Malmö FF

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The club was born out of an initiative by the municipality in 1905 that aimed to inspire youngsters in Malmo to take part in organized football. One of the teams for youth that was formed, named the Bollklubben Idrott, also known as BK Idrott, was a precursor of Malmo FF. Malmo FF. BK Idrott joined the newly established football department of the IFK Malmo in 1909, but left due to conflicts among the two teams. On February 24, 1910, 19 members of BK Idrott founded the Malmo FF and the inaugural chairperson is Werner Martensson.

The club was based for its first decade in regional and local divisions since there was no national league, and they played most of their games within the division for city players known as the Malmomasterskapen. They also participated in regional competitions throughout Scania and also played games in competition against Danish clubs. In 1916 the Malmo FF reached the final of the Scanian regional competition (Distriktsmasterskapen) for the first time, playing against rival the Helsingborgs IF but losing 3-4. The team defeated their local rivals Malmo's IFK Malmo three times during the seasonand gained the unofficial, but highly sought-after title of Malmo's top football club. In 1917, the Malmo FF competed in the Svenska Masterskapet for the first time, a cup competition to claim the title of Swedish champions. However, they the team lost their opening match in the second round of qualifying 4-1 against IFK Malmo. The club continued playing in the tournament until 1922, and reached the quarterfinals in 1920, but they were eliminated in the final by Landskrona BoIS. The cup was later canceled and the title Swedish champions was conferred to those who won the Allsvenskan that was initially in 1924-25.

In 1920, the Swedish Football Association invited Swedish teams to play in official national tournaments. Malmo FF earned a place in the Division 2 Sydsvenska Serien. They were crowned champions during their debut season and were then promoted to Svenska Serien Vastra, the highest competition level for a team in Sweden in the early days. But they were then relegated after just one season and then were back in the Sydsvenska Serien for more than a decade , until they received promotion to the Allsvenskan in 1931.

The club climbed to mid-table league status for two seasons before being removed in 1934 in a punishment for violating the rules of amateurs. The club was paying their players a small amount of money for every game. Even though it was not allowed however, it was commonplace at the time, Malmo FF was the only club to record it in their accounting reports. Along with relegation to Division 2 of the league, the club was also subject to bans on the whole board of directors and 26 players. The account of the incident reported by Malmo FF and local press indicates that the local rival, IFK Malmo, had reported the incident in the Swedish Football Association. Swedish Football Association. This has led to the ongoing tensions between the two clubs.

The club was able to make their way into the Allsvenskan in 1937 following two seasons in Division 2. The same year, Eric Persson was elected as chairman following his appointment as secretary in 1929. He held the office until 1974. Persson is seen by fans and club officials as the most significant person to the history of the club, since he made the club into a professional during the 1970s. Under his direction the club was without a title in 1937, to winning the title for ten Swedish championships at the conclusion of 1974's season. In 1939, the club achieved its highest level yet, being third in the Allsvenskan which was nine points ahead of champions IF Elfsborg. Malmo F.F.'s first Swedish championship was in 1944 in which the club took the final game during the campaign against AIK with 36,000 people watching in the Rasunda. The final fixture of the campaign the 7-0 win against Halmstad BK.

The next 9 seasons that followed, Malmo FF finished in the top three places in the league. The club took home the Swedish Championship in 1949, 1950 1951, 1953 and 1949, and was runners-up in 1946 1948, 1952 and 1946. The team also took home the Svenska Cup in 1944 1946 1947, 1951, and 1953, before finishing as runners-up in the year 1945. Between May 6 between the 1st of June 1951 and 6 May 1949, the team was unbeaten in 49 matches, out of which 23 were an uninterrupted streak of wins.

