[1] Fans also refers to the club as Grönsvart (green-black), or Makrillarna (the Mackerels) because of the traditional green and black striped shirt and white shorts.
GAIS won the first season of the new first tier league Allsvenskan in 1924/25, two points ahead of local rivals IFK Göteborg.
With "the Black Pearl" as playmaker and notorious goalscorer GAIS was once again a force to be reckoned with and made it to the promotion playoffs to Allsvenskan in 1985, only to lose out to Djurgårdens IF after a penalty shoot-out in a highly controversial game.
GAIS finally made it back to Allsvenskan in 1987 ending eleven long years of struggling in the lower divisions.
For the second time in club history GAIS made it to the finals of Svenska Cupen as well, but lost out 2–0 to opposing side Kalmar FF.
This season would be the starting point of possibly the worst yo-yo experience any Swedish football club has ever experienced.
GAIS was promoted to the second division in 1998 and made it back to Allsvenskan after the season of 1999 by finishing in second place and defeating Kalmar FF in the qualifying round.
Then after a hard-fought battle throughout 2003 against local competitors Ljungskile SK GAIS finally ended up winning the series by goal difference.
The next year GAIS signed Roland Nilsson as head coach, and with him at the lead the club finished in sixth place of the 2004 Superettan.
During the following season, facing competition from newly relegated AIK and Östers IF, GAIS managed to finish third and got to play Landskrona BoIS in the promotion playoffs to Allsvenskan.
After beating Landskrona 2–1 at home and drawing them 0–0 in an extremely tight away game, where GAIS forward Wilton Figueiredo got his second yellow card after 30 minutes of play and manager Roland Nilsson substituted defender Kenneth Gustafsson for himself during the last 25 minutes, GAIS finally got to make their return to Allsvenskan.
Their supporters have traditionally been perceived as coming from the working class-districts of Gothenburg and having left wing sympathies,[2] even though research on the subject couldn't conclude that this were more true than for other clubs.
[6] The club and its supporters harbour a fierce rivalry with Gothenburg's other traditional working-class team IFK Göteborg.
The GAIS player of the year award "The Honorary Mackerel" has presented by the supporter group Makrillarna at the end of each season since 1961.