IFK Malmö–Malmö FF rivalry
The Malmö derby is a local rivalry between IFK Malmö and Malmö FF, two football teams from Malmö, Sweden. Their first meeting was on 27 June 1911, and their latest clash in official competition was on 13 August 1986. In all, they have played 61 competitive matches, with Malmö FF winning the most (32). The biggest single result was IFK Malmö’s 5-0 victory on 5 August 1927.
The rivalry started in the early 1910s and burned brightest through the 1950s and 1960s. It began after BK Idrott left IFK Malmö in 1910 and formed Malmö FF. IFK Malmö is Malmö’s oldest club, founded in 1899. Before the national leagues, the teams faced each other in the regional championship Distriktsmästerkapen, and later in Sweden’s top two divisions, Allsvenskan and its predecessors. The two teams last shared a league in 1962; IFK Malmö was relegated and has not returned to Allsvenskan, while Malmö FF has been in Allsvenskan for almost every season since 1926.
The intense rivalry faded when the clubs were no longer in the same league, though they met once more in a Svenska Cupen match on 13 August 1986, which Malmö FF won 3–1.
Geography fuels the rivalry, as both clubs are from Malmö. A key historical spark was the 1934 scandal when Malmö FF was relegated for paying players, violating amateur rules. IFK Malmö reportedly informed the Swedish Football Association, helping set off lasting competitive tension. Culturally, Malmö FF has been linked to the working class and the Social Democratic party, while IFK Malmö has been seen as more middle class.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:16 (CET).