Idrettsklubben Start (or simply IK Start, translates to The sports club Start) is a Norwegian football club from the city of Kristiansand that currently plays in the Norwegian First Division, the second tier of the Norwegian football league system. The club was founded on 19 September 1905. The club's current head coach is Azar Karadas. The team plays in yellow jerseys, black shorts and socks at home, and black jerseys, yellow shorts and socks away.

IK Start
logo
Full nameIdrettsklubben Start
Founded19 September 1905; 119 years ago (19 September 1905)
GroundSør Arena
Kristiansand
Capacity14,563
Head coachAzar Karadas
LeagueNorwegian First Division
20231. divisjon, 5th of 16
Websitehttp://www.ikstart.no/

They play their home matches at Sør Arena, the club's own football stadium, opened in 2007. Before moving to Sør Arena, IK Start played their games at Kristiansand Stadion. The team's official supporter club was called "Tigerberget", until 2017, when the IK Start board decided to no longer have an official supporter club.

History

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Start were Norwegian champions in 1978 and 1980. They participated in the European Cup in 1979 and 1981, as well as being qualified for the UEFA Champions League 2006–07. The years since 1995 have been turbulent, but recent investments have given greater expectations for the future. In 2004 they won the Norwegian 1. divisjon and were promoted to the top flight.

In 2005 they reached second place, following Vålerenga, after a strong comeback season in the Tippeligaen. For this, Start earned a place in the UEFA Cup 2006.

In 2006, after beating Skála of the Faroe Islands in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup, and Drogheda United of Ireland in the second qualifying round (after penalties), they reached the first round of the UEFA Cup, where they were knocked out by Ajax of the Netherlands.

2007 was a bad year for Start, with problems working as a team and management issues. It led to a disappointing 13th place, leading to Start's relegation to 1. divisjon. In 2008 the club got financial problems. The local government saved the club from bankruptcy. The financial difficulties has plagued Start for several seasons, due to the financial crisis and the Norwegian footballteams overspending, Start being no exception. The last couple of seasons, Start has downsized and saved money, for example by changing the turf on Sør Arena, the hopes being that the savings will keep the wheels turning in Start.

Ahead of the 2009 season, Knut Tørum was appointed head coach of Start. The next two seasons, Start was positioned at the lower half of Tippeligaen although achieving some strong results, like being the only team to beat Rosenborg in 2009, at Rosenborgs homeground Lerkendal, delaying their gold celebration. On 22 June 2011, Start had 13 points in 12 matches, and Tørum decided to resign hours before a cup-match against Strømsgodset, a match Start won without Tørum. Mons Ivar Mjelde replaced Tørum as head coach, but was not able to save Start from relegation. Start started the 2012 1. divisjon in strong fashion, leading the division and winning important matches and won promotion at the end of the season.

Start defeated Stabæk 4–1 on 4 July 2015. From 12 July 2015 to 18 September 2016, Start played 39 consecutive games without a win in Tippeligaen.[1] This is the longest run without winning a single game across any top division in Europe.

Badge

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Former logo of IK Start, used between 2018 and 2021.

Since the club was founded in 1905, the club badge had been a blue and white pennant. In November 2017, the badge was replaced with a more modernised version in all black.[2] The new crest was in use for four years, before Start decided to return to the old one in March 2022.[3]

