List of Malmö FF seasons
Introduction 1943–44, when the club won Allsvenskan for the first time|alt=An association football team poses for a formative black-and-white photograph. A row of seven men sits on a bench, all wearing light-coloured shirts and white shorts apart from the player in the centre, who wears black. A football rests on the ground between his feet. Behind the seated row stand seven more men, all but one of whom are wearing the same light-coloured shirts. The exception is a gentleman standing at the end of the row on the viewer's right, who wears a dark double-breasted suit, tie and wide-brimmed fedora hat. All of those present have their arms folded apart from the man in the suit, whose hands are behind his back. In the background a set of goalposts can be seen.Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly called Malmö FF, is a Swedish professional association football club based in Malmö, whose first team play in the highest tier of Swedish football, Allsvenskan, as of the 2017 season. Malmö FF was founded on 24 February 1910 by 19 members of a predecessor club named BK Idrott who, for a short time, had been merged with cross-town rivals IFK Malmö. After participating in regional competitions and national cup play in Svenska Mästerskapet during the 1910s, Malmö FF joined Sweden's newly created national league system in 1920, and played in the second tier of Swedish football for the next decade – with the exception of one season in Svenska Serien, then unofficially the top football league in Sweden. Allsvenskan was established as Sweden's official first tier in 1924, and Malmö FF first took part in 1931.The Swedish Football Association prohibited professionalism until 1967, and Malmö FF were demoted in 1934 for having paid players. They were promoted back in 1936, and have since had several periods of consistent success, most notably in the early 1950s, the 1970s, the 1980s, and 2010s. The pinnacle of the club's history came in 1979, when, as finalists in both the European Cup and Intercontinental Cup, Malmö FF were ranked as one of the strongest clubs in the world. After winning a record five consecutive Allsvenskan titles between 1985 and 1989, the club won nothing during the 1990s and were relegated for the first time in 1999, though they returned to the top flight a year later. They have since remained in Allsvenskan, and won an additional five league titles.As of the end of the 2016 season, Malmö FF have played 105 seasons, 95 of which have been spent within the Swedish league system. The club have contested Allsvenskan 81 times, and have won the competition on 22 occasions. Malmö FF have been demoted once (in 1934) and relegated once (in 1999); their 63 successive Allsvenskan seasons between 1936 and 1999 is a league record. Their worst league finish to date is sixth in the second tier, their placing at the end of the 1926–27 season. The 1950 season was Malmö FF's best in terms of league performance: the team were unbeaten all year, won 20 out of 22 league games, and collectively scored 82 league goals, a club record which still stands. Hans Håkansson holds the record for most league goals for Malmö FF during a single season; he scored 30 goals in 18 matches during the 1935–36 season in the  second-tier. Excluding second-tier seasons, however, the record belongs to Bo Larsson, whose tally of 28 goals in 22 games during 1965 remains unmatched today.
History Lennart Johanssons Pokal, the current trophy awarded to the Swedish football champions, here seen in 2010 in Malmö FF's ownership after winning Allsvenskan the same year|alt=An impressive trophy of a somewhat cubist fashion. Made of silver, it comprises a large socle, a large semi-circular handle on each side and a depiction of an old-fashioned leather football on top. The words "Lennart Johanssons Pokal" can be seen engraved on the front.When Malmö FF was founded in 1910, there was no established official league system in Swedish football. The club therefore competed in two cup competitions: the nationally organised Svenska Mästerskapet, and Distriktsmästerskapet, the regional championship of Scania. The team's best performances during these early years were when they reached the Svenska Mästerskapet quarter-finals in 1920, and the Distriktsmästerskapet final twice, in 1916 and 1918.The club would go on to win Distriktsmästerskapet 27 times before the competition was abolished in 1966.The Swedish Football Association introduced an official league system in 1920, and placed Malmö FF in a regional section of