GAIS


Göteborgs Atlet- och Idrottssällskap, commonly referred to as GAIS or Gais, is a Swedish football club based in Gothenburg. The club is affiliated to the Göteborgs Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Gamla Ullevi. Fans also refers to the club as Grönsvart, or Makrillarna because of the traditional green and black striped shirt and white shorts.
GAIS is one of the oldest football clubs in Sweden. The club was a founding member of Allsvenskan and also the first champions of the league. They have won a total of four national championship titles, five league championship titles and one national cup title. Even though GAIS have played 55 seasons in Allsvenskan, as of 2024, they only spent six years in the top division during a 30-year period from 1976 to 2005, with another six seasons of that time spent as low as the third division. The club thus gained the reputation of being a yo-yo club, constantly going up and down through the league system. After their promotion in 2005 the club played seven straight seasons in Allsvenskan which was a feat not achieved since the degradation in 1955. After relegation in 2012 they stayed in Superettan until 2021, when they got relegated. After achieving back to back promotions in 2022 and 2023, GAIS played the 2024 season in Allsvenskan and finished in 6th place. In 2025, GAIS finished 3rd in the league, winning the "small silver" and also a spot in the 2026–27 UEFA Conference League.
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History

Formation and early glory

GAIS was founded 11 March 1894 at Edlunds Café in the Gothenburg city centre. The founders had created the club for "patriotic purposes and to promote all kinds of sports". Its main activities were athletics and an assortment of strength sports. The football department was formed in 1897 and played their first official game against local rivals Örgryte IS in 1903. GAIS first appearance in the highest league at the time, Svenska Serien, was in 1915/16 where they finished in fourth place. In 1919 the club won its first national championship beating Djurgårdens IF away in the finals. The same procedure would be repeated in 1922, this time against another Stockholm team, Hammarby IF. GAIS won the first season of the new first tier league Allsvenskan in 1924/25, two points ahead of local rivals IFK Göteborg. The feat was to be repeated in 1926/27, this time three points ahead of IFK Göteborg. The league champions was not recognised as national champions until the 1930/31 season, which GAIS also won, six points ahead of AIK and IFK Göteborg.
During the 1930s GAIS slowly lost the dominance the club had exercised over Allsvenskan since its foundation and in 1938 the club was relegated. Having spent three years in the second division GAIS returned with a vengeance for the 1941–42 Allsvenskan where the club finished in second place. Later in 1942 they won Svenska Cupen for the first, and until today, only time.
The club then stayed in Allsvenskan throughout the 1940s and the early 1950s. They quite unexpectedly won their fourth national championship one single point ahead of Helsingborgs IF in the season of 1953/54. The clinching game was the last one of the season; a nail biting no score draw at Stadsparksvallen in Jönköping. The following year, equally unexpected, the club finished third last and was relegated.

1960s and 1970s

GAIS returned to Allsvenskan the following 1955/56 season but from the mid-1950s the club lost its former continuity and never spent more than five consecutive seasons in Allsvenskan until the 2000s. The club was relegated again in 1959 and spent four seasons in the second division before returning briefly to Allsvenskan for one year in 1964. After that relegation they immediately returned to Allsvenskan in 1966. GAIS then remained there during 1966–1975, except for one year in the second division in 1971. In 1975 the club made its first appearance in the UEFA Cup playing Śląsk Wrocław in the first leg. GAIS lost out to the Polish club after winning 2–1 at home but losing 2–4 away. The same year GAIS got relegated from Allsvenskan for the sixth time, this time due to scoring two goals less than Halmstads BK.

