AIK Fotboll (LSE: 0DI2), more commonly known simply asAIK (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈɑ̂ːiːˌkoː]), anabbreviation forAllmänna Idrottsklubben (meaningthe public orgeneral sports club), and internationally known asAIK Stockholm,[2] is a Swedish professionalfootball club fromStockholm,[3] competing inAllsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The club was founded 1891 and the football department was formed in 1896. AIK's home ground isStrawberry Arena, located inSolna, borderingStockholm City Centre.
AIK has 12 championship titles and is third in theall-time Allsvenskan table. The club holds the record for having played the most seasons in the Swedish top flight.
The first shirt is black and the second shirt is white. Shorts are white or, on rare occasions, black. Socks are striped in black and yellow; second socks are all white. A yellow third jersey was used in 2004, an orange third jersey was used in 2007, a dark-blue third jersey was used in 2010 and a grey commemorative third jersey was used in 2016. A dark-blue first shirt was used for the2017–2018 UEFA Europa League qualification campaign.
When Adidas was the kit provider, new kits were launched every even year. Nike, however, releases a new AIK kit every year, before the start of the new season.
Apart from the brand of their kit providerNike, AIK has the logos of the following sponsors visible on their shirt and shorts:Truecaller acaller-IDapp; Svea, a financial group; German automakersVolkswagen; Stadium, a sports retailer, and league sponsorsSvenska Spel, a government-owned gambling company (whose logo is mandatory on the right sleeve of the shirts of all Allsvenskan teams).
Since the 2013 season, AIK play their home games at theNationalarenan (known for sponsorship reasons asStrawberry Arena since 2024), which also houses theSweden national team. The decision which arena would replaceRåsunda, the club's home up until the2012 season, was made by a vote of the club's members, held in 2011, which resulted in a large majority favoring Nationalarenan overTele2 Arena.[citation needed]
AIK's main rival isDjurgården, also formed in 1891 in Stockholm, just three weeks after AIK. Widely considered the fiercest rivalry in Swedish – and arguably alsoNordic – football,[8] the fixture between the clubs is known asTvillingderbyt (the Twin derby). AIK also maintains a strong animosity towards the third major Stockholm sideHammarby. The club's biggest rival outside theStockholm urban area isIFK Göteborg, followed byMalmö FF.
In 2023, AIK had an average attendance of25 739, the biggest in Allsvenskan, despite not doing well in the league.[9] In 2006 AIK had an average attendance of over 21,000, the highest in Sweden that season.[10][11] In 2007 AIK had an average attendance of over 20,000.
AIK have had the highest average attendance 41 times,[12] the most of all clubs in Sweden of all time, second is city rival IFK Göteborg with 23 times. AIK finished the 2013 season with an average attendance of 18,900, the highest number inScandinavia.[13] That was also the first season with the newarena. In 2018, AIK broke the record for most sold tickets in an Allsvenskan game in the derby against Hammarby two weeks before the game was played.[14]
The club'sentrance music and hymn is "Å vi e AIK" (meaning "Oh we are AIK"), a Swedish-lyric version (written in the 1980s) of a 1971 song, "The Last Farewell", originally performed by its co-writer, the British-Kenyan folk singerRoger Whittaker. The recording that has been used as AIK's entrance music since the mid 00s was released in 2002, an arrangement somewhat closer toElvis Presley's 1976 cover of the song.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
^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 ofSvenska Mästerskapet, a stand-alone cup tournament. No club were given the title between 1926 and 1930 even though the first-tier leagueAllsvenskan was played. In 1931 the title was reinstated and awarded to the winner of Allsvenskan. Between 1982 and 1990 aplay-off 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 ofMästerskapsserien, an additional league after the end of Allsvenskan. Since the 1993 season the title has once again been awarded to the winner of Allsvenskan.[17]
^"Svenska mästare 1896–1925, 1931–" [Swedish champions 1896–1925, 1931–].svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). The Swedish Football Association. Archived fromthe original on 2 December 2009. Retrieved22 August 2012.