IFK Norrköping, formally Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Norrköping, is a Swedish football club based in Norrköping, founded on 29 May 1897.[1] The club is part of the IFK (Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna) movement, a network of Swedish sports clubs that share a common visual tradition. The club’s colours, reflected in its crest and kit, are blue and white.[2]
Design and History
The IFK Centralorganisation, the umbrella body for IFK clubs, states that it protects the IFK tradition of blue and white colours and the trademarked club badge and four-pointed star.[3] The four-pointed star, created in 1898, is the shared symbol of the IFK family and is said to symbolise the values of ihärdighet (perseverance), färdighet (skill), kraft (power) and kamratskap (comradeship).[4][5]
IFK Norrköping is known for playing with the four-pointed star on the chest rather than the IFK shield used by most other IFK clubs.[6] The star is typically blue, depending on the background it appears on.[6]
In 2022, the club’s anniversary year, the kamratstjärnan (comrade star) received a new appearance to mark the club’s 125 years. The club announced that the blue star would be highlighted against the white home shirt, with gold accents on the sleeves and collar.[7] The limited anniversary shirt also featured a gold wreath around the club badge with the text “125 år” at the bottom, along with the four guiding words ihärdighet, färdighet, kraft and kamratskap placed with the star at the back of the neck.[8]
Meaning and Symbolism
The four-pointed star is the central emblem of the IFK movement. It is described as the common symbol of IFK clubs and is said to represent the four values of ihärdighet (perseverance), färdighet (skill), kraft (power) and kamratskap (comradeship).[4] The IFK Centralorganisation explicitly safeguards the blue and white colours and the trademarked club badge and four-pointed star as part of the IFK tradition.[3]
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