rosen. However, in November 2000 it was discovered that von Rosen had been active in the Swedish national socialist movement during World War II which prompted the FA to give up using the old trophy.[6]
Champions
Key
†
Winners also won Svenska Cupen during the same season
(number of championship titles)
A running tally of the total number of championship titles and runners-up by each club is kept in brackets.
A total of 20 clubs have been crowned Swedish champions from Örgryte IS in 1896 until BK Häcken in 2022. A total of 119 Swedish championships have been awarded. Malmö FF is the most successful club with 23 Swedish championships.
^AIK won the final on walkover as the match could not be played due to darkness. AIK was considered to be the better team because they had already beaten Örgrytes main team in the semi-final and were thus given the title.
^Decided in the third match after draws in the previous two.
^Not decided until the spring 1925 due to heavy rain the autumn 1924.
Nylin, Lars (2004). Den nödvändiga boken om Allsvenskan: svensk fotboll från 1896 till idag, statistik, höjdpunkter lag för lag, klassiska bilder. Sundbyberg: Semic. ISBN91-552-3168-3.
