Linköpings FF (locally known as ''LFF'') was the premier men's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team in

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, playing in the Swedish second division. The club is a 1984 merger of

BK Derby BK Derby is a Swedish sports club located in Linköping, Sweden. It now only active in football club but was previously involved in bandy and other sports. The club was formed on 15 April 1912. The bandy department has formed a club of its own, ...

and

IF Saab Idrottsföreningen Saab was a Swedish sports club from Linköping, Östergötland County founded in 1941 by people working at Saab and most known for its association football and handball teams.http://www.bolletinen.se/sfs/allsvenskan/grundades.p ...

. And as both these clubs had a one-season spell each in

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

during the 1970s (Derby in 1977, Saab in 1973), the new club was initially hopeful for a promotion from their Division 3 position. At this time Division 2 was split up into a Southern and a Northern league, with 14 teams each, but the third division was split up into 12 regional leagues with 12 teams each. The difference between the second and third tier was huge.

1985 qualification for Division 2

In 1985 Linköping won their regional league, but as only half of the twelve regional winners were to be promoted, a home-away qualifying was needed. In the lottery Linköping drew

Landskrona BoIS Landskrona Boll och Idrottsällskap ( en, Landskrona Ball and Sports Society, locally referred to as BoIS) is a Swedish professional football club located in Landskrona, Scania, which currently plays in Superettan, the second league tier of fo ...

. Of the 11 possible opponents, it was the largest and club with most traditions. This was not the same as Landskrona was favorite. Only a little above 3000 spectators came to the first qualifier, home at

Folkungavallen Folkungavallen is a football stadium in Linköping, Sweden and the home stadium for the football teams Linköpings FC Linköpings Fotboll Club is an association football club from Linköping, Sweden. The club was established in 2003 when Kenty ...

, and perhaps half of them were Landskrona BoIS supporters. The match ended 1-1, but "BoIS"'s goalkeeper Peter Joelsson saved. In the return at

Landskrona IP Landskrona IP (short for "''Landskrona Idrottsplats''" or "Landskrona Sports Ground" and locally known as "I.P.") is a football stadium which serves as the home of the Landskrona BoIS football club. The stadium holds approximately 10,000 spectato ...

twice as many attendees turned up (6016). The decider went to Landskrona BoIS, but again the match ended 1-1, with no goals scored in the 2 x 15 min extra time. The final decider became a penalty shootout, and five penalties each wasn't sufficient. "BoIS"' player Ole Jensen scored the last of the penalties.Åke Jönsson, "Ett fotbollslags historia 1915-2015" (History of a football team 1915-2015) , pages 340-343 The team played in red shirts. A

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

formed its logo, as is the case with both the city and the other sports teams. The club had long aimed at securing a place in

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

, the Swedish first division, but all endeavours failed. Linköpings FF played their home-games at

. In 2009 the club were replaced by

FK Linköping FK Linköping was a Swedish football club located in Linköping, which replaced Linköpings FF from the 2009 season. In 2013 the club was replaced by FC Linköping City FC Linköping City is a Swedish professional football club based in Link� ...

References

External links

Linköpings FF
nbsp;– Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Linkopings Ff Football clubs in Östergötland County Sport in Linköping Association football clubs established in 1981 1981 establishments in Sweden