…
The map shows the 16 teams in the 2021 Allsvenskan, the top-flight football league of Sweden, which plays from April to November. On the map-page there are also two inset-maps: of Gothenburg (showing the 2 Allsvenskan clubs located there), and of Stockholm (showing the 3 Allsvenskan clubs located there). There is also a bit of demographic info on Sweden, found at the upper-left of the map-page. And below that is a list showing all 10 urban areas in Sweden that have a population above 100,000 {using data from this list: List of urban areas in Sweden by population}. And over at the top-right of the map-page are Sweden’s current football rankings… {As of May 2021: FIFA worldwide rank [national team]: #18; UEFA European rank [national team]: #13; National league-rank (UEFA): #23; Allsvenskan overall league average attendance [pre-COVID-19 pandemic]: 9,116 per game (2019).}

On the map…For each of the 16 Allsvenskan clubs of 2021, there is shown the following…
Location. Club crest.  Full club name, and year of origin. Stadium (and its capacity). 2019 average attendance [which was the most recent season before the COVID-19 pandemic affected attendance figures]. Swedish titles.

And there are 2 charts. One chart shows Seasons-in-Top-flight for the current clubs (2021 is the 97th season of top-flight football in Sweden). And another chart shows the All-time Swedish titles list (1896-1925; 1931-2020).

The map shows all the cities in the Scandinavian and Baltic Sea regions which have metro-area populations above 400,000. Those 15 cities are…St Petersburg (Russia), Stockholm (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark), Minsk (Belarus), Oslo (Norway), Helsinki (Finland), Gothenburg (Sweden), Gdansk (Poland), Kiel (Germany), Riga (Latvia), Malmo (Sweden), Kaliningrad (Russia), Vilnius (Lithuania), Bergen (Norway), Tallinn (Estonia).
…


…

The most successful clubs, and the best-drawing clubs, in Sweden…
The club with the most seasons played in the Swedish top flight is AIK of Solna, in Stockholm. The black-and-gold-clad AIK have played 92 of the 97 Swedish top-flight seasons, and 2021 is their 16th consecutive season in the 1st tier. (AIK’s dark-blue-and-gold castle-motif crest is pretty distinctive, and looks even better on their black home jerseys.) Second-most seasons in the top flight belongs to IFK Göteborg, of Gothenburg (the second city of Sweden). The blue-and-white-striped IFK Göteborg have played 85 top flight seasons – and 45 consecutive. Those 45 straight top flight seasons for IFK Göteborg is the current best in Sweden. As for the most Swedish titles, that honor goes to the light-blue-and-white-clad Malmö FF, of Malmö, who are reigning champions and have won the title 21 times. Malmö FF is where Zlatan Ibrahimović got his start. (Malmö, which is connected to Copenhagen, Denmark, via the Øresund bridge/tunnel, is the 3rd-largest city in Sweden.)

And there you have what many refer to as the Big 3 of Sweden…AIK, IFK Göteborg, and Malmö FF. The three entered into an informal alliance in the 1970s under the partnership name ‘The Three Traditional Teams of Sweden’. And the three have produced the most players who ended up playing for the Swedish national team (although these days over 75% of the Swedish national team plays abroad). {Big Three (Sweden) (en.wikipedia.org).}

However, calling those three clubs (AIK, Göteborg, and Malmö) the Big 3 ignores a couple of significant aspects of Swedish football. Because there is one club that draws as well as, and wins as many titles as, members of this Big 3. That club is Djurgården {see next paragraph}. And also because, these days, there is one club which draws better than the Big 3 in Sweden, and that is Stockholm’s green-and-white-clad Hammarby IF. Although they draw over 20-thousand-per-game, Hammarby have only won one title, in 2001. Hammarby is a club that is traditionally comprised of more left-wing supporters than the other two big Stockholm clubs. Despite its large following, Hammarby has very often been either relegation-threatened or stuck in the second division. Hammarby used to play at the 12,000-capacity Söderstadion, in Söderort (the southern suburban part of the Stockholm Municipality). And circa 1998 to 2007, Hammarby were often playing to nearly-full-capacity there, drawing in the 10.9-K to 16.0-K range, which was still not enough to lead the country in football attendance (attendance leader in Sweden in that 10-year time-frame was either AIK or Malmö). That changed when Hammarby (along with Djurgården) moved into the new 30,000-capacity Tele2 Arena in September 2013. For Hammarby, it was a move of a only a ½ kilometer to the new stadium. In 2014, in their first full season at the new and much larger venue, second-division Hammarby won promotion, and led all of Sweden in attendance, at 20-K per game. In the following season of 2015, Hammarby, now back in the top flight, drew a record-setting 25.5-K-per game. And so now Hammarby are the best-drawing Swedish club, and drew in the 22-K to 25-K-range in the five seasons between 2015 and ’19. {2019 Allsvenskan attendances from E-F-S site}. So in that sense, Hammarby are sort of like the Newcastle United of Sweden – a club that has a huge fan base yet have an almost barren trophy cabinet and are often relegation-threatened.

