FIB 2023 MINI WORLD CUP BOYS 16
CLUB TEAMS

EDSBYNS IF CHAMPION!

This World Cup tournament for club teams was back in Bollnäs, Sweden on Saturday-Monday, October 28-30. The organizers was the Swedish Bandy Association and Bollnäs GIF. The tournament featured 8 teams, five of them from Sweden and two teams from Norway and one team from Finland. 

THIS WAS THE PLAY OFFS!

Photo: Klas Ström

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29
Place 7-8 Falu Bandy-Helenelund/Spånga  4-1 (3-1)
Q1 Stabæk-Konnerud/Mjøndalen  6-3 (3-2)
Q2 Bollnäs GIF-Helsingfors IFK  5-3 (4-0)

MONDAY, OCTOBER 30
Semi 1 Villa Lidköping BK-Stabæk IF 3-5 (1-1)
Semi 2 Edsbyns IF-Bollnäs GIF 7-1 (3-1)

Final – Stabæk IF-Edsbyns IF  2-5 (1-2)

1-0 (3) Neo Stensland, 1-1 (19) Melvin Svensson, corner shot, assist Ture Nilsson, 1-2 (30) Oscar Hälsing, assist Willy Baggström, 1-3 (35) Melvin Svensson, assist Jonas Geijer, 2-3 (49) Leon Sebastian Hauger, assist Kristian Asdal Furnes, 2-4 (50) Oscar Hälsing, 2-5 (62) Elis Välitalo.

THE GOLDEN TEAM – EDSBYNS IF

Elis Välitalo, Evian Henriksson, Gabriel Hellmyrs, Lukas Skarps, Walter Åström, Oscar Embretsen, Melvin Svensson, Mio Männikö, Neo Fagerhof, Nils Vest , Oscar Jonsson, Oscar Hälsing, Ture Nilsson, Willy Baggström, Vincent Unger and Jonas Geijer. Team management: Daniel Välitalo, Daniel Skarps, Andreas Nilsson and Mikael Jonsson.

Photo: Klas Ström

THE SILVER TEAM – STABÆK IF

Hallvard Selmer, Lage Guton Klaastad, Daniel Stenbuch Lied, Martin Jørgensen Tho, Tellef Weisser, Leon Sebastian Hauger, Fredrik Møllhausen Moen, Ludvik Schirmer, Johannes Telhaug Karlsson, Daniel Tomassen Bohm, Kristian Asdal Furnes, David Nordgård, Brage Melby, Neo Stensland, Lars-Oliver Hauger Nordseth and Alexander Bustgaard. Team management: Espen Tho, Egil Tho, Terje Weisser, Syver Melby, Birger Stensland and Jan M Schirmer.

Photo: Klas Ström

THIS IS BOLLNÄS

Bollnäs, Gävleborg County. The name of the place is first recorded in 1312 and then as Baldanes, meaning the great isthmus.

The emergence of Bollnäs city centre during the 1800s is clearly linked to the businessman Georg Henric Collini, born in 1820. In 1843, at the age of 23, he emigrated with his future brother-in-law C. J. Ahlmark, to Louisville, Kentucky, USA, where they founded a business together. Only 3 years later Collini returned to Sweden and in 1851 he settled in Bollnäs. In the United States, Collini had been inspired by the entrepreneurial culture and the spirit of the future, which in Sweden was something new, and for Bollnäs he saw great potential for development. He bought land and built a square and in 1855 Collini’s first house was completed. Collini wanted to expand a trade and handicraft centre and in 1867 there were seven commercial buildings in central Bollnäs that began to resemble a real urban area. Almost everything that happened in Bollnäs at this time was played by Collini.

Bollnäs has nine municipal comprehensive schools, three upper secondary schools, one vocational college and one folk high school. There is a bathhouse, a sports arena and since 2022 also an indoor bandy arena. In the centre of Bollnäs there are major retail chains such as Åhléns, Intersport, Lindex, Team Sportia and other retail and restaurant operations.

Bollnäs GIF Goal!

East of the city centre is Långnäs, which stretches out between Lake Vågen and Varpen, a part of Ljusnan river, with a folk park and a campsite. At Långnäs, the Bollnäs bandy team played their home games until 1973 when the bandy were moved to Sävstaås IP.

Bollnäs is home to one of Sweden’s most traditional bandy clubs, Bollnäs GIF, which has also been Swedish champions even though it was a long time ago. 1956 Bollnäs defeated Örebro SK 3-2 in the final. The last final so far for Bollnäs was in 2017 when the team was defeated by Edsbyn 1-3. The new indoor arena SBB Arena was completed and inaugurated on October 18, 2022 after a couple of decades of waiting for the bandy lovers in Bollnäs.

Gösta “Snoddas” Nordgren

The biggest bandy legendary man of Bollnäs, Gösta “Snoddas” Nordgren, is probably smiling in his heaven to see an indoor arena in Bollnäs. At the same time as his bandy career, he made his breakthrough as a singer and became one of Sweden’s biggest artists. He broke attendance records wherever he came and also drew many extra spectators to Bollnäs bandy matches just with his presence. “Snoddas” was born in 1926 and passed away only 54 years old 1981 when he participtated in a floor ball game in Vänersborg.