Idrottsklubben Brage, also known as IK Brage or simply Brage, is a Swedish football club located in Borlänge. The club is affiliated with Dalarnas Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Domnarvsvallen. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are green and white. The club can be seen as a continuation of IK Blixt which was founded in the early 1920s but merged into Domnarvets GoIF in 1923. Two years later the merger was split and IK Blixt changed their name to IK Brage, after the Norse god Bragi. The club has played a total of 18 seasons in Allsvenskan, which is the highest level of the Swedish football league system. They currently play in the second highest level (Superettan) where the season lasts from April to November. IK Brage also recently spent time in the third division Division 1 (2014–2017) and fourth division Division 2 between 2005 and 2009) but has mainly played in the two highest Swedish divisions since its foundation.
History Creation and early rise
In the early 1920s the two Borlänge clubs IK Blixt and Domnarvets GIF merged to form a new club by the name of Domnarvets GoIF. The motive for the merger was to combine their efforts in building the new stadium that would become Domnarvsvallen. The merger did not go smoothly however as the IK Blixt members felt that there needed to be more focus on the football part of the multisport club. This caused them to want to bring back the original IK Blixt but the newly formed Domnarvets GoIF would not allow this since they technically owned the name as IK Blixt was half of the new club. So in 1925 the old IK Blixt members started up a new football club instead and decided in a meeting that the new name would be IK Brage, named after the Norse god Bragi.
After its creation, the club quickly advanced through the divisions until it reached the second highest level after the 1929–1930 season. The club would then go on to have a very successful 1930s which included playing at the highest level for the first time ever in the 1937–38 Allsvenskan. This first golden age culminated in the fourth-place finish two years later but was quickly followed by a relegation followed by a long period of time spent in the second tier.
In early years, in the winter time Brage also fielded teams in bandy.IK Brage: Erik Eriksson . Retrieved 11 September 2017
1970s misery and 1980s success
During the mid-1970s the club had fallen down into the third tier for the first time in nearly 30 years. After spending four straight seasons at such a low level the club brought in Rolf Zetterlund from AIK as their new player manager. During his reign the club advanced quickly through the divisions and made their return to the highest level in the 1980 Allsvenskan where they finished in fourth place, again matching their best ever finish. That same year the club also came close to winning their first major title as they finished runners-up in Svenska Cupen. The success would continue throughout the 1980s as Brage established themselves as an Allsvenskan club. During this period, which is the most successful in club history, Brage finished in the top five three times. This qualified them to compete in the UEFA Cup on several occasions where they played against clubs like Werder Bremen and Inter Milan.
1990s relegation from Allsvenskan
Brage was relegated to the second tier in 1990 and then again in their latest Allsvenskan season in 1993 after having spent the entire year in last place from the first to the last round of the league. After that they have not been able to come back to Allsvenskan.
2000s performance in Superettan and struggling in Division 1 and 2 Things got even worse at the start of the new millennium when the club was relegated first into the third tier but then also into the fourth, a level which the club hadn't played at since its creation in the 1920s. However, they have since bounced back and reestablished themselves in the second tier of swedish football which is from the year 2000 called Superettan.
2010s successful comeback to Superettan and a new level of misery IK Brage qualified against Qviding in 2009 and was promoted to Superettan for the first time since 2004. Much thanks to great team spirit influenced by the manager Lennart "Kral" Andersson", who was very popuplar among the supporters in Serik Fans. But in 2013 everything collapsed. The new chairman Tommy Andersson and the sports director contracted a lot of experienced but controversial players like Dulee Johnson, Jan Tauer and Njogu Demba Nyrén. Brage only won two games that season and half of the squad left the team before the season was over. The club was relegated to Division 1 once again and was almost in bankruptcy in 2014 and 2015 due to the failed investments in 2013. In 2019, Brage qualified for promotion playoff against Kalmar FF after a dramatic last game of the season.
Players
First-team squad
Out on loan
Notable players The following players have received the player of the year award that supporter group "Serik Fans" started giving out in 1996, or are listed as either "club legends" or foreign players with over 50 games at the club on the official Brage website.