And meanwhile, there is a Swedish club outside the Big 3 that draws better than one of the Big 3, and is just as successful as another of the Big 3. That club is the navy-blue-and-light-blue-clad Djurgårdens IF, of Stockholm, who were the 2019 title-winners. Djurgården have won just as many titles as local rivals AIK (12 titles each). Djurgården draws only slightly less than AIK (Djurgården drew 15.9-K in 2019, compared to AIK’s 18.9-K), but Djurgården draws better than IFK Göteborg (who drew 12.8-K in 2019). Djurgården are popularly known as the posh club of Stockholm. Djurgården played at the 30-K-capacity stadium-with-running-track Stockholms Stadion, in Stockholm’s north-eastern side, for 68 years (1936-1993). In 2013 they moved to southern Stockholm into the new Tele2 Arena (along with Hammarby). But Djurgården have not had the huge attendance-increase, like Hammarby, at the new stadium, but are drawing well nonetheless, drawing between 12.3-K and 16.2-K in the five seasons from 2015 to ’19. I think one would have to discount Hammarby for lack of titles, but Djurgården belongs in the conversation about the biggest clubs in Sweden: it really should be the Big 4.

But even that would be inaccurate, because there is another successful Swedish club with a decent sized fanbase that deserves a mention here. And that is the white-and-blue-clad IFK Norrköping, from the small city of Norrköping (population 95,000). IFK Norrköping have won the third-most Swedish titles – 13 (most recently in 2015). Norrköping have played the fourth-most seasons in the Allsvenskan – 80. From 2015 to ’19, Norrköping have drawn in the 8.4-K to 10.4-K-range, which is not bad at all for a club from a city with slightly less than 100,000 inhabitants.

At the time of this posting [Friday 7 May 2021], after 4 games, Djurgården leads the Allsvenskan, with 4 wins (including beating Malmö 3-1 last weekend).

{Here is a link to a post I made on the highest-drawing football clubs from the Nordic countries [from July 2016]. It features illustrations for the 5 Swedish clubs which had drawn above 10,000-per-game in 2015 (Hammarby, AIK, Malmö FF, Djurgården, IFK Göteborg, Norrköping).}.

{flashscore.co.uk/football/sweden/allsvenskan.}
…


___
Thanks to all at the following links…
-Blank map of Scandinavia, by NordNordWest at File:Scandinavia location map.svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Globe-map of Sweden, by Rob984 at File:EU-Sweden_(orthographic_projection).svg (en.wikipedia.org).
-Map of Gothenburg area, segment of map by NordNordWest at File:Sweden location map, 40south.svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Map of Greater Stockholm, segment of map by Eric Frohne at File:Sweden Stockholm location map.svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Attendance figures, european-football-statistics.co.uk.
-Football rankings, football-ranking.com.
-Goteborgs IF crest, from klubbmarken.com/goteborg.htm.

By Bill Turianski on 6 July 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Nordic nations (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Faroe Islands) [aka greater Scandinavia]…Nordic countries (en.wikipedia.org).
-Best attendances in Nordic leagues in 2015…Den nordiska publikligan (ecst.se/fotboll).

-Sweden’s top flight…2016 Allsvenskan
; ALLSVENSKAN [2016] (soccerway.com).

-Denmark’s top flight…2015–16 Danish Superliga
; SUPERLIGA [2016-17] (soccerway.com).

-Norway’s top flight…2016 Tippeligaen
; ELITESERIEN [2016 Tippeligaen] (soccerway.com).

-Finland’s top flight…2016 Veikkausliiga
; VEIKKAUSLIIGA [2016] (soccerway.com).
…

Below: Alfheim Stadion, home of Tromsø IL (of Tromsø, Norway).
Norway’s Tromsø IL are the northern-most first division football club in the world.

Photo and Image credits above -
Map of Scandinavia/Finland by NormanEinstein at File:Norwegian Sea blank map.png (commons.wikimedia.org).Aerial shot of Tromsø with Alfheim Stadion, photo by groundhopping.se/[Tromsø]. Aerial shot of Tromsø at night, photo by Action Images via dailymail.co.uk. Shot of Alfheim Stadion with pile of snow in foreground, photo by AFP/Getty Images via dailymail.co.uk.

…

Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland):
Highest-drawing football clubs in 2016: all clubs which drew over 2,000 per game (65 clubs).

