1.
Molde FK
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Molde Fotballklubb is a football club from Molde, Norway, that currently plays in the Tippeligaen, the Norwegian top division. Founded on 19 June 1911, Molde was originally known as International, Molde are three-time league champions and four-time Norwegian Cup winners, and have finished 2nd in the league a further seven times. Molde is one of only two Norwegian clubs to have participated in the UEFA Champions League and its home matches are played at Aker Stadion, which has a maximum capacity of 11,800. The stadium was inaugurated in 1998, and was a gift from the local businessmen Kjell Inge Røkke, the club was formerly based at Molde stadion, which hosted the clubs record attendance of 14,615. Moldes supporter club is called Tornekrattet and were started after the 1994 Cup Final victory, until the beginning of the 1970s, the club mainly played in local lower division leagues, except for a short visit in the Hovedserien in the 1957–58 season. In 1974 Molde was back in the top division and finished second in the league, Molde also finished second in the league in 1987, when the club lost the championship to Moss in the decisive match of the season. The club was the first professional club of former Manchester United player Ole Gunnar Solskjær, in his first season as manager, which also was the clubs centenary season, Molde won the league championship for the first time. The next season Solskjær and Molde retained the championship, Today the club has approximately 900 members and around 55 teams in three departments. Molde FK was founded on 19 June 1911 by a group gathered by Klaus Daae Andersen, the same year, on 5 August, the club played its first competitive match. The match away against Kristiansund ended 2–2, the rising interest and activity in football in neighbouring towns caused the club to change its name to Molde Fotballklubb in 1915. Jan Fuglset, Torkild Brakstad, and Harry Hestad, amongst others, the club played in local lower leagues, except for a short visit to the top division in the 1957–58 season. In 1970, Molde was promoted to the tier and played there for three seasons until its promotion to the First Division with a 5–1 win against Sogndal Fotball in Sogndal on 16 September 1973. Molde shocked the clubs in their first season of the Norwegian First Division. Before the last match, Molde would win the league if they beat Sarpsborg, both Molde and Viking won their last match, so Molde won the silver medals, one point behind Viking. Since then, Molde has generally stayed in the top division and has one of the nations leading clubs. The club has produced a number of national team players. Between 1978 and 1984, Molde did not play on the level in two consecutive years. Molde was relegated from the First Division in every even-numbered year, in fact, Molde and Brann did not play at the same level these years, as Brann were promoted when Molde was relegated and the other way around
2.
Finnmark
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Finnmark is a county in the extreme northeastern part of Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south, and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, the county was formerly known as Finmarkens amt or Vardøhus amt. Since 2002, it has had two names, Finnmark and Finnmárku. It is part of the Sápmi region, which spans four countries, as well as the Barents Region, Vardø, the easternmost municipality in Norway, is located farther east than the cities of St. Petersburg and Istanbul. The Old Norse form of the name was Finnmǫrk, the first element is finn, the Norse name for the Sámi people. The last element is mǫrk which means woodland or borderland, in Norse times the name referred to any places where Sámi people were living. The coat of arms are black with a castle tower, technically described as Sable. The design is from 1967 and shows the old Vardøhus Fortress on the border with Russia. Finnmark is the northernmost and easternmost county in Norway, by area, Finnmark is Norways largest county, even larger than the neighboring country of Denmark. However, with a population of about 75,000, it is also the least populated of all Norwegian counties, Finnmark has a total coastline of 6,844 kilometres, including 3,155 kilometres of coastline on the islands. Nearly 12,300 people or 16.6 percent of the population in 2000 was living in the 100-meter belt along the coastline. Honningsvåg in Finnmark claims to be the northernmost city of the world, the coast is indented by large fjords, many of which are false fjords, as they are not carved out by glaciers. The highest point is located on the top of the glacier Øksfjordjøkelen, which has an area of 45 square kilometres, both Øksfjordjøkelen and Seilandsjøkelen are located in the western part of Finnmark. The Øksfjord plateau glacier calved directly into the sea until 1900, the central and eastern part of Finnmark is generally less mountainous, and has no glaciers. The land east of Nordkapp is mostly below 300 m, the nature varies from barren coastal areas facing the Barents Sea, to more sheltered fjord areas and river valleys with gullies and tree vegetation. About half of the county is above the line. This valley has the highest density of Brown bears in Norway, lynx and moose are common in large parts of Finnmark, but rare on the coast. The interior parts of the county are part of the great Finnmarksvidda plateau, with an elevation of 300 to 400 m, with numerous lakes, the plateau is famous for its tens of thousands of reindeer owned by the Sami, and swarms of mosquitos in mid-summer
3.