Achievements

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Recent history

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Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Notes
2002 Tippeligaen 14 26 2 5 19 21 72 11 Fourth round Relegated to the 1. divisjon
2003 1. divisjon 9 30 12 4 14 53 50 40 Third round
2004 1. divisjon 1 30 24 2 4 71 28 74 Third round Promoted to the Tippeligaen
2005 Tippeligaen 2 26 13 6 7 47 35 45 Fourth round
2006 Tippeligaen 6 26 10 7 9 29 32 37 Semi-final
2007 Tippeligaen 13 26 6 8 12 34 44 26 Fourth round Relegated to the 1. divisjon
2008 1. divisjon 3 30 17 8 5 58 34 59 Fourth round Promoted to the Tippeligaen
2009 Tippeligaen 9 30 10 10 10 46 52 40 Third round
2010 Tippeligaen 8 30 11 9 10 57 60 42 Quarter-final
2011 Tippeligaen 15 30 7 5 18 39 61 26 Semi-final Relegated to the 1. divisjon
2012 1. divisjon 1 30 20 6 4 71 35 66 Fourth round Promoted to the Tippeligaen
2013 Tippeligaen 9 30 10 8 12 43 46 38 Quarter-final
2014 Tippeligaen 12 30 10 5 15 47 60 35 Fourth round
2015 Tippeligaen 14 30 5 7 18 35 64 22 Second round
2016 Tippeligaen 16 30 2 10 18 23 59 16 Third round Relegated to the 1. divisjon
2017 1. divisjon 2 30 16 7 7 57 36 55 Second round Promoted to the Eliteserien
2018 Eliteserien 15 30 8 5 17 30 54 29 Semi-final Relegated to the 1. divisjon
2019 1. divisjon 3 30 19 5 6 54 31 62 First round Promoted to the Eliteserien
2020 Eliteserien 15 30 6 9 15 33 56 27 Cancelled Relegated to the 1. divisjon
2021 1. divisjon 9 30 10 8 12 59 59 38 Fourth round
2022 1. divisjon 3 30 16 6 8 63 38 54 Fourth round
2023 1. divisjon 5 30 12 10 8 49 30 46 Third round
2024 (in progress) 1. divisjon 11 29 9 8 12 44 53 35 First round

Source:[4]

Current squad

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As of 6 September 2024[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   NOR Jasper Silva Torkildsen
2 DF   NOR Fredrik Pålerud
4 MF   NOR Sivert Sira Hansen
5 DF   NOR Nicolas Pignatel Jenssen
6 MF   CGO Faites Prévu Kaya Makosso
7 FW   NOR Sigurd Grønli
8 MF   NOR Mathias Grundetjern
9 FW   NOR Kristoffer Hoven
11 MF   NOR Eirik Schulze
12 GK   NOR Herman Seierstad Johnsen
13 DF   GER Sebastian Griesbeck
15 FW   NOR Marius Nordal
16 MF   SWE Tom Strannegård
17 FW   NOR Sander Richardsen
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 FW   NOR Jonas Lomeland Seim
19 DF   NOR Deni Dashaev
20 FW   NOR Håkon Lorentzen
21 MF   NOR Sander Sjøkvist
22 DF   NOR Adrian Eftestad Nilsen
23 FW   NGA Mustapha Isah (on loan from Randers)
24 DF   NOR Jesper Gravdahl
25 MF   KOS Herolind Shala
27 DF   NOR Ludvig Begby (on loan from Fredrikstad)
29 DF   AUT Wilhelm Vorsager
37 FW   NOR Eythor Bjørgolfsson (on loan from Moss FK)
44 FW   SWE Salim Nkubiri
45 GK   DEN Jacob Pryts

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF   NOR Altin Ujkani (at Fløy)
14 DF   FIN Kalle Wallius (at IFK Mariehamn)
27 FW   NOR Sander Alvestad Svela (at Arendal Fotball)

Coaching staff

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Position Name
Head coach   Azar Karadas
Assistant coach   Thomas Pereira (footballer)
Physio   Pål Erik Pedersen
Equipment manager   Rune Hægeland

Former head coaches

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IK Start coaching history from 1947 to present

European record

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Season Competition Round Club Home Away Agg.
1974–75 UEFA Cup First round   Djurgården 1–2 0–5 1–7
1976–77 UEFA Cup First round   Wacker Innsbruck 0–5 1–2 1–7
1977–78 UEFA Cup First round   Fram 6–0 2–0 8–0
Second round   Eintracht Braunschweig 1–0 0–4 1–4
1978–79 UEFA Cup First round   Esbjerg 0–0 0–1 0–1
1979–80 European Cup First round   Strasbourg 1–2 0–4 1–6
1981–82 European Cup First round   AZ 1–3 0–1 1–4
2006–07 UEFA Cup First qualifying round   Skála 3–0 1–0 4–0
Second qualifying round   Drogheda United 1–0 0–1 1–1 (11–10 (p))
First round   Ajax 2–5 0–4 2–9

References

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  1. ^ "Start med sin første seier siden 4. juli i fjor: – Det kom en tåre i øyekroken". tv2.no (in Norwegian). TV2. 25 September 2016. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  2. ^ Haus, Line (13 November 2017). "Start snur etter supporterstorm – endrer logo". NRK (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Tilbake til blå og hvit vimpel". NRK (in Norwegian). 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  4. ^ "IK Start". NIFS (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Start sin spillerstall" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
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