Allmänna Idrottsklubben, more commonly known as AIK, was established as a sports club in 1891, with football becoming a major part of the club in 1896. The team's name translates to 'The General Sports Club', initially chosen to convey the idea that the club was open to everyone. Historically, AIK have been one of Sweden's most consistent clubs and currently hold the record for most seasons in the country's top division.
The club's main local rivals are Djurgården, with whom they contest the Tvillingderbyt, which translates to 'twin derby'. This name was applied because the two clubs were both formed in 1891. The derby was first contested in 1899 and results have been very even. Other rivals for AIK include Hammarby IF and IFK Göteborg.
AIK have enjoyed tremendous success in Swedish football, winning the Allsvenskan on five occasions. Despite this, they have actually been crowned Swedish champions eleven times, with many of those wins coming in seasons where the champions were crowned in other domestic competitions, rather than the league. In the all-time Allsvenskan league table, AIK rank in third place. Further success has come in the form of the Svenska Cupen, which the club have lifted eight times, with their most recent win coming in 2009. In the 1999-00 season, AIK made it beyond the qualification rounds to reach the group stage of the Champions League for the first time. However, they were drawn alongside Barcelona, Fiorentina and Arsenal and finished bottom of their group.
Some of the best-known players to have worn the AIK shirt include Johan Mjällby, Olof Mellberg, Anders Limpar, Jan Eriksson and Andreas Andersson.
The club play their home matches at Friends Arena, formerly known as Swedbank Arena. The name is taken from an anti-bullying organisation, who Swedbank donated their naming rights to. The venue opened in 2012, is shared with the Swedish national team and is able to hold up to 50,000 supporters.