Molde
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Molde is a city and municipality in Romsdal in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord, the city is located on the northern shore of the Romsdalsfjord. Other main population centers in the municipality include Hjelset, Kleive, Molde has a maritime, temperate climate, with cool-to-warm summers, and relatively mild winters. The city is nicknamed The Town of Roses and it is an old settlement which emerged as a trading post in the late Middle Ages. Formal trading rights were introduced in 1614, and the city was incorporated through a charter in 1742. The citys current location dates from the medieval period, but is preceded by the early medieval township on Veøya. However, settlement in the area can be traced further back in time—evidence given by two rock slabs carved with petroglyphs found at Bjørset, west of the city center. At the eve of the 15th century, the influence of Veøy waned, the town gained formal trading rights in 1614. During the Swedish occupation of Middle Norway, 1658–1660, after Denmark-Norways devastating defeat in the Northern Wars, after the rebellion and liberation in 1660, Molde became the administrative center of Romsdalen Amt and was incorporated through a royal charter in 1742. Molde continued to grow throughout the 18th and 19th Centuries, becoming a center for Norwegian textile, tourism later became a major industry, and Molde saw notabilities such as the German emperor Wilhelm II of Germany and the Prince of Wales as regular summer visitors. Molde consisted of luxurious hotels surrounding an idyllic township with quaint, wooden houses, lush gardens and parks, esplanades and pavilions and this was interrupted when one third of the city was destroyed in a fire on 21 January 1916. However, Molde recovered and continued to grow in the economically difficult interbellum period, a second fire, or series of fires, struck from the German air-raids in April and May 1940, which destroyed about two thirds of the town. They were put up at Glomstua, then at the outskirt of the town. The Norwegian gold reserve was also conveyed to Molde, and was hidden in a clothing factory, however, German intelligence was well aware of this, and on April 25 the Luftwaffe initiated a series of air-raids. For a week the air-raid siren on the chimney of the dairy building announced the repeated attacks, April 29 turned out to be the worst day in the history of Molde, as the city was transformed into a sea of flames by incendiary bombs. Until then the church had escaped undamaged, but in the final sortie a firebomb got stuck high up in the tower, after World War II, Molde experienced tremendous growth. The city of Molde was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. It was surrounded by the municipality of Bolsøy
4.
