HamKam

Hamarkameratene (literally the Hamar Comrades), 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. A third-place finish in 1970 is the highest position that the team has held in the Premier League; the club has never progressed beyond the semifinals of the Norwegian Cup, last reaching the semifinals in 1989.

Briskeby gressbane has been the home 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.

History

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 regional series in 1926, but were only admitted after their second attempt, in 1927. At the time a club by the name of "Freidig" was already playing in the series, so the boys from Hamar were forced to rename their team. The natural choice was Briskebyen Fotballag (Briskebyen Football Team), Briskeby being the name of their neighbourhood. The club had no permanent playing location until 1936, instead renting fields from various 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 club's home ground ever since. The neighborhood was located in the municipality Vang until an expansion of Hamar's city limits in 1946.

Reserve teams in Norwegian football

Reserve teams in Norwegian association football play in the ordinary league system. They are always attached to their first teams with a "2" suffix, must play in a lower league than the first team, and cannot play in the Premier League or First Division. Furthermore, if a club's first team plays in the First Division, the reserves team cannot play in the Second Division either.

Controversy

Reserve teams have in general been criticized for fielding uneven teams from week to week, with many first-team players one week and more youth players the next. They have also been criticized for keeping smaller clubs out of the Second Division, meaning a more centralized football culture. In 2009 manager Ivar Morten Normark proposed to throw the reserve teams out of the ordinary league pyramid, and other managers like Dag Eilev Fagermo agreed. In a survey, 19 of 31 responding Second Division clubs wanted the reserve teams out, as did 30 of the 49 responding Third Division clubs.