the second tier, Division 2 Sydsvenska Serien. Malmö FF won the league in its first season, and were promoted to Division 1 Svenska Serien Västra, one of the first-tier divisions. However, they were relegated back to Division 2 Sydsvenska Serien after a single season. Achieving mid-table positions in this league, Malmö FF stayed in the second tier after it was renamed Division 2 Södra for the 1928–29 season. The club won Division 2 Södra at the end of the 1930–31 season and were promoted to Allsvenskan for the first time since the new national first-tier league had been established before the 1924–25 season. Malmö FF remained in Allsvenskan until 1934, when the club was found to have paid players in spite of the league's then-mandatory amateurism, which remained in place until 1967.For this, they were demoted to Division 2 Södra; several players and members of staff were banned. Malmö FF won the Division 2 Södra title at the first attempt, but failed to win the play-offs which decided promotion back to Allsvenskan. They retained the title the following year, 1936, and this time won the promotion play-offs.Over the following decade, Malmö FF established themselves as a permanent fixture in Allsvenskan. The side had a period of great success in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when they finished within the top three in Allsvenskan for ten years in a row, securing five league titles. The club also won the main Swedish cup tournament, Svenska Cupen (established in 1941), five times during the same period. The club continued to finish in the upper half of the league table and experienced additional periods of success during the late 1960s and the 1970s. Malmö FF also qualified for European competition arranged by The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), doing so for the first time during the 1964–65 season when they entered the European Cup (qualifying as Allsvenskan leaders during the European summer, as Sweden had switched to a season format based around the calendar year). The club qualified for continental competitions 12 times in a row between 1971 and 1982.During the 1980s and 1990s, the Swedish FA experimented with the competition format: between 1982 and 1990, the Swedish championship was given to the winners of a play-off held between the four best-placed Allsvenskan teams. A championship league was contested by the top six clubs in the league in 1991 and 1992.The pre-1982 format was then restored. Malmö FF won Allsvenskan a record five times in a row between 1985 and 1989, but only won the play-offs in 1986 and 1988.After a brief successful period in the mid-1990s, the club began to decline in Allsvenskan and found themselves relegated in 1999, the first time since 1936 they were out of the top division. The team were relegated to the newly created Superettan.Malmö FF won promotion back to Allsvenskan after only one season in Superettan, and once again established themselves as a successful top-level club during the first decade of the 21st century. After a meagre season in 2001, they finished in the top three for three successive seasons between 2002 and 2004, and won their first Allsvenskan title since 1989 in 2004.Malmö FF then became a mid-table team as they finished between the fifth and ninth positions during the latter part of the decade, before they won the league once more in 2010, the club's centenary year. This earned the club qualification into Svenska Supercupen, an annual Super Cup match inaugurated in 2007 in which the Allsvenskan champions face the winners of Svenska Cupen. Malmö FF lost the 2011 edition 2–1 to regional rivals Helsingborgs IF. Following the 2010 championship winning year Malmö FF won bronze and small silver medals before winning the gold medal once more in 2013.After this they won Svenska Supercupen for the first time with a win against rivals IFK Göteborg. This was the first time since the 1989 season that the club won two official titles in the same season. In 2014 Malmö FF defended the league title for the first time since 1989 and the Swedish championship for the first time since 1975.In the same season Malmö FF also became the first Swedish club to play in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in fourteen years.