The club was second-placed in the Allsvenskan twice in 1956 and in 1957. In the following year, the club moved out of the Malmo IP to move to the Malmo Stadion constructed in 1958 for the FIFA World Cup, and was set to house the team for the next 50 years. In 1964, Malmo FF contracted Spanish manager Antonio Duran; this was the first in a series of changes that resulted in the most successful time of the team's existence. Young talent such as Lars Granstrom and Bo Larsson were discovered in the early 1960s, and would turn out to be key players in the success that would follow throughout the 1970s. The team finished second in 1964 , but won the sixth Swedish Championship in 1965, in which Bo Larsson scored 28 goals to become the top goal scorer in the league. Malmo FF won the Allsvenskan in 1967. Malmo FF once again won the Allsvenskan in 1967, following having a less than successful season in the year 1966. The young players of the club along with the players from neighbouring club Scania in the year 1967, created an unstoppable team within the top three places throughout the Allsvenskan.

After finishing second in Allsvenskan during the final two years in the 1960s, Malmo FF started the most successful decade in their history by winning the winning of a Swedish Championship in 1970. The club took home Allsvenskan in 1970 1974, 1971 and 1977 and also Svenska Cupen in 1976 and 1978. Its 1977 Allsvenskan victory earned the club a place for 1978-79 European Cup, and after winning against AS Monaco, Dynamo Kyiv, Wisla Krakow and Austria Wien, Malmo FF reached the finals of the competition that was held in the Olympiastadion in Munich against Nottingham Forest. Trevor Francis, who scored the sole goal of the match, scored with a 1-0 win against Nottingham Forest. But in 1979, the European Cup run is the greatest achievement ever recorded by Malmo FF. The team was awarded their Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal the following year, which was awarded to the biggest Swedish sporting accomplishment of the year, in recognition of their achievements at their participation in the European Cup.

The majority of the success in the decade of 1970 was due in part to the innovative strategies and training methods introduced in from Englishman Bob Houghton, who ran the club from 1974 until the year 1980. Eric Persson was succeeded as chairman in 1974 by Hans Cavalli-Bjorkman. After the team did well under the management of Keith Blunt and Tord Grip in the early 1980s, Roy Hodgson took over in the year 1985. Roy Hodgson led Malmo FF to two Swedish Championships in 1986 and 1988. In addition, the team was awarded the Allsvenskan five times in consecutively between 1985 and 1989. The championship was decided via play-offs between the top teams following the conclusion normal season. the arrangement was in place from 1982 to 1992. Malmo FF made it to an eight-time play-off semifinal between 1986 and 1989 and only won the championship twice. In addition to the Allsvenskan as well as Swedish Championships, Malmo FF took home the Svenska Cupen in 1984, 1986 and 1989.

Apart from finishing second-placed in Allsvenskan in 1996 The team didn't perform well in the 1990s because the club was unable to take home Allsvenskan or Svenska Cupen throughout the entire decade. The 1990s came to an end with the club being relegated from Allsvenskan in 1999. Hans Cavalli-Bjorkman was replaced as chair by Bengt Madsen in the year 1999, and the former athlete Hasse Borg was hired as director of Sport. The changes in the organization along with the rise of the young star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, resulted in the return of Allsvenskan during the year 2001. Ibrahimovic became famous and was a key Malmo FF's player to get back to the league at its highest. He was then sold to Ajax in 2001, and then playing for various European teams that are part of the Italian Serie A, FC Barcelona in Spain's La Liga, Paris Saint-Germain in France's Ligue 1, Manchester United F.C. within the English Premier League, LA Galaxy in the MLS and AC Milan again where he currently is a player.

A return back of Allsvenskan was the first step in the prosperous early 2000s under the direction by Tom Prahl, when the club placed at the top of the list three times in succession. In 2004, they took home Allsvenskan The club's 15th Swedish Championship. It was in 2005 that the team was in the final round of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League but were defeated by FC Thun. The success of their sponsorship and player sales led to Malmo FF the richest club in Sweden which is a position that has been in place from 2013. This was confirmed through the subsequent Champions League group stage appearances the next two years. Malmo FF moved from Malmo Stadion to Eleda Stadion in 2009, the stadium was built exclusively for football. It is situated close to the old one.