Ullevaal Stadion
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Ullevaal Stadion is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the ground of Vålerenga IF and the Norway national football team. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the ground of FK Lyn. With a capacity of approximately 28,000, it is the largest football stadium in Norway, the national stadium is fully owned by the Football Association of Norway. The stadium opened on 26 September 1926 as the ground for Lyn. The first international match was played in 1927, and NFF started gradually purchasing part of the stadium company, the peak attendance dates from 1935, when 35,495 people saw Norway play Sweden. Since 1948, Ullevaal has hosted the finals of the Norwegian Football Cup, a new renovation started with the completion of the single-tier West Stand in 1985, and continued with the two-tier North and East Stands in 1990 and the South Stand in 1998. Ullevaal hosted the finals of the UEFA Womens Euro in 1987 and 1997, in conjunction with the stadium is the head office of many sports federations, a bandy field, and commercial property including a conference center, hotel and shopping mall. The stadium is located adjacent to Ullevål Stadion Station of the Oslo Metro, plans call to replace the West Stand to increase capacity to 30,000 and perhaps add a retractable roof and artificial turf. The first suggestions for a stadium at Ullevaal were launched by members of Lyn in 1917, Lyn had also considered building their stadium at Holmenkollåsen, Hoff, Tåsen, Frogner, Berg and Marienlyst. The club made an agreement with the tram operator Akersbanerne to purchase land they had acquired as part of the construction of the Sognsvann Line and it was decided that a limited company was to be established, with a share capital of NOK100,000. Aker Municipality agreed to purchase 30% and partially pay via access roads, all sports clubs in Aker were given the right to purchase up to 10% of the shares, while the rest was to be bought by Lyn. Any costs exceeding the capital was to be paid for through loans and donations, at the same time, Lyn acquired land to build a training field which they would own themselves and was estimated to cost NOK20,000. Both plans were passed by the annual meeting on 23 May 1924. A/S Ullevaal Stadion was founded on 27 January 1925, the company was owned 73. 5% by Lyn, 24% Aker Municipality and 5. 1% by the clubs Ullevaal, Tåsen, Nydalen and Heming. The stadium was built with a track, allowing the stadium to also be used for track and field. The grand opening was held on 26 September 1926 by Crown Prince Olav and it was followed by a friendly match between a reinforced Lyn and Örgryte IS of Sweden, where Lyn won 5–1. In the opening game, tickets cost NOK3 for seats, NOK2 for standing places, the stadium became both the home ground for Lyn and hosted track and field events
5.
Oslo
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Oslo is the capital and the most populous city in Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality, founded in the year 1040, and established as a kaupstad or trading place in 1048 by Harald Hardrada, the city was elevated to a bishopric in 1070 and a capital under Haakon V of Norway around 1300. Personal unions with Denmark from 1397 to 1523 and again from 1536 to 1814, after being destroyed by a fire in 1624, the city was moved closer to Akershus Fortress during the reign of Christian IV of Denmark and renamed Christiania in his honour. It was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838, following a spelling reform, it was known as Kristiania from 1877 to 1925, at which time its original Norwegian name was restored. Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway, the city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important centre for industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to companies within the maritime sector, some of which are among the worlds largest shipping companies, shipbrokers. Oslo is a city of the Council of Europe and the European Commission intercultural cities programme. Oslo is considered a city and ranked Beta World City in studies carried out by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group. It was ranked one in terms of quality of life among European large cities in the European Cities of the Future 2012 report by fDi magazine. A survey conducted by ECA International in 2011 placed Oslo as the second most expensive city in the world for living expenses after Tokyo. In 2013 Oslo tied with the Australian city of Melbourne as the fourth most expensive city in the world, as of January 1,2016, the municipality of Oslo has a population of 658,390, while the population of the citys urban area was 942,084. The metropolitan area had an population of 1.71 million. The population was during the early 2000 increasing at record rates and this growth stems for the most part from international immigration and related high birth rates, but also from intra-national migration. The immigrant population in the city is growing faster than the Norwegian population. As of January 1,2016, the municipality of Oslo has a population of 658,390, the urban area extends beyond the boundaries of the municipality into the surrounding county of Akershus, the total population of this agglomeration is 942,084. To the north and east, wide forested hills rise above the city giving the location the shape of a giant amphitheatre. The urban municipality of Oslo and county of Oslo are two parts of the entity, making Oslo the only city in Norway where two administrative levels are integrated
6.