On the map page…
1). On the top-left-hand side are thumbnail descriptions of the 4 Nordic leagues whose teams are featured on the map. Noted are each of those 4 leagues’ current [2016] UEFA co-efficients (ie, league-ratings versus the rest of Europeans leagues within UEFA). One thing that a newcomer to Nordic football would need to know is the fact that 3 of the 4 primary Nordic leagues (Sweden, Norway, Finland) play a summer schedule (~April to November), while one league – Denmark’s Superliga – plays the standard schedule (ie, like most of the rest of Europe/ ~August to May).
1a). Right below that are 4 lists, showing the all-time title lists for each of the 4 countries, with the crests shown of the most-titled clubs from each of the 4 countries.
{Sources for title lists…
Sweden, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Swedish_football_champions#Total_titles_won_by_club;
Denmark, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Danish_football_champions#Total_titles_won;
Norway, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Norwegian_football_league_champions#By_club ;
Finland, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Finnish_football_champions#Performance_by_club.}
2). In the middle of the map-page is a long chart which shows the 65 clubs whose teams are on the map, with the following details…
2a). League the team is in, the team’s 2015-or-2015/16-league-finish, and the team’s divisional-movement from 2014-to-2016 (if any).
2b). Attendance in 2015-or-2015/16 [home league average attendance], ranked.
2c). Club name, with city/region description if not noted in club nomenclature.
3). The map, which shows Scandinavia-(Norway/Sweden/Denmark)-plus-Finland. [As with respect to the other Nordic countries...sorry, but no Icelandic or Faroe Islands teams drew above 2-K-per-game last year.]

Stadium shares
There are 3 instances of stadium-shares…in Gothenburg at Gamla Ullevi (a 3-way-share between: GAIS, IFK Göteborg, and Örgryte IS), in Stockholm at Tele2 Arena (a 2-way-share between: Hammarby IF and Djurgården IF), and in Helsinki at Sonera Stadion (a 2-way-share between: HIFK and HJK).

Notes on map
I have tried to make all the club crests on the map approximately the same size. From the original blank map I added lakes in Sweden and Finland, plus I also added flanking-edge areas not in the original blank map (in the Baltic States/Eastern Europe and in NE Netherlands). I did this because I had to tilt the original map to orient it in a more North-South axis. That was necessary because the original map’s focal point was the Norwegian Sea, not the Scandinavian Peninsula, and so Scandinavia-and-Finland looked distorted – until I tilted the whole map about ~20 degrees. I added one extra detail…the mighty Øresund Bridge. The Øresund Bridge is actually a 12 kilometre/8.5 mile-long bridge-and-tunnel. Completed in July 2000, it connects Copenhagen in Denmark to Malmö in Sweden. The Øresund Bridge is a physical manifestation of how interconnected the Nordic countries are.

Average attendance by league (2015 or 2015-16)…
Sweden, Allsvenskan: 9,961 per game.
Denmark, Superliga: 7,184 per game.
Norway, Tippeligaen: 6,711 per game.
Finland, Veikkausliiga: 2,574 per game.

…

The 12 highest-drawing clubs in the Nordic countries in 2015 or 2015-16 – all clubs which drew above 10 K per game (2015 or 2015-16 season) -
(Hammarby IF, AIK Fotboll, Rosenborg BK, Malmö FF, FC København, Djurgården IF, IFK Göteborg, Brøndby IF, IFK Norrköping, Viking FK, SK Brann, Vålerenga IF)

Highest-drawing Nordic team – Hammarby IF (Stockholm, Sweden)…
After a five-season spell in the second tier, Hammarby IF won promotion back to the Swedish top flight (the Allsvenskan), on the last day of the 2014 season {see photos below}. The next year (2015), Hammarby set the all-time record for average attendance in Sweden (and in all the Nordic countries), pulling in an impressive 25,507 per game (they finished in 11th place in 2015). Now, granted, Hammarby are playing in a sparkling new all-mod-cons sports palace (the Tele2 Arena), and that fact will have added to their crowd sizes. But their gate figures are nevertheless very impressive for Scandinavia.

Hammarby IF might seem to be an unlikely team to be the highest-ever-drawing Nordic football club, because they have only won only one Swedish title (in 2001/ all-time Swedish medal table, here). But the club has vast support among the working class of southern Stockholm and beyond. There are no plastic Hammarby fans looking for the reflected glory of a big, title-winning team. They simply support Hammarby because the club is part of them – even if the history of Hammarby IF is replete with blown chances, near-title-win-choke-jobs, and a seemingly eternal struggle to simply remain in (or return to) the top flight. The other sizable Stockholm-based clubs – AIK and Djurgården – might be able to rack up the titles, but neither can match Hammarby when it comes to filling a stadium up with supporters.