Key ;Key to competitions* Allsvenskan (AS) – Sweden's top football league, established in 1924* Superettan (SE) – The second tier of Swedish football, held since 2000* Division 1 (D1) – The third tier of Swedish football as of 2016.Was the unofficial first tier named Svenska Serien when Malmö FF contested Division 1 Svenska Serien Västra (a regional division) during the 1922–23 season. * Division 2 (D2) – The fourth tier of Swedish football as of 2016.Was the second tier when Malmö FF played in various regional divisions of the league in the 1920s and 1930s. * Svenska Mästerskapet – a cup held between 1896 and 1925 to decide the Swedish football champions* Svenska Cupen (SC) – Sweden's national cup, first contested in 1941.Was not held between 1954 and 1966, or in 1992. * Svenska Supercupen (SSC) – Sweden's super cup, organised between 2007 and 2015.It was an annual one-off match between the respective winners of Allsvenskan and Svenska Cupen. * Allsvenskan play-offs (CPO) – the play-off format which decided the Swedish football champions between 1982 and 1990.Were contested by the four best-placed clubs in Allsvenskan each year. * Mästerskapsserien (MS) – a short-lived league, held in 1991 and 1992, in which the top six teams of the year's Allsvenskan league season would compete for the Swedish football championship;Key to colours and symbols: 1st or W Winners 2nd or RU Runners-up  Promoted  Relegated ♦ Top scorer in Allsvenskan;Allsvenskan specifics 1st Gold medallists 2nd Big silver medallists 3rd Small silver medallists 4th Bronze medallists;Key to league record* Season = The year and article of the season* Pos = Final position* Pld = Games played* W = Games won* D = Games drawn* L = Games lost* GF = Goals scored* GA = Goals against* Pts = Points* Att = Average attendance;Key to European competitions* EC = European Cup* CL = UEFA Champions League* ICFC = Inter-Cities Fairs Cup* CWC = UEFA Cup Winners' Cup* UC = UEFA Cup* ICC = Intercontinental Cup* UIC = UEFA Intertoto Cup* EL = UEFA Europa League;Key to cup record* n/a (''not applicable'') = Indicates that Malmö FF did not participate in cup play because there was no competition for this year* En-dash (–) = An en-dash indicates that Malmö FF did not participate in cup play because the club failed to qualify* DNE = The club did not enter cup play* PPO = Promotional play-offs* QR = Qualification round* QR1 = First qualification round* QR2 = Second qualification round* QR3 = Third qualification round* PO = Play-offs stage* GS = Group stage* R1 = First round* R2 = Second round* R3 = Third round* R4 = Fourth round* R5 = Fifth round* R6 = Sixth round* QF = Quarter-finals* SF = Semi-finals* RU = Runners-up* W = Winners
Seasons Malmö FF's alt=A black-and-white action shot taken in the midst of an association football match. To the viewer's right a player in light shirt, white shorts and white socks turns to his right, his eyes pointed down towards the ball. A shield bearing the letters "MFF" is prominently displayed on his shirt. Behind him, an opposing player in a white shirt can be seen stumbling mid-chase, throwing his arms forward to break his fall.===1910–1919===SeasonSvenska MästerskapetDistriktsmästerskapet1910    1912–13  1913–14  1914–15  1915–16  1916–17    1918  1919  ===Since 1920===SeasonLeague and UEFA CompetitionsLeague top goalscorerNameGoals1920–21 10    31 20 15   121921–22            1922–23 10     19  1923–24 10    20  15 1924–25 14    35 32 15 1925–26 16    44 24 18 1926–27 18    30 31 18  101927–28 20 11   42 41 26  141928–29 18    63 44 18  101929–30 18    47 34 20  211930–31 18 11   50  25  131931–32 22   12 48 68 16  181932–33 22   11 42 66 19  151933–34 13    27 38  1934–35 18 13   66 21 31  241935–36 18 14   61 17 30 301936–37 22   10 39 45 21  151937–38  22    20 30 20 1938–39  22    30 29 25  16 ♦1939–40  22  10  25 28 18 10th1940–41  22    33 33 22  1941–42  22    37 33 25  1942–43  22 10   44 30 25   101943–44  22 17   54 22 37   111944–45  22 12   58 31 28   131945–46  22 13   48 27 30   141946–47  22 10   51 30 28   101947–48  22 12   60 33 29  141948–49  22 12   72 29 29   181949–50  22 20   82 21 42   21 ♦1950–51  22 16   52 22 37   141951–52  22 15   50 17 32  131952–53  22 14   60 32 31   221953–54  22    33 30 22  121954–55  22    33 33 21 1955–56 22 14   60 26 32  201956–57  22 11   50 30 28  181957–58  33 16   62 49 40  161959  22 12   50 29 28 1960  22    33 33 22 1961  22 10   31 34 24 1962  22    32 40 22  101963 22 11   43 31 27  17 ♦1964 22 13   45 20 31  111965 22 15   64 24 34  28 ♦1966 22    32 34 19 1967 22 14   53 21 33   22 ♦1968 22 11   42 27 27 1969 22 11   34 27 28     121970 22 11   30 20 29     16 ♦1971 22 12   46 26 22  131972 22    27 26 23  1973 26 12   46 32 30   121974 26 19   48 15 43   141975 26 18   53 17 42  201976 26 12 11  37 21 35  131977 26 15   41 19 38   111978 26 12   