STOCKHOLM, Oct 21 — The tiny village club of Mjallby won the top tier Swedish football league on Monday with a 2-0 away win at Gothenburg, sealing the title with three rounds of matches remaining.

Jacob Bergstrom and Tom Petterson scored the goals in Mjallby’s 20th win in 27 league games.

Mjallby has a population of less than 1,400 people and plays in an outdated 6,000-seat stadium with stands weathered by the winds of the Baltic Sea.

“It’s a huge relief to experience this now, a relief with three games to go,” said Anders Torstensson, a former army officer and secondary school teacher who coaches the team.

Mjallby have 66 points while second-placed Hammarby have 55 with only nine points available.

“I never thought something like this would happen in my life, I’m so happy to be part of this group, we showed that a collective can go incredibly far,” said opening goal scorer Bergstrom.

Mjallby have been chaired for 10 years by local industrialist Magnus Emeus, who has stabilised their finances.

“I had a fairly clear strategy from the start. You can never succeed on the field as long as there’s disorder off it, and the first thing to do is ensure the finances are balanced,” he told AFP last week.

In 2024, they had a budget of 84.7 million kronor ($9 million), about an eighth of that of Sweden’s richest club Malmo, who are currently fourth and have won four of the last five titles.

Mjallby will be playing in the Champions League qualifiers next season.

Unfortunately, it will not be at their home ground in Hallevik, as their stadium does not meet UEFA safety standards.

“A reasonable goal would be to succeed in the qualifiers” to reach the league stage, coach Torstensson said. — AFP