Foundation Djurgårdens IF was founded primarily by John G. Jansson, on 12 March 1891, at a café in Alberget 4A on the island of
Djurgården in central
Stockholm. Most of the founding members were from the dockyard-industry working class, an identity that remained true until the 1950s and 1960s. The club originally focused on
winter sports and
athletics. The first true football field in Stockholm was created in 1896. Djurgårdens IF's football department was formed in 1899 with the help of former
GAIS player Teodor Andersson. The team played its first match in July 1899, a 1–2 loss against
AIK. The team lost three more
Swedish Championship finals, all against teams from Gothenburg (
1906 against Örgryte,
1909 against Örgryte and
1910 against
IFK Göteborg), before their first victory came in the
1912 final with a 3–1 win against Örgryte. The club won three more Swedish Championships in the 1910s and 1920s, the
1915 final against Örgryte, the
1917 final against
AIK, and the
1920 final against
IK Sleipner. They reached twelve of the thirty championship finals played to 1925. Nordenskjöld played in all Djurgården's
Svenska Mästerskapet finals. Although the team became Swedish champions four times during the period when the title was decided by a championship final, Djurgården never managed to win the national league of the period, the
Svenska Serien. shielding his goalkeeper from the onrushing
Degerfors IF player
Tord Grip. Djurgården did not qualify for the
first season of
Allsvenskan, and only reached the league twice between 1924 and 1944, in
1927–28 and
1936–37, both times being directly relegated back to the second tier
Division 2. On 31 July 1927, the club played its first Allsvenskan game and won against
Stattena IF and
Georg Ehmke scored the first goal for the club. The club also played three seasons in the then third tier,
Division 3, between 1929 and 1932. From 1944 on, Djurgården became a stable Allsvenskan team.
Stockholm Olympic Stadium, built for the
1912 Summer Olympics, became Djurgården's permanent home ground in 1936, replacing
Tranebergs IP.
Swedish Championship titles – 1955 to 1966 ,
Lars Broström,
John Eriksson,
Birger Eklund,
Eje Nilsson,
Gösta Sandberg; front from left:
Olle Hellström,
Stig Gustafsson,
Arne Arvidsson,
Hans Mild och
Sigge Parling. In 1951, Djurgården were runners-up in
Svenska Cupen after a 1–2
final loss against
Malmö FF; this was the team's first Svenska Cupen final. Four years later, under manager
Frank Soo, they won Allsvenskan for the first time in the
1954–55 season, their fifth national title. In 1955–56, Djurgården became the first Swedish team to enter the
European Cup. It was during the 1950s to 1960s period that the club nickname "Järnkaminerna" () was established, due to the team's physical playing style. The ideal of a strong and uncompromising Djurgården player might also be traced back to the club's working-class roots. Djurgården gained another promotion in 1989. This time, they stayed in Allsvenskan for five consecutive seasons and, in 1990, the team won the
Svenska Cupen for the first time. They also achieved the club's record victory when they defeated local rivals Hammarby 9–1 in Allsvenskan on 13 August that year. After a promising start to the 1990s, the club was relegated from Allsvenskan three times, and promoted back twice. During this decade, the club's economic problems almost caused bankruptcy. The 1995 season started well, but ended badly; in the last home match of the
1995 Allsvenskan, a supporter, later named "Terror-Tommy" in the media, came onto the pitch and kicked referee
Anders Frisk. The first half of the 2000s was a golden era for the club, with three championships (2002, 2003 and 2005) and three cup wins (2002, 2004 and 2005). This "golden era" for Djurgården ended with a sixth-place finish in 2006. The club was one of the main contenders for the league championship in 2007, but ultimately finished in third place. The golden era saw the club play against European clubs
Juventus,
FC Girondins de Bordeaux,
Shamrock Rovers,
FK Partizan and
FC Utrecht in European competitions, the most remarkable result being a 2–2 draw against Juventus at
Stadio Delle Alpi.
2009 to present in 2018. Djurgården survived a relegation play-off in 2009 against
Assyriska to remain in Allsvenskan, after
Mattias Jonson had scored the winning goal in extra time. For the next five seasons, they became a mid-table team in the league.
Bo Andersson, who had been a club director Djurgården during their three national titles in the 2000s, returned, now as director of sports, in late 2013, but he was forced to sell several good players to try and balance the books. In January 2017, Djurgården sold the Kenyan international forward
Michael Olunga for a club record fee of which transformed the club's finances into one of the best in Sweden. The transfer also made it possible to sign club legend
Kim Källström and fellow former Swedish international
Jonas Olsson. Both players, together with recently returned goalkeeper
Andreas Isaksson, played important roles as Djurgården finished in third place in the
2017 Allsvenskan, qualifying for European football for the first time in ten years, this time for the second qualifying round for the
2018–19 UEFA Europa League. After 13 years without any titles, Djurgården won the
Svenska Cupen on 10 May 2018 after going through the tournament without conceding a single goal. They defeated Malmö FF 3–0 in the final at
Tele2 Arena. For the 2019 season,
Kim Bergstrand and
Thomas Lagerlöf became the team managers, replacing
Özcan Melkemichel. Djurgården won the league title for the first time in fourteen years, securing a spot in the
2020–21 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. After the season Djurgården sold defender and team captain
Marcus Danielson to the Chinese club
Dalian Professional for what was reported to be a club record fee of more than . This made Djurgården one of Sweden's wealthiest clubs along with various other sales. Djurgården finished fourth in the 2020 season when all matches were played in empty stadiums because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, they finished third to earn a place in the second qualifying round of the
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League. They finished second in the
2022 season, again qualifying for the
Conference League, and then fourth in 2023. On 2 February 2024, Djurgården sold one of their most talented youngsters,
Lucas Bergvall, to
Premier League club
Tottenham Hotspur for a reported club record fee of , and on 28 July the club announced that they had sold
Samuel Dahl to
AS Roma in
Serie A. On 21 October 2024 the club announced that they would part ways with their manager duo Lagerlöf and Bergstrand, after a turbulent second half of the season. This marked the end of their six years at the club, they left their positions with three domestic games left and games in the league phase of the Conference League. Despite the turbulent fall the club finished fifth overall in the league phase of the
UEFA Conference League under the interim leadership, they qualified for the round of 16. On 20 December 2024 the club announced the appointment of their new manager,
Jani Honkavaara from
Finland.
End of an era On the 18th of March 2026 Djurgården announced that their long serving and legendary director of sports
Bosse Andersson, would leave his role and the club after more than a decade. The departure of Andersson was the third change in leading roles at the club, after both a new CEO and chairman were appointed and voted in by the club’s members respectively. == European cups and tournaments ==