The year 2009 was the time that Madsen made it clear that he was stepping out as chairman and became replaced with Hakan Jeppsson at the beginning of the following year. In 2010, the club celebrated its 100th anniversary by holding a series of celebrations in the first week of their season. On the day of the 100th anniversary in 2010 it was reported that the Swedish soccer magazine Offside announced Malmo FF to be the most successful football club of Swedish history. The 2010 season was a huge accomplishment as the team won the Allsvenskan for the ninth time and won the Swedish champions again for 16th time. In contrast to 2004, these achievements were not accompanied by any significant transfers prior to the start of the start of the season and with a squad comprised predominantly of youngsters.

In October of 2013, Malmo FF won their seventeenth Swedish championship and their 20th Allsvenskan championship in the final game of their league at home. Similar to the 2010 championship The title was the result of a youthful team. Their average age, which was team, 23.8 years, was the youngest team to be champions since the dawn at the turn of century 21. The following year, Malmo FF qualified for the group stage of the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League by beating Ventspils, Sparta Prague and Red Bull Salzburg in the qualifying rounds. It is the first time that the club had qualified for the competition as a whole since the rebranding of to the European Cup in the 1992-93 season. It was also the first time since 2000-01 season that an Swedish club had qualified. In the months following, Malmo FF defended their league title, claiming their 18th Swedish championship as well as their the 21st Allsvenskan title. It is the first time that a club had defended the Allsvenskan title since the 2003 season.

The 2015 season was a disappointment for the club, with Malmo FF failing to retaining the title, and was not in the top four in the same way since 2009. But, the club was able to make it back to the stage of group play in the UEFA Champions League in the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League edition, defeating Zalgiris Vilnius, Red Bull Salzburg and Celtic FC in qualifiers. In October, Malmo FF won their 19th Swedish championship and their 22nd Allsvenskan title. The championship was Malmo's third championship in four years. The club ended up exceeding IFK Goteborg in terms of Swedish championships, without doubt being one of the top-performing Swedish football club in history.

Malmo FF is a dominant force in Sweden. In the final days in the 2021 Allsvenskan year, the team is the top team in this year's overall Allsvenskan table of maratontabellen. Malmo FF are also the record holders of all Swedish champions as well as Allsvenskan title in addition to Svenska Cupen titles.

Based on the club colors white and sky blue the club is commonly called Di Blae (Scanian: The Blues) and Himmelsblatt (The Sky Blues). The home kit is sky blue tops, white shorts as well as sky blue socks. Away strip: black. Different kits have been utilized for European games, including an all-white outfit that was first introduced in 1950, and then re-used in the 2011 and 2012 seasons and kits that were all-black with golden trimmings and sky-blue colors were used in the European campaigns in 2005 and 2013.

The club's colors have not ever been always sky-blue. The club's predecessor BK Idrott wore blue and white striped shirts, as well as white shorts. This style was in use for the beginning of the year 1910, which was following the time that Malmo FF was founded. The kit was later changed to the red and white stripes on shorts and black shirts in order to demonstrate the fact that Malmo FF was a new independent club. The color combination has been utilized in recent times as an away kit. Sky-blue is the color of the present kit launched in 1920. Since 2010, a small Scanian flag has been incorporated in the rear of the shirt, just under the neck.

The Crest of Malmo FF consists of a shield featuring two sky-blue fields on its sides, and one white vertical space within the center. The shield's underside are "Malmo FF" which is written in sky blue words with a sky-blue star beneath the text. The top portion of the shield, there is an horizontal white field that is over three vertical field. The abbreviation of the club's title "MFF" is spell-checked using sky blue letters in this field. To the left of the shield there are five extensions that resemble towers to the plain white fields. The current shield design was first introduced to the shirt during the late 1940s. The crests existed prior to this , but they weren't displayed in the jersey. The first crest was white and black The second one was white and red in keeping with the primary colours of the club from 1910 and 1920.

The original shield logo , the club's full name and sky blue star beneath the shield were not included however they were added after the club's chairman Eric Persson discovered while abroad that many people were unable to determine which city the club came from by simply just looking at the club's crest. The six-pointed star is believed to have its roots in one of the oldest seals in Malmo, the City of Malmo.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the club in the year 2010 The dates 1910 and 2010, were highlighted on both sides of the shield, arranged on blue ribbons that hung that ran behind the shield.