Aker Stadion
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Aker Stadion, formerly known as Molde Stadion, is a football stadium located at Reknes in Molde, Norway, and is the home of Norwegian Premier League club Molde. The stadium has a capacity of 11,800 spectators, the building was designed by architect Kjell Kosberg. It cost 212 million kr, most of which was paid for by club-owner Kjell Inge Røkke—after whom the ground has been nicknamed Røkkeløkka. The main construction took place 1997, and the stadium was inaugurated on 18 April 1998 in a league game against Lillestrøm. The stadium was nominated for the FIABCI Prix D Excellence and awarded the City Prize in 1999, the record attendance of 13,308 was set in a league match against Rosenborg in 1998. The same year, the arena hosted its first international match, the following year, when Molde reached the UEFA Champions League, the stadium was converted to an all-seater, reducing its capacity. Since May 2006, the name has been sponsored by Røkkes company Aker. The grass pitch was replaced with artificial turf in 2014, since 1955, Molde had been playing their home games at Molde idrettspark, a municipal-owned multi-use venue. A new stadium was proposed to be located at the waterfront at Reknes, there were many local protests, including complaints about the size of the structure. Construction of the fillings and preparation of the construction site started in March 1997. The stadium was inaugurated on 18 April 1998, when the stadium was opened by Prime Minister. In the opening match, Molde beat Lillestrøm 4–0 in their first home game of the season, during the season, this was the match in the country with the most spectators not hosted at Rosenborgs home ground Lerkendal. On 27 May, the arena hosted its only international match, on 11 August, CSKA Sofia visited Molde for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup, for which Molde failed to qualify. The all-time spectator record was set on 26 September, when Molde hosted Rosenborg BK in front of 13,308 people, during the fall of 1999, Molde played two qualification games for UEFA Champions League at the stadium. Following the aggregated victories over CSKA Moscow and Mallorca, Molde qualified for the group stage, following entry into Champions League, the stadium was converted to an all-seater, with seats being installed on the lower sections of the short end stands. The reduced the attendance capacity permanently, because the club chose to not remove the seats afterwards, in 2006, an agreement was made where Røkkes company Aker became the stadium name sponsor, with the stadium being renamed Aker stadion. The same season, the club was relegated to the First Division, despite the relegation, average attendance increased, and Molde won the league. Since 2008, the team has played in the Premier League
7.
Hamarkameratene
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Hamarkameratene, often abbreviated to HamKam or Ham-Kam, is a Norwegian football club based in the town of Hamar. The club was founded in 1918, originally under the name Freidig, HamKam were most recently promoted to the Norwegian Premier League in 2007. Briskeby gressbane has been the ground of Hamarkameratene since 1936. The construction of a completely modernized stadium began in 2007, upon completion, expected in 2009, Briskeby will have a capacity of 10.200 spectators, whereas the capacity prior to the modernization was approximately 8000. Hamarkameratene were founded as Freidig on 10 August 1918 by a group of teenagers, the prerequisite for joining the team was being able to pay for the football. Freidig applied for entry into the series in 1926, but were only admitted after their second attempt. At the time a club by the name of Freidig was already playing in the series, the natural choice was Briskebyen Fotballag, Briskeby being the name of their neighbourhood. The club had no permanent playing location until 1936, instead renting fields from other clubs. Eventually this situation grew intolerable and ground for a stadium of their own was bought in 1934, Briskeby gressbane was inaugurated two year later and has remained the clubs home ground ever since. The neighborhood was located in the municipality Vang until an expansion of Hamars city limits in 1946, in 1946, Briskebyen Fotballag joined up with the multimodal sports club Hamar Arbeideridrettslag to form Hamarkameratene. The first manager was Roy Wright, a former Wolverhampton player and his experience from English football, however, did not benefit the club and he was considered a disappointment. The Czechoslovakian, Willem Cerveny, on the hand, proved to be an influential asset to club. The first half of the 1970s was the clubs most successful period to date, having won promotion to the 1st Division for the first time in 1969, the green and white placed third overall in their first season, as well as reaching the semifinals of the Norwegian Cup. HamKam remained a contender in the 1st Division until 1974. The club would earn promotion to the highest division three times before 1980. The 80s continued in much the fashion as the latter part of the 70s, with the club going back. In 1984, a new stand with a capacity of 2,346 was constructed at Briskeby, a measure of success was still achieved, however, the club reaching the semifinals of the cup in 1987 and 1989. A successful season in 1991 saw Hamarkameratene once again win promotion to the highest division, the club managed to avoid relegation in 1992 by virtue of a better goal difference, and entered into 1993 with renewed confidence
8.