29 15 32 19792612302432 ----UC – R21980 26 13   37 22 35  101981 26 11  10 48 44 27  131982 22  11  23 15 25 ----1983 22 12   46 30 29 ---- 121984 22 11   47 24 27 ---- 151985 22 11   29 14 30 ----1986 22 16   49 11 37 ---- 121987 22 14   50 21 34 ---- 20 ♦1988 22 15   45 26 32 ---- 22 ♦1989 22 12   35 11 31 ---- 151990 22  10  20 15 28 1991----MS 18----10 ---- ---- ---- 20---- 14----11 29----27----4th 111992----MS 18----10 ---- ---- ---- 22----11 16----14 26----24 ----6th1993 26 10  11 43 38 35 10th1994 26 14   51 33 49  141995 26  12  32 28 39   151996 26 13   33 26 46 1997 26 12 10  48 28 46  121998 26   11 35 30 33  101999 26   15 30 48 25  112000 30 20   48 32 60  122001 26   12 39 46 32 2002 26 14   52 32 46  24 ♦2003 26 14   50 23 48  22 ♦2004 26 15   44  21 52  1220052612382741142006 26 10   43 39 38  112007 26   10 29 28 34 2008 30 12  10 51 46 44  142009 30 11 10  40 25 43  112010 30 21   59 24 67  1120113015373054 ----2012 30 16   49 33 56  102013 30 19   56 30 63 ---- 112014 30 18   59 31 62 ---- 152015 30 15   54 34 54  112016 30 21   60 26 66  142017 30 19   63 27 64   102018 30 17   57 29 58  132019 30 19   56 16 65   132020 30 17   64 30 60  142021 30 17   58 30 59  142022 30 13   44 34 46  122023 30 20   62 27 64  16 ♦
Footnotes Malmö FF midfielder Niclas Nyhlén, pictured in 1996 as the team's captain|alt=A broad-shouldered, Nordic-looking association football player, pictured mid-match. Looking to his left (the viewer's right), he sports a sky blue, white and black shirt and white shorts, and a red and white striped band around his left arm.:A. The title of "Swedish Champions" has been awarded to the winner of four different competitions over the course of Swedish football history. Between 1896 and 1925 the title was awarded to the winner of Svenska Mästerskapet, a stand-alone cup tournament. No club were given the title between 1926 and 1930, even though a first-tier league, Allsvenskan, was contested. In 1931, the title was reinstated and thereafter awarded to the winners of Allsvenskan. Between 1982 and 1990, a play-off round was held in cup format at the end of the league season to decide the national champions. In 1991, the play-offs were replaced by Mästerskapsserien, an additional league round held following Allsvenskan to decide the title-winners. After two editions, Mästerskapsserien too was abolished. Since the 1993 season, the winners of Allsvenskan have been awarded the national championship.:B. According to Allsvenskan tradition, players and staff of the best ''four'' teams, rather than the best three, are awarded medals. The winners are awarded the "gold" medal, the runners-up the "big silver" medal, the team finishing third the "small silver" medal and the team finishing in fourth place the "bronze" medal. The principle of awarding four medals rather than three has its root in the Svenska Mästerskapet of the early 20th century, in which both losing semi-finalists would receive bronze medals as no third-place match would be played. Only Allsvenskan uses this system; this list therefore does not use it to denote league finishes in lower divisions.:C. Malmö FF played no competitive football during the 1910 season.:D. The 1917 Svenska Mästerskapet and 1917 Distriksmästerskapet are part of the 1916–17 season due to the fact that the season format changed to the calendar year format for the 1918 season.:E. Only competitions which are part of UEFA's official European record are included here. The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, though a non-UEFA competition, is officially recognised as UEFA Cup's precursor, and is therefore also incorporated into this list. The 1979 Intercontinental Cup co-hosted by UEFA and CONMEBOL is also included in this list.:F. Malmö FF played no competitive football during the 1921–22 season.:G. Malmö FF were disqualified from the competition and demoted a division as punishment for paying players in spite of Swedish Football Association rules prohibiting professionalism among its member clubs. Professional players were first allowed by the Swedish Football Association in 1967.:H.  All Allsvenskan clubs decided not to enter the 1948 Svenska Cupen due to several key players participating in the football tournament at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Sweden won the gold medal after defeating Yugoslavia in the final.:I. The 1990 season saw the introduction of three points for a win.
See also * The Invincibles (football)
References ; General*  (in Swedish); Specific
External links * Malmö FF official website