Långholmen FC is a Swedish football club based in Långholmen, Stockholm.
Background Långholmen Football Club was formed in 2002 by a dozen or so English-speaking exiles looking for exercise and a chance to show their ability on a Saturday afternoon.
The club is now an important part of the sporting and social life of the expatriate community in Stockholm with well over a hundred members. Since 2002 their teams have won five championships, eleven promotions and the Stockholm Korpen champions trophy. Their first team has climbed steadily up the Stockholm leagues.
In 2010 they made it to the national league system and played in Division Three. However, 2011 saw them in Division Four again.
In total, LFC have eight teams: six men's and two women's; regular structured training; casual kickabouts.
They won an international tournament in Berlin and have hosted matches in Stockholm to their international friends, for instance they have played the Royal Household Staff team from London, England and in 2010 the Tartan Army team before the Scotland-Sweden match plus the Royal Epsom team from the UK.
In 2011, Långholmen reached the final of the Stockholm Cup but ended up runners up after a defeat by Sollentuna FC in the final (7–4). Nevertheless, this achievement meant they were then placed in the rounds of the Swedish Cup and, after defeating more opponents in earlier rounds, they were then drawn against IFK Göteborg, Sweden's most successful club ever (who have won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles, and two UEFA Cups) in the next Svenska Cupen. This match was played on 20 August 2012 at Grimsta IP and without a doubt the biggest day ever in the club's history and one that created mass media hype both in Sweden and abroad with major newspapers (Guardian, La Stampa, DN to name but a few), TV, radio stations and websites spreading the news – the David v Goliath romance of football. The match ended with a 9–0 defeat but the celebrations at the end by the home team and fans seemed like LFC had actually won. The team, club and fans (687) were extremely proud of this historic match.
Although English is generally the main language used by Långholmen players and the majority of members have tended to be from the British Isles, the club includes an international mix of players, having had 68 different nationalities play for them.
Långholmen FC are affiliated to the Stockholms Fotbollförbund. In a decision with some parallels to the landmark Bosman ruling, the Swedish Football Association granted Långholmen FC a temporary dispensation for the 2010 season from regulations requiring a quota of Sweden-bred players in match day squads. The club appealed because they had only five players who qualified as homegrown players.
Season to season
Season Level Division Section Position Movements2003Tier 9 Division 8 Stockholm I3rdPromoted2004Tier 8 Division 7 Stockholm G5th2005Tier 8 Division 7 Stockholm H1stPromoted2006*Tier 8 Division 6 Stockholm D3rdPromoted2007Tier 7 Division 5 Stockholm Södra2ndPromoted2008Tier 6 Division 4 Stockholm Norra8th2009Tier 6 Division 4 Stockholm Mellersta1stPromoted2010Tier 5 Division 3 Östra Svealand11thRelegated2011Tier 6 Division 4 Stockholm Mellersta5th2012Tier 6 Division 4 Stockholm Mellersta11thRelegated2013Tier 7 Division 5 Stockholm Mellersta9th 2014 Tier 7 Division 5 Stockholm Mellersta 1st Promoted 2015 Tier 6 Division 4 Stockholm Mellersta 11thRelegated2016Tier 7Division 5Stockholm Mellersta1stPromoted2017Tier 6Division 4Stockholm Mellersta9th2018Tier 6Division 4Stockholm Mellersta6th2019Tier 6Division 4Stockholm Mellersta8th2020Tier 6Division 4Stockholm Mellersta8th
* League restructuring in 2006 resulted in a new division being created at Tier 3 and subsequent divisions dropping a level.
Honours Division 4 Champions 2009 Division 5 Champions 2014 & 2016 Runners-up 2007 Division 7 Champions 2005 Stockholm Cup Runners-up 2011
Attendances
In recent seasons Långholmen FC have had the following average attendances:
SeasonAverage attendanceDivision / SectionLevel2009106 Div 4 Stockholm Mellersta Tier 6201078 Div 3 Östra Svealand Tier 52012687 Svenska Cupen Tier 6 * Attendances are provided in the Publikliga sections of the Svenska Fotbollförbundet website.
Footnotes
External links Långholmen FC – Official website Långholmen FC Facebook Stripe News – Långholmen FC Blog Twitter feed Instagram YouTube channel