Wilhelm Friberg

Friberg's grave on Örgryte nya kyrkogård in Gothenburg with the inscription "Sports pioneers in Sweden"

Wilhelm Friberg (born July 25, 1865 in Gothenburg , † January 16, 1932 ) was a Swedish football official . He is considered one of the pioneers in Swedish football .

Career

Friberg, who was born the son of a rope maker, finished high school at the age of 15. He then began his professional career as an employee at Bohus Mekaniska Verkstad, where he worked for 44 years.

During a visit to the Gothenburg park in Heden , Friberg became aware of the athletes from IS Lyckans Soldater , who held gymnastics, running and, in winter, ice skating competitions there. As a result he was enthusiastic about sports and initiated the construction of the Balders Hage sports field in 1887 . In the same year he was involved in the founding of Örgryte IS , of which he became chairman. Initially, the club competed in athletics, tug-of-war and wrestling, and later football was added.

In 1892, Friberg was one of the initiators of a soccer game between IS Lyckan's soldiers and Örgryte IS. The duel, which took place on May 22nd, was the first football game between two Swedish teams under the rules of association football . Since his club initially found only a few opposing teams, he decided to found another club. In the summer of 1897 he was one of the founding members of Göteborgs FF . While his home club formed to the national top and won eleven national championship titles by 1913, the re-establishment also distinguished itself successfully and twice made it to the final of the Swedish championship, which was lost both times.

Friberg was chairman of both clubs until 1910 before resigning from Göteborgs FF. At the same time, he was involved with Svenska Fotbollförbundet , of which he was chairman between 1908 and 1917. Until 1926 he was in charge of Örgryte IS.

In December 1931, Friberg was injured in an accident with a cyclist. As a result of an infection, he fell ill with thrombosis and died on January 16, 1932.

Web links

Text about the early years of Göteborg FF with a section about Friberg as the founding father (PDF file; 6.46 MB)

personal data
SURNAME	Friberg, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Swedish sports official
DATE OF BIRTH	July 25, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH	Gothenburg
DATE OF DEATH	January 16, 1932