Gothenburg derbies

Gothenburg derbies

In Gothenburg, the biggest derbies are between the three clubs that make up the Göteborgsalliansen, and matches featuring IFK Göteborg tend to pull in the biggest crowds. IFK Göteborg and Örgryte IS have faced each other more times than any other pair of rivals in Swedish football. The all-time attendance record for a club match in Sweden, 52,194, was set on 3 June 1959 when those two met in the Allsvenskan. The record for the second division came on 20 May 1976, when 50,690 watched GAIS take on IFK Göteborg in Division 2.

Five other clubs from Gothenburg have reached the top flight, and games between them and the big three have sometimes sparked smaller rivalries. Again, matches against IFK Göteborg have drawn the most fans, with GAIS and Örgryte IS ranking second and third in terms of appeal. Early in the 1900s, Göteborgs FF tried to rival Örgryte IS for the city's top spot. Redbergslids IK spent just one season in the Allsvenskan during the 1930s, yet still managed the third-highest average attendance that year.

Gårda BK played eight straight seasons in the Allsvenskan from the late 1930s into the early 1940s, finishing as Gothenburg's best team twice. Västra Frölunda IF matched that achievement in 1998 and had ten top-tier seasons across the 1980s and 1990s. BK Häcken first appeared in the Allsvenskan in the 1980s and have since become a regular top-flight club, helped by a stable financial situation.