Malmo FF is the only club in Sweden to be able to boast of sporting two stars over its crest. The stars represent the the 20-29 championships in the domestic championships. The stars appear only on shirts worn by the team and are not component of the official emblem.

Malmo's kit was manufactured by Puma and they also sponsor the club. So, many Puma products are available in the club's shop for souvenirs located at Eleda Stadion.

The first company to be featured on the Malmo F.F.'s jerseys was the local shipyard firm Kockums in the year 1976. since 1981 , at least one logo of a sponsor has been featured on the kit of the club. Since the mid-1990s, it has become normal that Swedish clubs to sport multiple shirt sponsors. Malmo FF was no exception and that was the situation until the year 2010, when the team was able to have only one logo for their sponsor on their kits.

As of the year 2018, kits usually include logos of three partners: the primary sponsor (front) as well as the sleeve sponsor (sleeve) as well as the third partner (back).

Malmo FF has several fan clubs, among which the biggest can be described as the fanclub official MFF Support, founded in 1992. MFF Support describes itself as "a non-profit , non-political and non-political group that fights racism and violence". The chairperson of MFF Support is Thelma Ernst.

There are a number of smaller supporter groups that are independent. One of the most well-known are Supras Malmo, which was formed at the end of 2003, by a combination of ultras with smaller numbers and passionate supporters. Its name "Supras" originates from the words ultras and supporters which indicates that the group was influenced by a fan-based society with roots in the southern part of Europe. Supras Malmo is the most well-known group in the main fan stand at Eleda Stadion and is able to show its presence with flags, banners and choreography. Another group that has similar objectives can be found in Rex Scania. MFF Tifosi 96 (MT96) is a group of supporters who create tifos to celebrate important occasions and other occasions. Malmosystrar (Sisters from The Malmo) is the biggest female fan group in Europe with more than 200 members. Its Malmo FF supporters are notorious for their capacity to create an energetic atmosphere. They also hold the record for the highest level of sound measured in Allsvenskan with 127 decibels in the 2016 game against IFK Goteborg.

Due to their proximity geographically There are minor rivalries due to the proximity of Trelleborgs FF and Landskrona BoIS as well, both of which are found in Scania. The primary opponents of this club include Helsingborgs IF, IFK Goteborg and IFK Malmo. This rivalry among Malmo FF and Helsingborgs IF has been in existence for a long time, since Malmo FF were promoted up to Allsvenskan in the 1930s and is mostly geographical as both teams originate both from Scania located in the southern part of Sweden. The rivalry between IFK Goteborg relates more to titles; the two teams are among the most profitable teams within Swedish football history, and are the only two teams to participate at European Cup finals. IFK Goteborg in the UEFA Cup in 1982 and 1987, and Malmo FF in the European Cup in 1979.

The rivalry between IFK Malmo is both geographical and historical. Both clubs hail from the same town and played at the same venue during the first half of the 20th century. The allegations of the Board members from IFK Malmo in 1933, which exposed Malmo FF's violations of the rules of amateur football in the Swedish Football Association, further increase the conflict between these two teams. IFK Malmo have not played in Allsvenskan since 1962. Consequently, matches between the two teams are very rare.

As of 16 December 2019

Malmö FF are well known for their large average attendance. Average attendances at Malmö FF's home matches in Allsvenskan and European competitions for the last ten seasons running.

Malmo FC's first stadium was Malmo IP and was shared with rivals IFK Malmo. The team was present since the inception team in 1910 until 1958. The stadium remains in use today but with less capacity. It is being used by women's soccer team FC Rosengard, who were before the women's team from Malmo FF. The capacity in 2012 was 7,600. However, attendances were typically much greater in the past when Malmo FF played there. In the season that ended in 1957 an average of 15,500 people attended. The record attendance of the club at Malmo IP was 22,436 when they played Helsingborgs IF on 1 June 1956. It is believed to be an important element in the club's story because it was in this stadium that the club was founded and played their first 47 seasons, and also won 5 Swedish championships.