Rob Friend
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Robert Douglas Rob Friend is a Canadian former professional and international soccer player. Friend was born 23 January 1981 in Rosetown, Saskatchewan, Canada, Friend was exposed to senior level play early, appearing for Okanagan Challenge of the Premier Development Soccer League as well as appearing in an exhibition for the Vancouver 86ers of the A-League. Despite training with English club Crewe Alexandra F. C. Friend decided to attend Western Michigan University and he played college soccer for the Western Michigan Broncos from 1999 to 2000, having appeared in 40 games and scoring 9 goals. Friend transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara and finished his career with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos mens soccer team. As a senior, Friend scored in 12 consecutive matches which ranks fifth in NCAA Division I history and he appeared in 40 games for the Gauchos, scoring 31 goals and assisting on 9 more. He was named as a 2002 All-American, becoming the first Gaucho in 32 years to receive the honor, after graduation from UCSB, Friend went on trial with Moss FK in December 2002. After a positive showing, he signed a deal in December 2002 for Moss FKs upcoming 2003 Norwegian First Division season. Despite his contract with Moss FK, Friend was drafted in the 4th Round of the 2003 MLS SuperDraft by Chicago Fire making him the first player from UCSB drafted to MLS. Friend made 41 league appearances and scored 16 league goals for Moss FK over his two season span with the club before being transferred to Molde FK in August 2004, with Molde, he won the 2005 Norwegian Football Cup and scored a goal in the Final. He remained with the Molde FK until 2006, making 40 league appearances, early 2006 saw interest in Friend rise with Crystal Palace F. C. and Vålerenga Fotball among teams looking to purchase him. It was announced in late March 2006 that Friend was sold to SC Heerenveen ahead of the 2006–07 Eredivisie season, per terms of the agreement, his last game for Molde FK was in July and a portion of the transfer fee went to his original club Moss FK. After making 19 appearances with Heerenveen and scoring five goals, he was loaned to Heracles Almelo in January 2007 to conclude the 2006–07 Eredivisie season, despite his contributions, Heerenveen deemed him surplus to requirements and transferred him on to Borussia Mönchengladbach. During the 2007–08 season Friend scored 18 goals in 33 matches, making him Borussia Mönchengladbachs top scorer and his team finished first, and were promoted to the Bundesliga. On 17 August 2008, Friend scored in his very first game in the Bundesliga, after three years in Mönchengladbach, including two in the Bundesliga, Friend was sold from the club and was bought by the newly relegated Hertha BSC for €1.8 million. Friend made his debut and scored his first goal for Berlin on 14 August 2010 in a DFB-Pokal cup match versus Pfullendorf, six days later he made his league debut for the team in a 3–2 victory over Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. On 12 September, Friend had a man of the match performance scoring 2 goals in a 3–1 home victory over Arminia Bielefeld at Olympic Stadium, Friend finished his first season with Hertha having scored 6 goals in 27 appearances in the 2. He helped Hertha win the 2, Bundesliga gaining automatic promotion back to top flight football. On the final day of the 2011 summer transfer window, Friend returned to the second division and he was close to re-joining Major League Soccer in the United States in January 2013, but despite interest from Vancouver Whitecaps FC Friend saw his contract to completion in Germany
9.
