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| Full name | Bollklubben Häcken | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Getingarna (the Wasps) | ||
| Founded | 2 August 1940; 85 years ago (1940-08-02) | ||
| Ground | Bravida Arena,Gothenburg | ||
| Capacity | 6,500 | ||
| Chairman | Anders Billström | ||
| Head coach | Jens Gustafsson | ||
| League | Allsvenskan | ||
| 2025 | Allsvenskan, 10th of 16 | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
Bollklubben Häcken, more commonly known asBK Häcken or simplyHäcken (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈhɛ̌kːɛn]), is a Swedish professionalfootball club based inGothenburg (Hisingen). It currently plays inAllsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish football. Formed on 2 August 1940,[1] Häcken has played 23 seasons in Allsvenskan, debuting in the league in1983.
The club is affiliated toGothenburg Football Association and play their home games atBravida Arena. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are yellow and black.
The club was started by a group of 14- to 15-year-old youngsters who wanted not just to play football for fun but also to create an organisation and participate in the national league system. Originally they played under the name BK Kick, but that name had already been taken by another club, and so when they applied to join theGothenburg Football Association, their local FA, they renamed themselves Bollklubben Häcken, referencing the hedge (sv: häck) which grew around the field where they practised. Bollklubben Häcken was formally registered on 2 August 1940.
Following the first years the club only played sporadic matches, youth championships and a few other matches, but eventually they started to play at the senior level. As of 1943 the club started to take in the league system and success came in an instant. Between 1944 and 1947 the club won their league and climbed fromwest seniorclass 4 toseniorclass 1.
The start of the 1950s went as well as the 1940s had. The club won Division 4 in 1950 and when they won Division 3 the following year, they went from a local club to be known as a "comet team" in the national media. The club fought for a place inAllsvenskan in 1953 but saw themselves defeated byKalmar FF, and in 1954 the club was relegated from Division 2. In 1955 the club set the record for the most spectators during a Division 3 game againstIK Oddevold, when 18,229 people showed up for the game. BK Häcken played in Division 3 for the rest of the decade.
The 1960s started with the opening of the club's new clubhouse, now known asHäckensborg. Häcken spent most of the decade as a stable Division 3 team, but in 1967 they were relegated to Division 4 and it was struck by some severe economical and internal problems.
The 1970s started just as badly as the previous decade ended. The club fell out of Division 4 and held discussions withIF Warta about a merger. A discussion had been up several times earlier but had not gone as far as now, at the day of the voting the IF Warta members voted for a merging while the BK Häcken members voted against it. In 1971 the club won Division 5, the club then played in Division 4 until 1975 when they won it and in 1977 they won Division 3 with former Swedish internationalAgne Simonsson as manager, when the club earlier won Division 3 in 1951 they climbed directly up to Division 2, however this time they had to play a qualifier againstIK Brage,Motala AIF andDegerfors. The club won and took the step up to Division 2. During 1978–79 the club played successfully in Division 2 with a 3rd place as the best position. In 1978 BK Häcken also started a ladies team.
The new decade started as strong as the last one ended, Agne Simonsen continued to bring success to the club as they won Division 2 and qualified for a position in Allsvenskan, howeverIF Elfsborg proved too strong with a 0–1 home defeat atGamla Ullevi and then a 1–1 result inBorås atRyavallen. However, during the game at Gamla Ullevi, BK Häcken sets the club record for biggest home audience with 19 205.However the club was not let down by this and came in 2nd place in 1982 and this time they qualified for the promotion play-offs againstIFK Norrköping, BK Häcken is able to reach a 2–0 result home atRambergsvallen and then achieve a 1–1 away atIdrottsparken inNorrköping and the club reached Allsvenskan for the first time in club history.The time that BK Häcken spends in Allsvenskan is however short, the club's successful manager Agne Simonsen leaves for a local competitor and Reine Almqvist takes over, the club ends up last in the league and is relegated back to Division 2 where they play for the rest of the 1980s.