Thirty years of underperformance: 1976–2006

The relegation in 1975 would in retrospect prove to be a turning point for the worse in the history of GAIS. Unable to qualify for Allsvenskan in 1976, and furthermore losing the qualifying spot to now arch-rival IFK Göteborg, they lost the position as Gothenburg's leading team that they had enjoyed throughout the early 1970s. The club then consistently failed to qualify for Allsvenskan during the following five years and in 1981 the club got relegated to the Swedish third division due to economic conditions and a surprisingly weak performance by the squad. The future looked bleak after GAIS failed to return to the second division in 1982 but due to a massive performance on the pitch in the latter part of the 1983 season the club secured the qualifying spot seven points ahead of IK Oddevold and then beat in the promotion playoffs to the second division.
In 1984 GAIS made what was to become one of the club's most spectacular signings to this date. Tunisian midfielder Samir Bakaou left his former club Étoile Sportive du Sahel to join the Gothenburg side and proved to be the injection of flair and energy that the club had been needing so badly. With "the Black Pearl" as playmaker and notorious goalscorer GAIS was once again a force to be reckoned with and made it to the promotion playoffs to Allsvenskan in 1985, only to lose out to Djurgårdens IF after a penalty shoot-out in a highly controversial game. GAIS finally made it back to Allsvenskan in 1987 ending eleven long years of struggling in the lower divisions. For the second time in club history GAIS made it to the finals of Svenska Cupen as well, but lost out 2–0 to opposing side Kalmar FF.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s GAIS mostly fought for its survival in Allsvenskan. With the exception of a third place in 1989 the club had to settle for the lower half of the league table. Relegation followed in the season of 1992 and GAIS yet again had to face a long and tortuous walk through the Swedish second division. The nadir was reached in 1997 when the club had been relegated to the third division and ran a huge economical deficit while only finishing third in the league. This season would be the starting point of possibly the worst yo-yo experience any Swedish football club has ever experienced.
GAIS was promoted to the second division in 1998 and made it back to Allsvenskan after the season of 1999 by finishing in second place and defeating Kalmar FF in the qualifying round. After finishing second to last in the 2000 Allsvenskan the club continued its fall through the second division Superettan in 2001 and was relegated to the third division for the 2002 season. From there on things slowed down when GAIS failed to make a quick return during their first season there. Then after a hard-fought battle throughout 2003 against local competitors Ljungskile SK GAIS finally ended up winning the series by goal difference. In the promotion playoffs to qualify for Superettan the club faced Mjällby AIF and defeated them 2–1 away as well as home.
The next year GAIS signed Roland Nilsson as head coach, and with him at the lead the club finished in sixth place of the 2004 Superettan. During the following season, facing competition from newly relegated AIK and Östers IF, GAIS managed to finish third and got to play Landskrona BoIS in the promotion playoffs to Allsvenskan. After beating Landskrona 2–1 at home and drawing them 0–0 in an extremely tight away game, where GAIS forward Wilton Figueiredo got his second yellow card after 30 minutes of play and manager Roland Nilsson substituted defender Kenneth Gustafsson for himself during the last 25 minutes, GAIS finally got to make their return to Allsvenskan. There they would spend their next seven seasons but after a strong fifth-place finish in 2011 they ended up in last place and relegated in 2012. They have since remained in the Swedish second tier until 2021 when they dropped out. In 2022 GAIS, played in third division only to skyrocket back through the following years and as of 2024 they are back in Allsvenskan.

Supporters and rivalries

GAIS is Gothenburg's third most supported football club, with approximately 12–13 % of local football fans ranking it as their favorite. Since the study by the SOM institute at the University of Gothenburg GAIS has enjoyed continuous success in Allsvenskan and the amount of supporters attending GAIS home games has increased by a large percentage. From around 4 800 in Superettan to between 9 - 10 000 in Allsvenskan.
Its fan base has long been associated with working-class neighborhoods and left-wing sympathies, though this is not uniquely distinct compared to other clubs. Their supporters are also perceived as being loyal, despite whatever hardships the club may face. The most prominent supporter group, Makrillarna, was founded in 1961.
During the 2018 season the club chose to allow a supporter to act as an assisting manager for a single game, against Halmstads BK in September, which at the time were unique among Swedish football clubs.
The club and its supporters harbour a fierce rivalry with Gothenburg's other traditional working-class team IFK Göteborg. The pair first contested each other in September 1905 and remains one of Swedish football's oldest and most storied derbies in Sweden. As of August 2025, they have contested over 131 competitive matches, with IFK holding the edge in victories.
There is also a historical but less intense rivalry with Örgryte IS, rooted in class distinctions—GAIS representing working-class traditions, while Örgryte is seen as more upper-class. Though emotions exist, this fixture generally doesn't spark as much passion as the GAIS–IFK derby
Additionally, BK Häcken, a club from the Hisingen district, hasn't historically been a major rival, but recent successes in top-tier Swedish football have elevated the competitive spirit between the two teams supporters.
On the ultras and fan culture side, GAIS is associated with the active and sometimes confrontational group known as GAIS Tifo or GAIS Tifo. In the 2000s, there was even a brief friendship with ultras from Dynamo Berlin, though this connection appears to be defunct now.

Players

Retired numbers

15 – Fredrik Lundgren, defender and midfielder

Notable players

Karl-Alfred Jacobsson has been selected as both player of the century" and player of the millennium by GAIS fans. The GAIS player of the year award "The Honorary Mackerel" has presented by the supporter group Makrillarna at the end of each season since 1961. The following players have received the award:

Managers

*

Achievements

Domestic

Swedish Champions

League

Allsvenskan:

Cups

Svenska Cupen:

European

Intertoto Cup:
  • * Winners : 1990