AFC Eskilstuna
Full nameAthletic Football Club Eskilstuna
Founded1 January 1991 (1991-01-01) (as "FC Café Opera")
GroundTunavallen, Eskilstuna
Capacity7,800
ChairmanAlex Ryssholm
ManagerTony Andersson
LeagueSuperettan
2022Superettan, 8th of 16
WebsiteClub website

Athletic Football Club Eskilstuna, also known as AFC Eskilstuna or simply AFC, is a Swedish professional football club based in Eskilstuna.[1] The club has previously been known under the names FC Café Opera and Väsby United before switching ownership and their identity again in 2012 to AFC United. During the 2016 season it was once again decided that they would switch their name, identity, as well as locality. Choosing to move to Eskilstuna, about 110 kilometers west of Stockholm, they are since known as AFC Eskilstuna. They compete in Superettan, the second highest tier of Swedish football, and play their home matches at Tunavallen. AFC Eskilstuna are affiliated to Södermanlands Fotbollförbund.

Background

FC Café Opera

FC Café Opera was created in 1991 by Italian born restauranteer Alessandro Catenacci who named the club after Café Opera which he owned. They started out in division 8 of the Swedish football league system but only nine years later they had made it to the second tier Superettan.[2]

Väsby United

Football Club Väsby United was formed in 2005 when the two Stockholm clubs FC Café Opera United and Väsby IK FK merged. The new club replaced FC Café Opera United in the Superettan making it the youngest club competing at this level. Väsby United was a feeder club to AIK who participated in the second and third divisions of the Swedish football league system. The club played in Division 1 Norra which is the third tier of Swedish football when they became AFC United.[3]

AFC United

AFC United was founded when FC Väsby United increased their cooperation Division 3 club Athletic FC in late 2012.[4] They played their home matches at Skytteholms IP in Solna until the end of the 2016 season. Athletic FC was founded in 2007 and defunct in 2012, they then became part of AFC United, the club that later became known as AFC Eskilstuna.

In 2012, Athletic FC played in Swedish football Division 3 Norra Svealand which is the fifth tier of Swedish football.[5] They played their home matches at the Skytteholms IP in Solna.[6]

The club was affiliated to Stockholms Fotbollförbund.[7]

AFC Eskilstuna

During the 2016 season the club management decided to uproot and leave Solna and move to Eskilstuna and Tunavallen before the 2017 season. They also changed their name to AFC Eskilstuna.

The team were winless, having only acquired 4 points from the opening 12 matches and were firmly rooted to the bottom of the league table.[8] Michael Jolley was announced as new manager on 13 June 2017.[9] Under Jolley's coaching they took 15 points from the next 16 games.[10] A 3–1 victory over Malmö FF on 19 August 2017 in particular provided the biggest shock of the season in Allsvenskan.[11] However, they were eventually relegated to Superettan on 23 October 2017 following a spirited fight when Jönköpings Södra IF defeated Kalmar FF 2–0, meaning AFC Eskilstuna could no longer reach the qualifying position.[12] Jolley departed ways with AFC Eskilstuna on 9 January 2018 by mutual consent, after being unable to agree on the future direction of the club.[13]

On 15 January 2018, Nemanja Miljanović became the manager, after their relegation to the Superettan.[14]

Season-to-season

Season Level League Pos
FC Väsby United
2005 Tier 2 Superettan 9th
2006[lower-alpha 1] Tier 2 Superettan 14th (R)
2007 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 2nd (P)
2008 Tier 2 Superettan 9th
2009 Tier 2 Superettan 12th
2010 Tier 2 Superettan 16th (R)
2011 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 2nd
2012 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 11th
AFC United
2013 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 10th
2014 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 1st (P)
2015 Tier 2 Superettan 8th
2016 Tier 2 Superettan 2nd (P)
AFC Eskilstuna
2017 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 16th (R)
2018 Tier 2 Superettan 3rd (P)
2019 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 16th (R)
2020 Tier 2 Superettan 9th
  1. ↑ League restructuring in 2006 resulted in a new division being created at Tier 3 and subsequent divisions dropping a level.[15][16][17]

