Södertälje BBK

Lore & Background

Basketball arrived in Södertälje in 1960 when PE teacher Lennart Carlqvist introduced the sport to a group of boys at Mariekällskolan. In 1963, the boys convinced KFUM Södertälje (YMCA) to start a basketball section, which registered with the Swedish Basketball Federation on January 21. The first coach was Enno Laus, and the team played its first competitive games in April 1963, losing to KFUM Göteborg and KFUM Sunne. The club adopted white and green jerseys after Södertälje IF.

KFUM shut down its basketball section in 1968 due to economic problems and wild parties, with a deficit of 2,889 kr (about $300). The players then founded Södertälje Basketboll Klubb (SBBK) on August 6, 1968, with Benny Johansson as chairman. The women's team reached the top league (Elitserien) in 1971, and the men's team followed in 1973. The men's team won its first championship in 1978, defeating Alvik 3–2 in a best-of-five series. Täljehallen, the club's dedicated arena, opened in 1984.

Reader's Guide

SBBK is central to Swedish basketball history, holding the record for most men's national championships (12) and a dominant women's team that won eight consecutive titles from 1977 to 1985. The club's men's team, known as the Södertälje Kings from 1995, has been a consistent force in the Basketligan, with championship wins spanning from 1978 to 2019. The club also pioneered youth development, founding its youth organization SDV in 1972, which enrolled 400 players in its first week. SBBK's significance extends beyond trophies: it introduced basketball to a city known as a 'hockey town,' and its international appearances in the European Cup in the late 1970s and 1980s raised the profile of Swedish basketball. The club's structure includes elite teams, youth development (All-Star), and a recreational league (SBL), all based at Täljehallen.

Did You Know?

• The men's team was named Södertälje Kings from 1995 until 2020.
• The women's team won nine consecutive championships from 1977 to 1985.
• Täljehallen, opened in 1984, has a capacity of 2,000 people.
• The club's first coach was Enno Laus, who had played in Estonia.