-Here is a nice post from Reddit/soccer on Hammarby…Small teams in the spotlight #8: Hammarby IF (reddit.com/r/soccer post uploaded by slicslack on 2 June 2015).
-Here is the article that was recommended in the above link, at the ESPN FC site…The story of Hammarby’s long-awaited return to Sweden’s Allsvenskan (espnfc.com/blog, article by Michael Yokhin on 7 April 2015).


Photo credits above -
2015 Hammarby home jersey, photo by intersport.se/hammarby-fotboll-2015. View of central Stockholm, photo by Fotolia at travelguide.lufthansa.com/stockholm. Hammarby supporters during supportermarchen, the tradional walk from central Södermalm to the team’s home stadium, [which was at that point in time] Söderstadion , before the season’s first home game [photo from April 2013], photo by Arild Vågen at File:Supportermarschen 2013 09.jpg. Last game at Söderstadion/pitch invasion (June 2013), photo unattributed at aftonbladet.se. Aerial view of Tele2 Arena, with Ericsson Globe (aka Globen) adjacent, photo by [the main building contractors] Peab, at peab.se/tele2-arena. Street-view of Tele2 Arena from tpeinfill.com. Interior shot of Tele2 Arena, photo by groundhopping.se/Hammarby. Hammarby supporters’ pitch invasion upon winning promotion to the Allsvenskan [Oct. 2014], photo unattributed at i.ytimg.com/vi/bLFrjg-mfj0/maxresdefault.jpg via reddit.com/r/soccer post from 2 June 2015, here. Hammarby supporters’ pitch invasion upon winning promotion/photo 2, photo unattributed at i.imgur.com/h91zXjM.jpg via reddit.com/r/soccer post from 2 Nov. 2014, reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/2l2lft/hammarby_just_secured_promotion_to_allsvenskan. Hammarby fans in Tele2 Arena with flags and with scarves held up and with giant banner proclaiming ‘This Is Soderstadion’, photo by Anders Skoog via LG Skoog at runnersworld.se/blogs/lgskoog/mitt-87-e-rw-blogginlagg.htm.

…

2nd-highest-drawing Nordic team – AIK Fotboll (Solna, Greater Stockholm, Sweden)…

Photo credits above -
2016 AIK home jersey, photo by uksoccershop.com/AIK-Stockholm-Adidas-Home-Football-Shirt. Aerial view of Friends Arena [Sept. 2014], photo by Arild Vågen at File:Arenastaden September 2014.jpg. Night-time/exterior shot of Friends Arena unattributed at tripadvisor.se. Interior shot of Friends Arena with AIK supporters’ tifo, photo by bildbyran.se, via haik.se/fotboll/statistik/arena. AIK Ultras [2011], photo from jojjesplejs.com via europeanultras.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20&start=70.

…

3rd-highest-drawing Nordic team – Rosenborg BK (Trondheim, Norway)…

Photo credits above -
Rosenborg 2016 home jersey, photo by aliexpress.com/Rosenborg-BK-Jersey. Aerial view of Trondheim, photo by Åge Hojem/Trondheim Havn at File:Overview of Trondheim 2008 03.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Tronheim in winter at twilight, photo by pitchmedia.com/photography/norway. Aerial view of Lerkendal Stadion, photo unattributed at pinterest.com. Rosenborg ultras with banners etc [photo from 2011 Rosenborg v Stabaek], photo unattributed at z6.invisionfree.com/UltrasTifosi. Alexander Søderlund being congratulated by teammates after scoring, image (screenshot) from youtube.com video uploaded by AllGoalsNorway at Rosenborg BK All Goals Tippeligaen 2015. Rosenborg players celebrating their 2015 title, photo unattributed at realfootytalk.com/2015/11/02/norwegian-tippeligaen-2015-round-29-review. Alexander Søderlund on a breakaway, photo by Rosenborg BK via vavel.com.

…

4th-highest-drawing Nordic team – Malmö FF (Malmö, Scania, Sweden…)
-
2016 home jersey, photo by Malmö FF at mffshopen.jetshop.se/match/matchklader/matchtroja-hemma-2016-barn. Aerial view of Malmö with Øresund Bridge in background, photo by Johan Wessman, News Oresund at File:Aerial view of Malmö towards south taken from Malmö Live 20131023.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). View of old city-center in , photo unattributed at besttraveltips.net. Aerial shot of Swedbank Stadin, photo unattributed at pinterest.com at s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. MFF fans at Swedbank Stadion [2009], photo by mff-familjen.se via z6.invisionfree.com/UltrasTifosi/ar/t12159.htm.