Algot Ström Erik Eriksson Hugo Zetterberg Ingvar "Slana" Österberg Tore Åhs Stig "Lill-Massa" Johansson Sture Lindvall Thomas Nilsson Rolf Zetterlund Nils-Erik "Serik" Johansson Bernt Ljung Plamen Nikolov Simon Hunt Göran Arnberg Fredrik Söderström Jon Persson Duško Radinović Joel Cedergren Martin Ericsson Daniel Brandt Johan Norell Lasse Nilsson Mikael Eklund Jimmy Rajala Jonathan Lundevall Niclas Olausson Kebba Ceesay Jon Åslund Pontus Hindrikes Johan Eklund Gerhard Andersson Adam Gradén Niklas Sandberg
Managers
Harry "Dicko" Magnusson (1933) József Nagy (1935–42) Kristian Henriksen (1942) Otto Karlsson (1943–44) Erik Eriksson (1943–44) Erik Eriksson (1947) Sigvard Hjärpe (1948) Gösta Eriksson (1951–52) Bertil Nordahl (1953–55) Gösta Eriksson (1955–57) Erik Eriksson (1958–59) Holger Hansson (1960) Sigvard Hjärpe (1961) Lennart Samuelsson (1962–66) Bertil Bäckvall (1967–69) Imre More (1970) Lennart Samuelsson (1971–73) Gösta Eriksson (1974) Björn Bettner (1975–76) Rolf Zetterlund (1977–80) Kent Karlsson (1981–82) Conny Granqvist (1983) Kenneth Rosén (1984–85) Jan Mak (1986) Håkan Sundin (1987) Jan Lindstedt (1988) Tommy Lindholm (1989) Kjell Pettersson (1990–93) Roger Lundin (1994–96) Thomas Nilsson (1997) Simon Hunt (1998–99) Sergei Prigoda (2000–02) Roger Lundin (2002) Bernt Ljung (2003–04) Göran Bergort (2004) Lars Ericson (2005–06) Björn Lindén (2007) Anders Sjöö (2008) Johan Hällman (2008) Lennart "Kral" Andersson (2009–10) Pelle Johansson (2011) Lennart "Kral" Andersson (2011) Hans Gren (2011) Jonas Björkgren (2011) Bo Wålemark (2012) Örjan Glans (2012) Conny Karlsson (2013) Zvezdan Milosevic (2013) Bo Wålemark (2014) Bengt Ottosson (2015–17) Klebér Saarenpää (2018–23) Jan Mian and William Bergendahl (2024–25) Lennart "Kral" Andersson (2025–)
Season to season SeasonLevelDivisionSectionPositionMovements1926-27Tier 2 Division 2Uppsvenska Serien 3rd(Unofficial series, promotion not possible)1927-28Tier 2 Division 2Uppsvenska Serien 5ndRelegated (Unofficial series, promotion not possible)1928-29Tier 3 Division 3Uppsvenska2nd1929-30Tier 3 Division 3Uppsvenska1stPromotion Playoff – Promoted1930-31Tier 2 Division 2Norra 2nd1931-32Tier 2 Division 2Norra 3rd1932-33Tier 2 Division 2Norra 2nd1933-34Tier 2 Division 2Norra 1stPromotion Playoff – Not promoted1934-35Tier 2 Division 2Norra 1stPromotion Playoff – Not promoted1935-36Tier 2 Division 2Norra 2nd1936-37Tier 2 Division 2Norra 1stPromotion Playoff – Promoted1937-38Tier 1 Allsvenskan 7th1938-39Tier 1 Allsvenskan 6th1939-40Tier 1 Allsvenskan 4th1940-41Tier 1 Allsvenskan 11thRelegated1941-42Tier 2 Division 2Norra 1stPromotion Playoff – Not promoted1942-43Tier 2 Division 2Norra 1stPromotion Playoff – Promoted1943-44Tier 1 Allsvenskan 11thRelegated1944-45Tier 2 Division 2Norra 4th1945-46Tier 2 Division 2Norra 4th1946-47Tier 2 Division 2Norra 6thRelegated1947-48Tier 3 Division 3Norra3rd1948-49Tier 3 Division 3Norra1stPromoted1949-50Tier 2 Division 2Nordöstra 7th1950-51Tier 2 Division 2Nordöstra 7th1951-52Tier 2 Division 2Nordöstra 8th1952-53Tier 2 Division 2Nordöstra 8th1953-54Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 4th1954-55Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 8th1955-56Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 1stPromotion Playoff – Not promoted1956-57Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 5th1957-58Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 4th1959Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 6th1960Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 