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We are honoured to welcome Sweden’s Oldest Football Club, Örgryte IS into the Club of Pioneers. Founded in 1887, ÖIS will sit 15th in the list of founding dates, and also become our 31st member of the Club of Pioneers.

The Club of Pioneers was founded by Sheffield FC in 2013, where we discover and connect the oldest football club in every country. It was to build a global network of like-minded football clubs to promote the importance of football history, grassroots and amateur game. 

Örgryte Idrottssällskap (ÖIS) was founded in the outskirts of Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden on 4 December 1887. The club was a general sports club and included ice-skating, bicycling, track and field/athletics, tennis, ball games and more.  

Gothenburg being the second city of Sweden and the biggest harbour on the west coast gained influence from other countries especially the United Kingdom.

In the early 1890's some Scottish factory workers came to the ÖIS training ground and introduced the associations style of football. Their factory was in the vicinty of the training facilities which was convenient. Exact year is believed to be 1891.

The Scottish men joined ÖIS as players and instructors teaching the game to the ÖIS youth. On 22 May 1892 the first competitive association game between two Swedish clubs took place on the Heden ground in Gothenburg. ÖIS, with six Scots, took on team Lyckans Soldater and won the game 1-0. This game is today regarded as the first proper Swedish Football game. 

The ÖIS chairman Wilhelm Friberg was very influential in the organisation of sports in Sweden and he participated in setting up the first Swedish Athletics Championship in 1896 and football was included as one of the sports. Two teams entered the competition and ÖIS came out winning the first Swedish National Football Championship in 1896.

ÖIS Director, Peter Josefsson said about joining the Club of Pioneers: "Örgryte Football is very happy and proud to have become a member of the Pioneers.

"Our heritage is important for our path forward and to be able to be member of such an acclaimed community as the Pioneers, is of great importance for Örgryte IS. 

"We look forward to the coming interconnections between the membership clubs."

ÖIS has won the top national league six times when it didn't have the status of National Championship: 1910, 1911/1912, 1921, 1923/1924, 1926 & 1928. ÖIS have won the domestic cup once, in 2000.

Örgryte IS team colours are red and blue. Red for Love and Blue for Faithfulness. (could be translated as fidelity, allegiance, loyalty) In Latin: Amor et Fides.

The development of Football in Sweden is rather researched by several academics and football enthusiasts. It was introduced via British workers or Swedes coming back from Britain. There was also a great influence from Denmark, undoubtedly a nation where football was more developed than in Sweden during the early days, with several games being played between Swedish teams and Danish teams on Swedish soil. 

As in many cases there has been some dispute whether these games were played according to association rules. In this era of national romance certain Swedish sport authorities were keen on establishing a Swedish type of football with its own set of rules, making it a mix between association football and rugby. This did not quite take on.

The ÖIS game of 1892 was the start of making association football the dominating type and after the first National Championships in 1896 there was no turning back. Association football was adopted throughout and a couple of years later even the Stockholm teams could contend in the Swedish Championship, gaining their first win in 1900. 

Richard Tims, Chairman of Sheffield FC & Founder of the Club of Pioneers said: "It's a real honour to welcome the pioneer of Swedish Football into the Club of Pioneers project.

The club has a real history and the people of Sweden should know where football kicked off in their country. We're hoping one day that we can take The World's First Football Club to the beautiful city of Gothenburg.

Pioneers Ambassador, Tom Simons was invited to Gotenburg in August to present the club with an official certificate, inducting OIS into the Club of Pioneers.

Sheffield Football Club and the Club of Pioneers, awards the honorary membership within the Club of Pioneers to those football clubs, who:

• Still play football in amateur or professional football competition today.
• Have constantly existed as a sports organisation since their date of foundation. (exceptions for periods of inactivity due to external reasons, for example war.)
• Are by definition the oldest existing football club of their country, referring to the foundation date of a football team as part of a multi-sport club or as a proper football club, playing to association football rules.
• Live and support the values of the game and amateur football: Integrity, Respect, Community.

If you wish to discuss the possibility of joining the Club of Pioneers, or to find out more, please email: dylan@sheffieldfc.com