…

5th-highest-drawing Nordic team – FC København [aka FC Copenhagen) (Copenhagen, Denmark)...

Photo and image credits above - FC Copenhagen 2016 home jersey, photo by uksoccershop.com/2016-FC-Copenhagen-Adidas-Home-Football-Shirt. Aerial view of Copenhagen, image by Getty Images at gettyimages.com/detail/video/view-of-copenhagen-city-copenhagen-denmark-stock-video-footage. View of Copenhagen, photo unattributed at ems2016.org/welcome-to-copenhagen. Aerial view of Parken Stadium, photo unattributed at footballtripper.com/telia-parken-copenhagen-stadium-aerial. FC København fans' giant banner, photo from z6.invisionfree.com/UltrasTifosi/index.php?showtopic=23016&st=44. Federico Santander, photo by Jan Christensen at gettyimages.com. Thomas Delaney, photo by Jan Christenson at gettyimages.com. Nicolai Jørgensen, photo by Jens Dresling at ekstrabladet.dk.
Kasper Kusk, photo by Lars Ronbog at gettyimages.co.uk. Mathias Jørgensen, photo by Lars Ronbog at gettyimags.co.uk. Youssef Toutouh, photo by Lars Ronbog at gettyimges.co.uk. Photo of players carrying manager Ståle Solbakken, photo by Lars Ronberg at gettyimages.com.
...

6th-highest drawing Nordic team - Djurgården (Stockholm, Sweden)...

Photo credits above -
2016 Djurgården IF home jersey, photo by difshop.se. View of central Stockholm in winter, photo unattributed at pinterest.com at s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. Aerial shot of Tel2 Arena lit up with Djurgården colours, photo unattributed at fmsweden.se/topic/27379-fm15-sr-djurgardens-if-du-ar-allt-jag-har. Djurgården fans with flags, photo by unattributed at jarnkaminerna.se. Djurgården fans with smoke bombs and tifo [April 2015], photo by Helena Avermark at jarnkaminerna.se/bilder/2015-04-13-hammarby-if-djurgardens-if.

…

7th-highest-drawing Nordic team – IFK Göteborg (Gothenburg, Sweden)…

Photo credits above -
2016 IFK Göteborg home jersey, photo by IFK Göteborg at blavittshopen.web02.e37.se. Aerial view of Gothenburg, photo by Alamy via telegraph.co.uk/Swedish-city-embarks-on-6-hour-workday-experiment. View of central Gothenburg at night in winter, photo by Dick Gillberg at goteborgdaily.se/christmas-city-gothenburg-kicks-off. Aerial shot of Gamla Ullevi stadium, photo by powerphoto.nu/flygbilder-gamla-ullevi. Badges on a wall of the Gamal Ullevi stadium, showing the 3 clubs that call the stadium home: GAIS, IFK Göteborg, Örgryte IS, photo by groundhopping.se/IFKGoteborg. IFK Göteborg fans’ giant tifo banner, photo by IFK Göteborg at ifkgoteborg.se/For-supportrar/Tifofonden. Shot of IFK Göteborg fans with a myriad of flags and banners, photo by IFK Göteborg at ifkgoteborg.se/In-English/Welcome.

…

8th-highest-drawing Nordic team – Brøndby IF (Brondby, Greater Copenhagen, Denmark)…
From 27 Sept. 2015, VIDEO: Brondby supporters unveil gladiator-themed tifo at New Firm Derby (thescore.com)

Photo credits above -
2015-16 Brøndby home jersey, photo unattributed at 3.bp.blogspot.com. Aerial shot of Brøndby Stadium, image from Bet25/TDC: Nye services med WiFi på Brøndby Stadion | brondby.com (youtube,com video uploaded by Brøndby IF). Brøndby fans’ tifo at Brøndby Stadium [Sept. 2015], photo unattributed from z6.invisionfree.com/UltrasTifosi/ar/t33260.htm. [September 2015] 2 photos of…Brøndby fans’ giant banners depicting: Gladiator-in-coliseum-brandishing-severed-lion’s-head [the lion being their rivals' FC København's symbol], photo unattributed at dr.dk/sporten; 2nd photo, by Lars Ronbog/ Frontzone Sport/ Getty Images via thescore.com.

…

9th-best-drawing Nordic team – IFK Norrköping (Norrköping, Sweden)…
IFK Norrköping: 2015 Allsvenskan champions.
From UEFA.com/news, from 31 Oct. 2015, by Sujay Dutt, Norrköping defy the odds to lift Swedish title.