Players

Current squad

As of 6 September 2023[18]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Netherlands NED Nick Wolters
2 DF Sweden SWE Robin Sundgren
3 DF England ENG Zeki Fryers
4 DF Sweden SWE Jesper Modig
5 MF Sweden SWE Hussein Cabdi
6 MF England ENG Ryan Williams
7 FW State of Palestine PLE Samir Maarouf
8 MF Sweden SWE Eddie Tran
9 FW Sweden SWE Adam Larsson
10 MF United States USA Marcelo Palomino
11 FW Sweden SWE Mattias Mitku
12 GK Sweden SWE Famara Touray
13 DF Nigeria NGA Aliyu Yakubu
14 FW Sweden SWE Oskar Lindberg
15 DF Sweden SWE Victor Fors
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 MF Sweden SWE Ishak Shamoun
17 MF Sweden SWE Ludwig Malachowski Thorell
18 MF Sweden SWE Naod Ghebrekristos
19 MF Sweden SWE Leo Lif
20 FW Ghana GHA Emmanuel Agyemang
21 DF Sweden SWE Ali Suljić
22 DF Sweden SWE Theodor Hansemon
23 MF Sweden SWE Armin Culum
24 FW Sweden SWE Viktor Götesson
25 DF Sweden SWE Mattis Adolfsson (on loan from Östers IF)
28 DF South Africa RSA Yagan Sasman
35 GK Sweden SWE Wahlfrid Nilsson
43 MF Ghana GHA Abdul Halik Hudu
70 FW Spain ESP Sergio Mendigutxia
— DF Sweden SWE Fabian Falkstrand

Attendances

Väsby United had the following average attendances:

AFC Eskilstuna play their home games at Tunavallen
AFC United previously played their home games at Skytteholms IP
Season Average Attendance Division / Section Level
2005 1,124 Superettan Tier 2
2006 487 Superettan Tier 2
2007 446 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2008 450 Superettan Tier 2
2009 405 Superettan Tier 2
2010 723 Superettan Tier 2
2011 290 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2012 206 Div 1 Norra Tier 3

In recent seasons AFC United have had the following average attendances:

Season Average Attendance Division / Section Level
2013 179 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2014 176 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2015 346 Superettan Tier 2
2016 698 Superettan Tier 2

* Attendances are provided in the Publikliga sections of the Svenska Fotbollförbundet website. [19]

The highest attendance for FC Väsby United at Råsunda was 8,672 spectators who attended the match with AIK on 15 August 2005.[20]

Achievements

League

Cup

Notes and references

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ "FC Väsby United – Fotboll Klubb". Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
    2. ↑ "Projekten vi aldrig glömmer – färgade svensk fotboll". FotbollDirekt. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
    3. ↑ "Tabell och resultat – Div 1 Norra, herrar – Svenskfotboll.se". Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
    4. ↑ "Väsby United byter namn till AFC United: "Ett naturligt steg"". fotbolltransfers.com (in Swedish). 7 December 2012. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
    5. ↑ "norra Svealand - Division 3 – Fotbollsserier 2012 – Fotboll – everysport.com". Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
    6. ↑ "Stockholms Fotbollförbund – stff.se". Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
    7. ↑ "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar – Athletic FC – Svenskfotboll.se". Retrieved 12 September 2011.
    8. ↑ "AFC Eskilstuna 2017: Table: Round 12". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017.
    9. ↑ Dale, James (13 June 2017). "Michael Jolley leaves Burnley to become AFC Eskilstuna boss". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
    10. ↑ "AFC Eskilstuna 2017: Table: Round 28". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018.
    11. ↑ Tynander, Rasmus (19 August 2017). "AFC Eskilstuna 3–1 Malmö FF". SVT Sport. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
    12. ↑ Kjellmer, Jakob Runevad (23 October 2017). "Jönköpings Södra IF 2–0 Kalmar FF". SVT Sport. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
    13. ↑ Mattsson, Sebastian (9 January 2018). "The coach leaves: "Big disappointment"". Expressen. Stockholm, Sweden. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
    14. ↑ Malmkvist, Alexander (15 January 2018). "Sportchefen blir huvudtränare i AFC: "En fantastisk person"". Fotbollskanalen. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
    15. ↑ "GAIS – Lagfacta – FC Väsby United". Retrieved 2 December 2010.
    16. ↑ "Norra — Division 1 – Fotbollsserier 2011 – Fotboll – everysport.com". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
    17. ↑ "Sweden Final Tables – Clas Glenning". Archived from the original on 31 July 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
    18. ↑ "A-Laget Squad". Retrieved 2 June 2023.
    19. ↑ "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar – Svenska Fotbollförbundet – svenskfotboll.se". Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
    20. ↑ "Väsby United  – svenskfotboll.se". Archived from the original on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
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