We’re off to Östersund!

On Thursday, Hertha head to face Östersunds FK. Here’s everything you need to know about the Swedish club and their surroundings.

Berlin – Hertha’s last UEFA Europa League away fixture took place in Benfica’s Estadio da Luz on 23rd February 2010 in front of a crowd of 65,000. This Thursday, 2774 days later, the Blue and Whites will go to Östersunds FK. Fans of the capital club can look forward to a fascinating trip to Sweden to watch Hertha.

The trip to the Swedish province of Jämtlands is somewhat different to visiting the likes of Lisbon. A total of 50,000 people live in Östersund and the city’s landscape mainly revolves around the lake Storsjön enhancing its picturesque aesthetic.

A Mekka for biathletes

The area of Sweden in which Östersund resides is famous for winter sports. The ski stadium in Östersund hosts the first run of the Biathlon World Cup every year. The arena which was modernised for the 2008 World Cup can hold up to 15,000 winter sports fans.

From the ski stadium, you can see the Jämtkraft Arena where Östersunds FK play their home fixtures. Not only do winter sports attract attention in Östersund , football has taken the heart of the locals. Since their foundation, ÖFK have had a meteoric rise in Swedish football. After having initially started in the third division in 1996, the club actually even dropped into the fourth tier in 2010 but since then have climbed ever higher. Until now, their highlights as a club have been their promoting into the top tier in 2015 and the cup win in 2017.

It’ll certainly be an interesting fixture on Thursday night and, despite the niceties of Östersund, what matters most is the three points for Hertha.