A new stadium was built in Malmo following Sweden received in 1958 the FIFA World Cup - this was the beginning of the Malmo Stadion. Malmo FF played their first season in the stadium in the year 1958. The first time that the club was crowned the Swedish championship in Malmo FF's stadium came in the year 1965. The higher tier was added to this stadium during 1992. The club had the most successful period of their history in this stadium and won ten of the twenty Swedish championships while they were based there. The stadium was originally designed with the capacity of 30,000, but it was reduced to 27,500 after changes to safety regulations. The record attendance for the club for the venue was 29,328, which was set against Helsingborgs IF on 24 September 1967.

Following the victory of 2004 in Allsvenskan the plans were drawn up to build a new stadium. Then, in July of 2005 Malmo FF announced that construction was set to start on Eleda Stadion that was designed to hold 18,000 people seated and 6 000 standing. The stadium is also able to accommodate 21,000 seats as an all-seater venue to host international or European events where the use of terracing is not permitted. The construction began in 2007 and was completed in 2009. The new stadium is situated near Malmo Stadion. While there was small-scale construction happening around the stadium the stadium was officially opened on the 13th of April, 2009 and featured the first home match in the season 2009 in the match against Orgryte IS; Malmo FF's Labinot Harbuzi scored their first strike in the 60th minute. First Swedish championship played at the stadium was in 2010 when the team defeated Mjallby AIF on 7 November in the final match of the season, 2-0. The attendance at the game was record-breaking at 24,148. Stadion is one of the UEFA rating of category 4 stadium.

Malmo FF has a rich European history, having participated in UEFA competitions from 1964. The club's most impressive European performance was during the season 1978-79, where they made it to the semi-finals of UEFA Champions League (then European Champion Clubs' Cup) and were defeated 1-0 by English champions Nottingham Forest. This is what makes Malmo FF the only Nordic club to make it this level during the European Cup or Champions League. Malmo FF is also the only Nordic club to be part of the Intercontinental Cup (succeeded by FIFA Club World Cup) in which they were a contender for the title in 1979. Malmo FF is one of the four Swedish clubs to have taken part at the UEFA Champions League group stages together with IFK Goteborg, AIK, and Helsingborg.

Correct as of 19 Jun 2022. The table shows the position of Malmö FF (highlighted), based on their UEFA coefficient club ranking for 2021, and the four clubs which are closest to Malmö FF's position (the two clubs with the higher coefficient and the two with the lower coefficient).

Malmo FF made the transition from an amateur club into full-time professional status in latter part of the 1970s under the direction of the club's Chairman Eric Persson. Malmo FF is an all-inclusive membership association. Its regular general meetings are the most important authority for making decisions. Each member has one voteand so no shares are distributed. The general meeting is the one that approves the accounting and also votes to elect the chairman and board, and makes decisions on any motions that are proposed. In the decade of 2010's success, Hakan Jeppsson served as chairman following the departure of Bengt Madsen's resignation in 2010 prior to his sudden demise in the year 2018. The club's legal status ensures that interest claims are dealt with by the club, and not members of the board or the club members. The day-to-day operations are managed by an executive director who coordinates to the chairperson.

With a capitalization worth 497million SEK The club has the distinction of being the most affluent soccer club in Sweden in 2019. The 2018 turnover of 333,3 million SEK. The most expensive transfer fee paid from Malmo FF for a player was 86.2 million SEK (EUR8.7 million at the at the time) in the case of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was transferred to Ajax in 2001. At the time, it was the highest transfer price ever given to an Swedish team of football.

The principal supporters that support Malmo FF are Volkswagen, Elitfonster AB, Intersport, Imtech, JMS Mediasystem, Mercedes-Benz, SOVA and Svenska Spel. The club also signed a naming rights contract with Swedbank about what would become Eleda Stadion in 2007-2017, when it was named Swedbank Stadion.

