Athletic Football Club Eskilstuna, also known as AFC Eskilstuna or simply AFC, is a Swedish professional football club based in Eskilstuna. They compete in Ettan, the third highest tier of Swedish football, and play their home matches at Tunavallen. AFC Eskilstuna are affiliated to Södermanlands Fotbollförbund.
The club was formed in 2007 as Athletic FC and formed a close cooperation with FC Väsby United in 2012. Athletic FC replaced Väsby United in the league system the following year, forming AFC United. During the 2016 season it was once again decided that they would switch their name, identity, as well as locality. Choosing to move to Eskilstuna, about 110 kilometers west of Stockholm, they are since known as AFC Eskilstuna.
Background AFC United AFC United was founded when FC Väsby United increased their cooperation Division 3 club Athletic FC in late 2012. They played their home matches at Skytteholms IP in Solna until the end of the 2016 season. Athletic FC was founded in 2007 and became part of AFC United in 2012. In 2012, Athletic FC played in Swedish football Division 3 Norra Svealand which is the fifth tier of Swedish football. Athletic FC was affiliated to Stockholms Fotbollförbund.
AFC Eskilstuna During the 2016 season the club management decided to uproot and leave Solna and move to Eskilstuna and Tunavallen before the 2017 season. They also changed their name to AFC Eskilstuna.
The team were winless, having only acquired 4 points from the opening 12 matches and were firmly rooted to the bottom of the league table. Michael Jolley was announced as new manager on 13 June 2017. Under Jolley's coaching they took 15 points from the next 16 games. A 3–1 victory over Malmö FF on 19 August 2017 in particular provided the biggest shock of the season in Allsvenskan. However, they were eventually relegated to Superettan on 23 October 2017 following a spirited fight when Jönköpings Södra IF defeated Kalmar FF 2–0, meaning AFC Eskilstuna could no longer reach the qualifying position. Jolley departed ways with AFC Eskilstuna on 9 January 2018 by mutual consent, after being unable to agree on the future direction of the club.
On 15 January 2018, Nemanja Miljanović became the manager, after their relegation to the Superettan.
AFC Eskilstuna Academy
AFC Eskilstuna Academy was founded in 2017 and aims to develop young football talents from Eskilstuna and the surrounding regions. The academy is certified by Swedish Elite Football (Svensk Elitfotboll) with one star, indicating that it meets high standards in player development, coaching, and organizational structure. Under the leadership of acting academy director Faisal Hassan, player development is conducted in close collaboration with the club’s first team. Home matches for the academy teams are mainly played at Skogsängens IP.
The academy has also achieved international success in the Gothia Cup, winning in the following years:
2022: Victory in the B17 category after defeating Dalkurd FF 1–0 in the final.
2024: Victory in the P17 category after defeating Swindon Town FITC 2–0 in the final at Ullevi.
These achievements shows the academy’s success in their academy's staff for developing the youth players.
Season-to-season SeasonLevelLeaguePos Athletic FC 2009 Tier 9 Division 7 Stockholm D 4th 2010 Tier 6 Division 4 Stockholm Norra 5th 2011 Tier 6 Division 4 Stockholm Norra 2nd (P) 2012 Tier 5 Division 3 Norra Svealand 6th AFC United 2013 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 10th 2014 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 1st (P) 2015 Tier 2 Superettan 8th 2016 Tier 2 Superettan 2nd (P) AFC Eskilstuna 2017 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 16th (R) 2018 Tier 2 Superettan 3rd (P) 2019 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 16th (R) 2020 Tier 2 Superettan 9th 2021 Tier 2 Superettan 9th 2022 Tier 2 Superettan 8th 2023 Tier 2 Superettan 16th (R) 2024 Tier 3 Ettan Norra 11th 2025 Tier 3 Ettan Norra 8th
Players Current squad
Out on loan
Attendances
AFC Eskilstuna have had the following average attendances: SeasonAverage attendanceDivision / SectionLevel2013179 Div 1 Norra Tier 32014176 Div 1 Norra Tier 32015346 Superettan Tier 22016698 Superettan Tier 2 * Attendances are provided in the Publikliga sections of the Svenska Fotbollförbundet website.
Achievements League Superettan Runners-up (1): 2016 Division 1 Norra Winners (1): 2014
Cup Svenska Cupen Runners-up (1): 2019
References
External links
AFC Eskilstuna on WorldFootball