Penalty kick (association football)
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A penalty kick is a method of restarting play in association football, taken from 11 metres out from the goal, on the penalty mark. Penalty kicks are performed during normal play and they are awarded when a foul that is punishable by a direct free kick is committed within the offending players own penalty area. Similar kicks are made in a penalty shootout in some tournaments to determine which team is victorious after a drawn match, in practice, penalties are converted to goals more often than not, even against world class goalkeepers. This means that penalty awards are often decisive, especially in low-scoring games, the referee gives the ball to the non-offending team. The goalkeeper must stand on the line between the post until the ball is kicked. Lateral movement is allowed, but the keeper is not permitted to come off the goal line by stepping or lunging forward until the ball is in play. When the goalkeeper indicates to the referee that they are ready, once the shooter has started their approach to the ball, they are not permitted to interrupt it. The ball must be stationary before the kick, and must be struck forwards, violation of these rules will result in a re-kick. After the penalty is taken properly, the ball may be played by any player except the one who executed the penalty kick. The kicker may not play the ball again until it has touched or played by another player on either team. For penalties taken near the end of time, play may be extended so that the penalty kick may be taken. A two-man penalty, or tap penalty, occurs when the penalty-taker, instead of shooting for goal, taps the ball slightly forward so that a team-mate can run on to it and shoot. The team-mate, like all other players, must be at least ten yards from the penalty mark when the ball is initially kicked and this strategy depends on the element of surprise, so that the team-mate can reach the ball ahead of any defenders. There is no requirement for the penalty taker to shoot for goal, the first recorded tap penalty was taken by Jimmy McIlroy and Danny Blanchflower of Northern Ireland against Portugal on 1 May 1957. Another was taken by Rik Coppens and André Piters in the World Cup Qualifying match Belgium v Iceland on 5 June 1957, arsenal players Thierry Henry and Robert Pirès failed in an attempt at a similar penalty in 2005, during a Premier League match against Manchester City at Highbury. Lionel Messi tapped a penalty for Luis Suárez as Suárez completed his hat-trick on 14 February 2016 against league opponents Celta De Vigo, in the case of a player repeatedly infringing the laws during the penalty kick, the referee may caution the player for persistent infringement. Note that all offences that occur before kick may be dealt with in this manner, as with a direct free kick, the kicker may not touch the ball a second time, until another player has touched the ball. Another example of an infringement is when a player will run up, stop directly at the ball and this gives the goalkeeper no chance at saving it, and the result of this would be a free kick for the opposing team
10.
Lyn Fotball
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Lyn Toppfotball is a Norwegian football club and a department of the sports club Ski- og Fotballklubben Lyn based in Oslo, whose members also participate in Nordic skiing and orienteering. Until 2010, SFK Lyn had two departments, one professional section and one amateur section. After the professional department, FK Lyn was bankrupted in 2010. With the help of some of the old FK Lyn players, the team plays its home matches at Bislett Stadium, and the head coach is Finn Bredo Olsen. Lyn was founded in 1896 and is one of the oldest football clubs in Norway, the club won the league in 1964 and 1968 and have won the cup eight times. Lyn was also the initiator of the construction of Ullevaal Stadion, Lyn has traditionally been perceived as representing the upper and middle classes, whereas the eastside club Vålerenga was seen as belonging to the workers. The club enjoyed success during the first half of the 20th century, securing many Cup titles. The Norwegian national football team won the bronze medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics included six players from Lyn. The captain of team was Lyn-player Jørgen Juve, who is still the player with the most goals scored for the Norwegian national team. The clubs most recent period of success was during the 1960s, Lyn also fields a womens team, which in 2012 won promotion to the First Division, the second tier in womens football Lyn was founded on 3 March 1896 at St. Hanshaugen. Lyn was one of three clubs who in 1902 founded the Football Association of Norway, and is the one still existing. In the first decade of Football in Norway, the club was one of the strongest, Jørgen Juve is still the player with the most goals scored for the Norwegian national team. Lyn also won the cup in 1945 and 1946 but had to wait till 1964 for their first league-title, because of the weather conditions during the winter in Norway, both matches were played in Spain. Lyn lost the first game 2-3 and in the second match Lyn was leading 2-0 with 15 minutes left to play, the match ended 2-2 and thus Lyn was eliminated. The Double was followed by a period in the clubs history. The club was relegated in 1969, and even though the team was promoted back after one year and reached the cup final in 1970, the club was again relegated in 1973. During the next 30 years, Lyn was swiftly relegated and promoted between the first and the tier and the club was never playing in the top division for more than three consecutive seasons. During this period the fan base eroded and Lyn is said to have lost a generation of supporters, during the 90s the club went back and forth between the Premier League and the First Division
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