Malmo FF have been the focus of many films. A few examples include Swedish football documentary films Bladarar 1, and Bladarar 2 which depict Malmo FF from a supporter and player perspectives throughout both the seasons of 1997 and 2000. Bladarar 1 takes place in 1997, the year that the club was third in the Allsvenskan. The film follows the fervent fans Lasse, former player Anders Andersson, former chairman Hans Cavalli-Bjorkman , and other characters. Bladarar 2 takes place in the year 2000, when the club was reduced to Superettan and follows the team in their struggle to get Malmo FF back to the Allsvenskan. The sequel follows Lasse but it also puts an emphasis on Zlatan Ibrahimovic's development and how he was transferred the club to AFC Ajax during the 2001 season.

The club is also included on Mitt Hjartas Malmo A documentary series that explores the story of Malmo. Films featured included footage of matches in the late 1940s (Volume 7) as well as matches from 1979's European Cup Final in Munich from the perspective of a fan (Volume 8.). Vol. 9 in the collection is dedicated exclusively to the celebration of the club's 100th anniversary celebration in the year 2010.

in the film Om Sara, 2005 Swedish drama film Om Sara, actor Alexander Skarsgard is the character of the fictional football player Kalle Oberg who is a player in the Swedish football club Malmo FF. A recurring sketch from Season 2 of sketch comedy show Hipphipp! comprised a group Malmo FF fans singing and chanting during daily tasks, like making purchases or using an ATM.

As of 29 June 2022

12 – MFF Support

List criteria:

• player has made more than 500 appearances overall for the club, or
• player has won Guldbollen, an official UEFA or FIFA award, or
• player has been picked as one of the 11 best players in the official hall of fame Sydsvenskan team that was selected by the newspapers readers for the club's 100th anniversary in 2010.

As of 16 March 2022

Malmo FF have played 86 seasons in Allsvenskan. The only teams that have played longer include AIK with 93 seasons and IFK Goteborg with 89 (2021). They are also the most successful team on the Allsvenskan table at the conclusion year 2012. The club is the sole Nordic club to have reached the European Cup final, present day UEFA Champions League, having been in their 1979 European Cup Final. Malmo FF is also the only Nordic club that has been present at the Intercontinental Cup (succeeded by FIFA Club World Cup) in which they were a contender to win the title in 1979.

Malmo FF have won domestic, European, and international honors in Europe, the United States and internationally. The club holds records for the most Swedish tournaments as well as Allsvenskan as well as Svenska Cupen titles. The most recent honor for the club was in 2021, when they won Allsvenskan. The club played its first game in Europe during between 1964 and 1965 during the European season during the European Cup as well as lastly during the 2021-2022 European season, in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. With the exception of the qualifying stages the club has played at the European Cup and UEFA Champions League 18 times, and in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League 17 times. They have also participated in various other, now extinct European tournaments, such as the winner of the UEFA Cup, and the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

• Swedish Champions
  • Winners (22): 1943–44, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1965, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1986, 1988, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021

• Allsvenskan (Tier 1)
  • Winners (25): 1943–44, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1965, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021
  • Runners-up (15): 1945–46, 1947–48, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1996, 2002, 2019
• Division 2 Sydsvenska Serien (Tier 2)
  • Winners (1): 1920–21
  • Runners-up (1): 1923–24
• Division 2 Södra (Tier 2)
  • Winners (3): 1930–31, 1934–35, 1935–36
  • Runners-up (1): 1929–30
• Superettan (Tier 2)
  • Runners-up (1): 2000

• Svenska Cupen
  • Winners (15): 1944, 1946, 1947, 1951, 1953, 1967, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1988–89, 2021–22
  • Runners-up (6): 1945, 1970–71, 1995–96, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2019–20
• Allsvenskan play-offs
  • Winners (2): 1986, 1988
  • Runners-up (2): 1987, 1989
• Svenska Supercupen
  • Winners (2): 2013, 2014
  • Runners-up (1): 2011

• European Cup (Champions League)
  • Runners-up (1): 1978–79

• Intercontinental Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 1979

• Allsvenskan and Svenska Cupen
  • Winners (8): 1943–44, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1967, 1974, 1975, 1986, 1989