Eric Persson
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Eric "Hövdingen" Persson (19 April 1898 – 9 June 1984) was chairman of the Swedish football club
Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening (), commonly known simply as Malmö FF or MFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö, Scania. They compete in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football, and play home matches at the Eleda S ...
between 1937 and 1974. He is commonly regarded as one of the most prominent figures in Swedish football history.


Chairman of Malmö FF

Persson was chairman of the club for 37 years between 1937 and 1974.Persson at MFF.se
He earned his nickname ''Hövdingen''—"the
chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...
"—because of the success the club enjoyed while under his leadership. Malmö FF won 10 Swedish Championships out of their total 18 during Perssons era as chairman. Persson became a member of Malmö FF in 1925. In 1929, he was elected a member of the board and 8 years later in 1937, he was elected chairman of the club, a position he would hold on to until 1974. In 1944, Persson led Malmö FF to the first Swedish championship in the history of the club. He would lead the club to another 9 victories in
Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...
as well as 8 Swedish Cup titles. At the yearly members meeting in 1974, he announced that he would be stepping down as chairman after the season, his successor would be
Hans Cavalli-Björkman Hans Cavalli-Björkman (29 June 1928 – 18 August 2020) was a Swedish lawyer and former chairman of the Swedish Association football club Malmö FF, a post he held between 1975 and 1998.European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
(The predecessor to
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
). The club lost 1-0 to
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
but the final is still regarded as the brightest moment of the club's history, Something which some argue would have been impossible if it hadn't been for Persson. When he was elected chairman in 1937, the club was playing in the second division in Sweden, when he left the club in the late 1970s the club was the dominating club in
Swedish football Association football is the most popular sport in Sweden, with over 240,000 licensed players (approximately 56,000 women and 184,000 men) with another 240,000 youth players. There are around 3,200 active clubs fielding over 8,500 teams, whic ...
and a consistent competitor in Europe. Today, Persson is regarded as the most important person in Malmö FF's history.


Life outside the club

During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Persson was a part of organisations that helped
Jewish people Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
escape the
Nazi occupation of Denmark The German invasion of Denmark (), was the German attack on Denmark on 9 April 1940, during the World War II, Second World War. The attack was a prelude to the Norwegian campaign, invasion of Norway (, 9 April – 10 June 1940). Denmark's stra ...
. As a result, he was awarded the
Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...
, the highest order in
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. In 1958, Persson part of the committee who selected the
Swedish national football team The Sweden men's national football team () represents Sweden in men's international football and it is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body of football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Strawberry Arena in Solna an ...
for the
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
which took place in Sweden that year. Persson was also a supporter and member of the
Swedish Social Democratic Party The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( , S or SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( ), is a social democratic political party in Sweden. The party is member of the Progressiv ...
. He was a close friend of Swedish prime ministers
Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until as ...
and Per-Albin Hansson.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Persson, Eric 1898 births 1984 deaths Sportspeople from Malmö Swedish sports executives and administrators Malmö FF chairmen Swedish football managers Sweden men's national football team managers