Fotbollens begynnelse i Halmstad : En beskrivning av Halmstadfotbollens etableringsprocess åren 1900-1922

With over 600,000 active soccer players and over 1 million registered members of soccer associations, soccer occupies the position as Sweden's national sport in 2020. This has not always been the case. The sport came to Sweden from England in the late 19th century and then began an establishment process which led to its position as a national sport. This establishment process is described at a national level in other studies, but a deeper explanation and understanding of the growth of soccer at a local level is lacking. This study therefore aims to contribute to the research by studying the growth of soccer in Halmstad. The study follows a chronological review during the two initial decades of the 20th century in Halmstad. This provides an insight into which the first teams were, an idea of how soccer was established and an understanding of the approach to soccer at its early growth in the city. The result shows that soccer during the establishment process in Halmstad never stopped growing, it constantly found methods to increase the inhabitant’s interest. The study also shows that IF Kamraterna Halmstad was the first team in the city. Thereafter more teams followed but during 1912-1914 only two teams were accepted in Halmstad. People in control thought this would lead to better soccer and a more unison sport in the city but a lot of people wanted to play soccer and more teams were a supposition. The games were played at Sommarlust which were a common field for all clubs in Halmstad during the 1900s and 1910s and had an important role under the age of the establishment process. The people of Halmstad seems to have enjoyed soccer at its growth. But different organizations, such as church and temperance movement, did not like soccer at the beginning which forced the sport to adapt. When soccer first came to Halmstad in the 1900s it was nothing, but the continued growth and adaption made it to a natural part of Halmstad