Centralföreningen för Gymnastik- och Idrottssällskapen i Göteborg

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Centralföreningen för Gymnastik- och Idrottssällskapen i Göteborg (Swedish: The Central Organisation for Gymnastics and Sports Societies in Gothenburg), also shortened to just Centralföreningen, is a Swedish sports organisation founded in 1895. It was founded to support and organise the sports clubs in Gothenburg, but later turned to arranging sports events.

History[edit]

Centralföreningen was founded on 16 January 1895 in Gothenburg, initiated by sports pioneer Wilhelm Friberg, as a consequence of a number of meetings held by sports administrators in Gothenburg between 1893 and 1895.[1][2] It was the first sports umbrella organisation intended to support cooperation between the various Gothenburg sports organisations and clubs.[3][1] The organisation was the de facto district sports federation [sv] for Gothenburg until the Swedish Sports Confederation centralised the district federations in 1906, and Centralföreningen was superseded by Göteborgs Distrikts Idrottsförbund.[3] After the turn of the century, the organisation focused its efforts on arranging sports events.[2]

Events and awards[edit]

The first sports event was arranged in 1901, with competitions in cycling, a mile run, 1500 metres and high jump. From 1907 until the 1920s, Centralföreningen also organised a yearly championship in athletics and other sports such as football, wrestling, and tennis.[4] The football championships continued until 1957 under the auspices of the organisation,[4] and was long considered a prestigious event.[1] The long-distance foot race Kungsbackaloppet [sv] was first organised in 1898, and is the second oldest long-distance race in the world, behind the Boston Marathon.[4][5] The original race distance between Kungsbacka and Gothenburg was 27 km (16.8 mi), but has now been shortened to half marathon length.[4] Centralföreningen was the main organiser of the race until 1976, but handed over the responsibility in full to athletics club Solvikingarna [sv] in 1978.[6]

A medal of merit awarded to sports leaders in Gothenburg was introduced in 1914, awardees include Wilhelm Friberg (1915), Carl Linde (1939), and Sven Rydell (1953).[7]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Jerneryd 1981, p. 183.
  2. ^ a b Samuelsson 1939.
  3. ^ a b Carlsson & Jönsson 1995, p. 59.
  4. ^ a b c d Carlsson & Jönsson 1995, p. 60.
  5. ^ Jerneryd 1981, p. 184.
  6. ^ Carlsson & Jönsson 1995, pp. 60–61.
  7. ^ Carlsson & Jönsson 1995, pp. 62–63.

References[edit]

  • Carlsson, Åke; Jönsson, Stig A. (1995). "Centralföreningen i Göteborg, en pigg hundraåring". In Jönsson, Stig A. (ed.). Idrottsarvet: årets bok för Idrottsmuseet i Göteborg (in Swedish). Vol. 1995. Göteborg: Idrottsmuseet i Göteborg. pp. 59–64. ISSN 0283-1791.
  • Samuelsson, E. (1939). "Centralföreningen för Gymnastik- och Idrottssällskapen i Göteborg". Nordisk familjeboks sportlexikon (in Swedish). Vol. 2. Stockholm: A. Sohlman & co. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  • Jerneryd, Roland (1981). Hur idrotten kom till stan: Göteborgs idrottshistoria 1800–1950 (in Swedish). Göteborg: Göteborgs hembygdsförbund.
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