BK Häcken starts the 1990s with winning Division 1 söder and facesGIF Sundsvall in the promotion play-offs, and despite an impressive 5–2 victory at home for Häcken, Sundsvall is able to come back in and win the match inSundsvall and gets promoted to Allsvenskan. The club was also successful plying inSvenska Cupen and reaches the final, but are defeated again, this time 3–0 byDjurgårdens IF.The club is close in reaching Allsvenskan again in 1991, but a 2–2 home and 1–1 away sees them losing the position toHelsingborgs IF.1992 is more successful as they reach Allsvenskan through a 4th place in Kvalsvenskan and this time the spell in the top league is not as short as earlier, BK Häcken ends up on in 6th place in 1993 and gets to play a second year in Allsvenskan, however the club ends up last in the league in 1994 and following some turbulence on the leadership side of the club it stays in Division 1 until 1997 as the club ended up in 2nd place and qualifies for the play-offs againstVästerås SK, with a 1–1 home and with a 4–2 away BK Häcken climbs up to Allsvenskan again.The club is however relegated again in 1998 after ending up second last, but returns in 1999 after winning Division 1 Södra, this yearKim Källström also makes his debut for the club.
The new millennium continues as the last decade did, the club is able to defend its Allsvenska position in a relegation/promotion play-off againstMjällby AIF in the end of the2000 season after penalties, Kjell Pettersson leaves the club andTorbjörn Nilsson takes over as manager.2001 BK Häcken plays its sixth season overall in Allsvenskan but ends second last and is relegated toSuperettan, through a cooperation withFloda BoIF future Liberian nationalDulee Johnson arrives at the club and in 2002 and he gets company fromJimmy Dixon andDioh Williams.BK Häcken stays in Superettan until 2004, being close to take the step up both in 2002, failing on goal difference, and in 2003, defeated by GIF Sundsvall in the play-offs, in 2004 the clubs reaches Allsvenskan by winning Superettan.The club brings in former Swedish internationalTeddy Lučić and Danish internationalStig Tøfting in 2005 in an attempt to reach a higher position the earlier, the club reaches 8th places.The 2006 season gets harder as Stig Tøfting and Dulee Johnson leaves the club and the club is forced to play against a qualify againstIF Brommapojkarna, BK Häcken is defeated by a total of 4–1 and is relegated to Superettan.[2]
In 2010, Häcken earned the Fair Play award for the Allsvenskan. This resulted in the team earning a spot in the 1st Qualifying Round of the2011–12 UEFA Europa League when Sweden won third place in theUEFA Fair Play ranking.
In 2012, BK Häcken finished second in Allsvenskan, which was their best performance in the league so far. During this season, the Ghanaian strikerWaris Majeed scored 23 goals, which made him the Allsvenskan top scorer of the year. In 2016, Häcken secured their first main title, as they beatMalmö FF in the final of theSvenska Cupen, and won the cup title. In 2019, Häcken secured their second main title, as they beatAFC Eskilstuna in the final of theSvenska Cupen with 3–0 atBravida Arena.
The club won the2022 edition of Allsvenskan, becoming Swedish champions for the first time in their history.[3]
On 11 May 2023, BK Häcken won the Swedish Cup for the third time, by defeatingMjällby AIF, 4–1 in the final game atStrandvallen.[4]
On 29 May 2025, BK Häcken won the Swedish Cup again, this time by defeating Malmö FF onaway ground, 4–2 following penalty shootout after a 0–0 draw.[5]
Häcken's main rivals are the three other mainGothenburg teamsIFK Göteborg,GAIS andÖrgryte IS, with IFK being considered the biggest rival.A lesser rivalry also consists between Häcken andIF Elfsborg fromBorås, as well as with other teams from the island ofHisingen, namelyIF Warta andHisingsbacka FC, especially between the younger aged teams.
| Competition | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | GF | GA | GD | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 050.00 |
| UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League | 40 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 48 | 60 | −12 | 035.00 |
| UEFA Europa Conference League / UEFA Conference League | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 32 | 18 | +14 | 050.00 |
| Total | 54 | 21 | 12 | 21 | 88 | 82 | +6 | 038.89 |
Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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2 – Johan Lind,defender (1995–2010)
Sven-Agne Larsson (1958–59)Agne Simonsson (1977–82)Reine Almqvist (1983, 1989–93)Jan Sjöström (1984–86)Stefan Lundin (1989–91)Kjell Pettersson [sv] (1996–00)Torbjörn Nilsson (2001)Jörgen Lennartsson (2002–04)Stefan Lundin (2005 – Sept 06)Reine Almqvist (Sept 2006–07)Sonny Karlsson [sv] (2007–09)Peter Gerhardsson (2009–16)Mikael Stahre (2017)Andreas Alm (2018–21)
Per-Mathias Høgmo (2021–2023)Pål Arne Johansen (2024)
Joop Oosterveld (interim) (2024)Jens Gustafsson (2025-)
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Media related toBK Häcken at Wikimedia Commons