9th1961Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 7th1962Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 4th1963Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 3rd1964Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 3rd1965Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 1stPromotion Playoff – Promoted1966Tier 1 Allsvenskan 11thRelegated1967Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 1stPromotion Playoff – Not promoted1968Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 5th1969Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 4th1970Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 3rd1971Tier 2 Division 2Svealand 8thRelegated1972Tier 3 Division 3Norra Svealand1stPromotion Playoff – Promoted1973Tier 2 Division 2Norra 12thRelegated1974Tier 3 Division 3Norra Svealand2nd1975Tier 3 Division 3Norra Svealand2nd1976Tier 3 Division 3Västra Svealand2nd1977Tier 3 Division 3Västra Svealand1stPromotion Playoff – Promoted1978Tier 2 Division 2Norra 2nd1979Tier 2 Division 2Norra 1stPromoted1980Tier 1 Allsvenskan 4th1981Tier 1 Allsvenskan 4th1982Tier 1 Allsvenskan 6th1983Tier 1 Allsvenskan 9th1984Tier 1 Allsvenskan 6th1985Tier 1 Allsvenskan 9th1986Tier 1 Allsvenskan 8th1987Tier 1 Allsvenskan 5th1988Tier 1 Allsvenskan 7th1989Tier 1 Allsvenskan 10th1990Tier 1 Allsvenskan 10thRelegated1991Tier 2 Division 1Norra 4th1992Tier 2 Division 1Östra 1stPromotion Playoff – Promoted1993Tier 1 Allsvenskan 14thRelegated1994Tier 2 Division 1Norra 6th1995Tier 2 Division 1Norra 5th1996Tier 2 Division 1Norra 6th1997Tier 2 Division 1Norra 8th1998Tier 2 Division 1Norra 6th1999Tier 2 Division 1Norra 5th2000Tier 2 Superettan 8th2001Tier 2 Superettan 10th2002Tier 2 Superettan 14th Relegated2003Tier 3 Division 2Västra Svealand1stPromoted2004Tier 2 Superettan 15th Relegated2005Tier 3 Division 2Norra Svealand8th2006Tier 4 Division 2Norra Svealand2nd2007Tier 4 Division 2Norra Svealand1st Promoted2008Tier 3 Division 1Norra11th2009Tier 3 Division 1Norra2ndPromotion Playoff – Promoted2010Tier 2 Superettan 11th2011Tier 2 Superettan 14th Relegation Playoff – Not relegated2012Tier 2 Superettan 10th2013Tier 2 Superettan 16th Relegated2014Tier 3 Division 1Norra4th2015Tier 3 Division 1Norra7th2016Tier 3 Division 1Norra4th2017Tier 3 Division 1Norra 1st Promoted2018Tier 2 Superettan 6th2019Tier 2 Superettan 3rdPromotion Playoff – Not promoted2020Tier 2 Superettan 8th2021Tier 2 Superettan 10th2022Tier 2 Superettan 7th2023Tier 2 Superettan 6th2024Tier 2 Superettan 8th2025Tier 2Superettan 8th * League restructuring in 2000 resulted in a new division being created at Tier 2 and subsequent divisions dropping a level. * League restructuring in 2006 resulted in a new division being created at Tier 3 and subsequent divisions dropping a level.
Achievements
League Division 1 Norra: Winners (1): 2017 Runners-up (1): 2009 Division 1 Östra: Winners (1): 1992 Division 2 Norra: Winners (6): 1933–34, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1941–42, 1942–43, 1979 Runners-up (4): 1930–31, 1932–33, 1935–36, 1978 Division 2 Norra Svealand: Winners (1): 2007 Runners-up (1):2006 Division 2 Svealand: Winners (3): 1955–56, 1965, 1967 Division 2 Västra Svealand: Winners (1): 2003 Division 3 Norra: Winners (1): 1948–49 Division 3 Norra Svealand: Winners (1): 1972 Runners-up (2):1974, 1975 Division 3 Uppsvenska: Winners (1): 1929–30 Division 3 Västra Svealand: Winners (1): 1977 Runners-up (1):1976
Cups Svenska Cupen: Runners-up (1): 1979–80
IK Brage in UEFA competitions
European games