Photo credits above -
2016 IFK Norrköping home jersey, photo by IFK Norrköping at ifkshop.se/webshop. Aerial view of central Norrköping, photo by Göran Billeson at lansstyrelsen.se. Aerial shot of Östgötaporten, photo by M and F Foto at mfproject.com/norrkopingsidrottspark/gallery. Norrköping supporters with flags and scarves, image from video at fotbolldirekt.se/2015/09/06/video-peking-ultras-om-succeinsamling-for-flyktingar-samlat-in-55-00. 2015 top Allsvenskan scorer, IFK Norrköping FW Emir Kujović…1st photo by Nils Petter Nilsson/Ombrello/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com; 2nd photo (celebrating with teammmates), photo unattributed at media2.sillyseason.se. Shot of Norrköping coach Jan Andersson celebrating with trophy, photo by Getty Images via uefa.com. Shot of Norrköping players celebrating with trophy, photo by Janerik Henriksson/TT at dn.se/sport/fotboll/norrkoping-ar-allsvenska-mastare-2015.

…

10th-best-drawing Nordic team – Viking FK (Stavanger, Norway)…

Photo and Image credits above -
2016 Viking FK home jersey, illustration by futhead.com. Panoramic view of Stavanger, photo unattributed at kayak.com/Stavanger-Hotels. Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock), which is 16 miles from Stavanger, photo by Terje Rakke/Nordic Life/Regionstavanger.com at visitnorway.com/stavanger-region. Aerial view of Viking Stadion by Viking FK, here. Viking fans with flags waving, photo by Lars Idar Waage at dagsavisen.no/stavanger.

…

11th-best-drawing Nordic team – SK Brann (Bergen, Norway)…

Photo credits above -

2016 SK Brann home jersey, photo by SK Brann at shop.brann.no/produkter/drakter/2016-hjemmedrakt-lang-arm. Panoramic view of Bergen, photo unattributed at azamaraclubcruises.com/files/bergen-norway.jpg. View of Bergen city centre from a nearby hill, photo by Aqwis at File:SkansenSeptember2007 2.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Hanseatic commercial houses in Bryggen [old Bergen], photo unattributed at nordicvisitor.com/images/norway/bryggen-bergen-norway.jpg. Aerial view of Brann Stadion, photo by valrag at File:Brann stadium.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). SK Brann supporters group Bergens Blade Gutter’s pyro/tifo from 14 April 2014, photo from their Twitter.com page at tw.google4cn.com/BGG_08/media.

…

12th-best-drawing Nordic team – Vålerenga IF (Oslo, Norway)…

Photo credits above -
2016 Vålerenga home jersey, photo unattributed at a soccer-jersey-site-that-never-credits-sources. Aerial view of Oslo in summer, photo unattributed at telegraph.co.uk/jpg [from this article, at Aerial view of Oslo in the evening, photo unattributed at visitnorway.com/Summer-holidays-in-Norway. Aerial view of Ullevaal Stadion, photo by John Christian Fjellestad at panoramio.com, and at File:Ullevål Stadium from air.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Vålerenga fans with scarves held up, photo unattributed at tipsfotball.com/.jpg.

___
Big Thanks to ecst.se/fotboll, for the list of all Nordic teams' attendances (2015 or 2014-15), at a Den nordiska publikligan [The Nordic Attendances] (ecst.se/fotboll). (This is where I got the idea for this map-and-post.)
Thanks to Soccerway for Denmark attendance figures.
Thanks to NormanEinstein at File:Norwegian Sea blank map.png (commons.wikimedia.org).
Thanks to the contributors at the following Wikipedia pages…
-Sweden’s top flight…2016 Allsvenskan / 2nd level: 2016 Superettan.
-Denmark’s top flight…2015–16 Danish Superliga / 2nd level: 2015-16 1. division (Denmark).
-Norway’s top flight…2016 Tippeligaen / 2nd level: 2016 1. divisjon.
-Finland’s top flight…2016 Veikkausliiga.
Largest metropolitan areas in the Nordic countries.
List of [3 largest] metropolitan areas in Sweden [Stockholm, Malmo, Gothenburg].
Regions of Norway.
Lands of Sweden.
Provinces of Finland.
Subdivisions of the Nordic countries.

Thanks to distancefromto.net.

Thanks to the supporter groups sites (plus one official-club-site) where I found cool tifo/supporter-made-atmosphere photos within the stadiums..
AIK Fotboll supporter-site: jojjesplejs.com.
Malmö FF supporter-site: mff-familjen.se.
Djurgården supporter-site: jarnkaminerna.se.
IFK Göteborg official site: ifkgoteborg.se/In-English/Welcome.
SK Brann supporters’ group Bergens Blade Gutter’s Twitter.com page at tw.google4cn.com/BGG_08/media.

