Ope IF is a Swedish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club located in

Ope Ope () is a locality situated in Östersund Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway ...

near

Östersund Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...

Jämtland Jämtland () is a historical provinces of Sweden, province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland, Sweden, Lapland to the north and Trøndelag and Norw ...

Background

Ope Idrottsförening is a sports club near Östersund that was founded on 30 January 1922. Football is the main activity today but in the past the club has also specialised in

Nordic skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe to heel. Re ...

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

and

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

. The bandy department was made its own club in 1974, called Östersunds BS. Since their foundation Ope IF has participated mainly in the upper and middle divisions of the

Swedish football league system The Swedish football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. ...

. The club's heyday was in the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s when they played in Division 2, which at that time was the second tier of Swedish football. In 1993 the club played one season in Division 1, which also represented second-tier football at that time. In 1996/1997 the Ope IF, IFK Östersund, Ostersund / Torvalla FF clubs decided to work together on a joint venture to establish an elite new football club named

Östersunds FK Östersunds Fotbollsklubb, commonly known simply as Östersunds FK, Östersund () or (especially locally) ÖFK, is a Swedish professional Association football, football club located in Östersund, Sweden, that plays in the Swedish second tier, S ...

. Ope IF gave their place in the league Div 2 Norrland to Östersunds FK. Ostersund / Torvalla FF withdrew from the league in Division 4 and transferred their place to Ope IF. On occasions Ope IF has since played up to Division 3 in the same section as IFK Östersund. In 2010 the Ope IF played in Division 3 Mellersta Norrland which is the fifth tier of Swedish football. They finished in a relegation position and therefore in 2011 will participate in Division 4. They play their home matches at the Torvallens IP to the south of Östersund, near the village of Ope. Matches have also been played at the

Jämtkraft Arena Östersund Arena, currently known as Jämtkraft Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Östersund, Sweden. Its current capacity is 8,466 and it was opened on 13 July 2007. The official tenants are Östersunds FK and Östersunds D ...

in Östersund. Ope IF are affiliated to the Jämtland-Härjedalens FF.

Season to season

Attendances

In recent seasons Ope IF have had the following average attendances: In 1972 Ope played

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in a friendly at Hofvallen in front of 5,500 spectators. In 2010 there were 679 spectators at the derby match with IFK Östersund.

Footnotes

External links

Ope IF
nbsp;– Official club website
Ope IF
nbsp;– Football club website {{Authority control Sport in Östersund Football clubs in Jämtland County Association football clubs established in 1922 Bandy clubs established in 1922 Defunct bandy clubs in Sweden 1922 establishments in Sweden 20th-century establishments in Jämtland County