Kiruna FFGround: Lombia Idrottsplats Visits: 1 Date: 1st August 2021 Match: Kiruna FF - Norsjö 4-0 (Division 3 Norra Norrland) Attendance: 118 Situated 200 km north of the Arctic Circle Kiruna is the northernmost town in Sweden. The municipality has the same area as Wales but a population of only 27,000. Kiruna is heavily dominated by the iron mine which is the biggest underground mine in the world. For a century the mine has given wealth and prosperity to this part of Sweden and the city actually has the ancient symbol for iron in its coat of arms. Having visited Palovallen on Saturday it was time to finally visit Lombia IP in Kiruna on Sunday. Lombia IP is the northernmost as well as the highest situated (515 m above sea level) football ground in Sweden. Knowing it was going to be below 10 degrees in Kiruna I had packed plenty of warm clothes. Leif´s son, Felix, would be one of the assistant referees at Lobia and at 9.15 the three of us headed towards Kiruna. At Vittangi we made a short stop and we also paid Vittangi IP a visit. Sadly this ground is not used for senior football at the moment. The road from Pajala to Kiruna is used to bring iron ore from the mine in Kaunisvaara to the terminal in Svappavaara. That means plenty of road works to strengthen the road and for about 20 km it was more or less a gravel road. Once in Kiruna Felix was dropped off while Leif and I went to Matojärvi, where there is a ski stadium and an ice-hockey arena. Börje Salming is one of Sweden´s most legendary ice-hockey players and his career started at Matojärvi. Anyway, 45 minutes prior to kick-off we were back at Lombia. I was greeted with a cup of coffee from a club official, a very nice welcoming! Kiruna FF was founded in 1970 as a merger of four Kiruna based clubs. In the late 1980s/early 1990s the club played several seasons in Division 1 Norra, then the second tier in Sweden. Since 2009 the club has played in Division 3 but this year the club is looking good for promotion to Division 2. Division 3 Norra Norrland is the northernmost of the 12 level 5-leagues in Sweden. Today´s visitors, Norsjö, had to travel for 5.5 hours to reach Kiruna, which is quite crazy for this level. The game at Lombia this afternoon ended 4-0 to Kiruna FF and it will be a long journey back home for Norsjö. When it comes to Kiruna FF I would be surprised if they don´t win the league and I will definitely look out for their results in the coming months. After the final whistle I had something to eat and drink before being dropped off at my hotel. A big thank you to Leif for his help with organizing transports and accommodation for me this weekend! Kiirunavaara Kiirunavaara Lombia IP Welcome to Lombia IP Kiruna FF Dressing rooms ![]() West Stand ![]() North End East Stand South End Kick-off East Stand East Stand View of play South End View of play West Stand West Stand Kiruna FF fans Pano |