Thanks to Anders Skoog via his brother LG, at LG Skoog’s blog at Runnersworld.se – for the nice photo of Hammarby Ultras/Hammarby IF supporters at the Tele2 Arena (aka Nya Soderstorm), here.

And a big Thank You to all who contributed at the far-ranging z6.invisionfree.com/UltrasTifosi messageboard/forum site, at z6.invisionfree.com/UltrasTifosi/[Scandinavia], for the awesome photos.

…

‘Allsvenskan – fixtures, results, table‘ (Soccerway.com).
On Saturday, 30 June 2012, Sweden’s Allsvenskan resumes playing their 2012 season after a 7-week break for UEFA Euro 2012.

The Swedish first division football league is called Allsvenskan, which in English translates as The All-Swedish. It was established in 1924. For the first 34 seasons (1924-25 to 1957-58), the league played a standard early autumn to spring season, with a winter break, and was only contested among clubs from the south of Sweden up to Stockholm, with clubs from north of Stockholm not inviterd to participate due to cold temperatures there.

The Swedish top flight is one of, if not the, most-wide-open football leagues in the world. I say that because the title has gone to a different club each season for the last 8 years. 2011 title-winner was 7-time Allsvenskan champions Helsingborgs IF. In 2010, Malmö won it. In 2009, AIK won it. In 2008, Kalmar won it (for the first time). In 2007, Göteborg won it. In 2006, Elfsborg won it. In 2005, Djurgårdens won it.

Helsingborgs IF (who are commonly referred to as Helsingborg) are one of around 5 to 7 Swedish football clubs that can draw in double-figures. Helsingborg usually draws between 10 to 11 thousand (and Helsingborg drew 11,203 per game in the title-winning campaign in 2011). An aspect of Swedish top-flight football in terms of each club’s crowd size in any given season is that crowds are very contingent upon how well a club is doing that season, and crowds’ sizes can vary from year-to-year by several thousand. One of those clubs that can draw in the 10-thousand range – Hammarby IF, of Stockholm – has been stuck in the second division since 2010, and has seen their gates drop from the 11 to 13K range down to the 6 to 7 K range. Another club that is capable of drawing above 10K – Djurgardens, also of Stockholm – has seen crowds drop from the 12 to 13 K range to the 8 to 9 K range since they last won the title in 2005.

The 5 clubs who are currently [as of 2011 and 2012] able to draw above 10 thousand per game are listed below, in order of 2011 attendance rank…

AIK Fotboll, Råsunda Stadium -

Image credit above – bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view. europeanultras.com/category/ultras-photos/AIK Solna; http://www.europeanultras.com/.

AIK Fotboll are Stockholm’s biggest club, and are the top-drawing Swedish club most seasons, and drew an Allsvenskan-best 13,865 per game in 2011. AIK’s full name is Allmànna Idrotsklubben (which in English translates as ‘The General Sports Club’, or ‘The Public Sports Club’). AIK can draw at or close to 20 thousand per game, as they did in 2009, when they last won the Allsvenskan title. Being the biggest club from the biggest city in Sweden, AIK have sort of under-achieved, having only won 5 Allsvenskan titles. AIK wear black jerseys with yellow trim, and their distinctive crest features a stylized-shield-with-sunburst–and-castle-motif in navy blue, yellow, and dull gold. AIK play at Råsunda Stadium in Solna, which is a municipality in Stockholm County bordering Stockholm City Centre (and is a 10-minute metro ride from central Stockholm). Stockholm, Sweden’s capital and largest city, has a metro population of around 2.09 million {2011 figure}. Råsunda Stadium is owned by the Swedish FA, and is one of the homes of the Swedeish men’s national football team. AIK are the Swedish club with the most seasons spent in the first division, with 83 seasons {see this chart from en.wikipedia.org/, ‘Allsvenskan/Clubs‘}. AIK did have a recent relegation, in 2004, but they bounced straight back in 2005.

…

Malmö FF, Swedbank Stadion -

Photo credits above – worldfootball.net/swedbank-stadion-malmo. mff-familjen.se via europeanultras.com/2011/04/sweden-2

2nd-best drawing Swedish club in 2011 were Malmö FF, a club from Scania, which is the southern-most province of Sweden. Malmö drew 12,318 per game in 2011. Malmö can pull in 15K in good years, as they did in 2010, when they last won the title. Malmö FF are from Malmö, which is the third-largest city in Sweden and has a population of around 658,000 {2010 figure}. Malmö FF, who sport pale blue jerseys, are the most-successful Swedish club in the modern era, having won the Allsvenskan title 19 times. Malmö FF is where AC Milan FW Zlatan Ibrahimović got his start (in 1999-2001). Makmö have a nice new stadium, Swedbank Stadion, which has a 24,000 capacity, and opened in 2009. Malmö are the only Swedish club to have ever made it to a European Champions Cup final, in 1979, under English manager Bob Houghton, but they lost 1-0 to Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest in Munich.

…

Helsingborgs IF, Olympia -

Photo credits above – idrottsmuseum.org/olympia. David Castor at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olympia_Helsingborg.jpg. svenskfotboll.de.
europeanultras.com; europeanultras.com.
Reigning champions Helsingborgs IF drew third-best last year at 11.2K. Helsingborgs wear red jerseys and blue trim. The IF in the club’s name stands for Idrottsförening, which translates to English as ‘Sports Club’. Helsingborgs IF are from Helsingborg, a small city of around 97,000 {2010 figure} on the north-west coast of the Baltic Sea (and a short ferry-ride away from Denmark, which can be seen in the far background of the aerial photo of the coast-line of the city of Helsingborg, above). After Malmö, Helsinborg is the second-largest city in the province of Scania. Perhaps the most famous player who played for Helsingborg was former Celtic and Barcelona FW Henrik Larsson, who was born in Helsingborg. Larsson, who scored 434 goals in his pro career, had two stints for Helsingborg, from 1992-93 and from 2006-09. Helsingborg plays at the attractive and compact Olympia, capacity 17,200.

…

IFK Göteborg, Gamla Ullevi -

Photo credits above – Simon Axelsson at en.wikipedia.org. ontd-football.livejournal.com.

Fourth-best drawing in 2011 were IFK Göteborg, the biggest club from Sweden’s second-largest city, Gothenburg. IFK Göteborg are the second-most successful club from Sweden in the modern era, with 13 Allsvenskan titles, their last in 2007. Göteborg wear royal blue-and-white vertically-striped jerseys. Gothenburg is in the south-west of the country on the west coast, on the Kattegat, which is a sea that is between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Gothenburg has a metro population of around 938,000 {2011 figure}. It might surprise you that, currently, Greater Gothenburg has more clubs in the top flight than Greater Stockholm – 3 in the Gothenburg metro area and just 2 currently in the Stockholm metro area. Göteborg won the UEFA Cup title twice – in 1982 and 1987. That first UEFA Cup title was won with a young Sven Göran-Erikson as manager – he turned the then-part-time-professionals at Göteborg into an efficient counter-attacking side. Göteborg have played the second-most seasons in top flight Swedish football, with 79, and have played the most Allsvenskan seasons consecutive -36 seasons consecutive (since 1977). Göteborg share their stadium (which is owned by the city of Gothenbueg) with another top-flight club, the 4-time title-winners GAIS (though GAIS’ last championship was in 1954), as well as a 3rd division club, Orgryte, who also have won titles, 2 Allsvenskan titles (though Orgryte’s last title was in 1928).
.

IF Elfsborg, Borås Arena -

Photo credits above – europeanultras.com/2011/04/sweden. Adrian Pierre Pihl Spahiu at en.wikipedia.org. sv-se.facebook.com/ifelfsborg.
The fifth-best-drawing club in Sweden in 2011 is current [June 2012] leaders IF Elfsborg, who are from Borås, a small city 56 km. (35 miles) east of Gothenburg. Borås has a population of just 66,000 or so {2010 figure}, yet support 5-time-champions Elfsborg very well – Elfsborg drew 10,029 per game in 2011. That means that last year, Elfsborg drew the equivalent of 15% of the population of the town of Borås. Similar to the colors of the coat of arms of the province of Västergötland, Elsborg wear yellow with black trim. Elfsborg are tied with AIK for the 6th-most Allsvenskan titles – with 5. Elfsborg’s last title was won in 2006. Currently [the last week of June, 2012], Elfsborg sit at the top of the 2012 Allsvenskan, after 12 of 30 matches played, leading Malmö by 8 points. Elfsborg’s stadium is the 17,800-capacity Borås Arena (which they share with a third division cub called Norrby IF). Borås Arena is a smart looking little ground, as you can see above. Not many municipalities in the world that are smaller than 70,000 population can regularly put over 10 thousand per game into a new 17,000-capacity stadium that is home to a club with close to a half dozen national titles.

Actually, there are exactly zero other clubs on the face of the planet that: 1). play in a 1st division pro association football league; 2). can regularly draw 10 thousand; 3). have won over 5 national titles; and 4). that are located in a city which has less than 100,000 inhabitants. Think about it. That is some serious fan support there; and that is without a doubt a club that has got its act together. Forza Elfsborg forever!

_
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘Allsvenskan‘.
Thanks to E-F-S site for attendance figures.