Mo IL

Mo Idrettslag is a football club from Mo i Rana, Norway, that plays in the Second Division, the third highest division in the Norwegian football league system, having been promoted from the Third Division in 2015.

Notable former members include the football coaches Trond Sollied, Thor André Olsen and Charles Berstad, as well as the former football referee Jonny Ditlefsen.

Home ground

The new home ground of Mo is Sagbakken Stadion.

History

Mo IL was founded in 1904, as the first football club in Nord-Norge. In the first couple of years, Mo only played against teams with Englishmen working in the area, but on 7 June 1907 Ranen Kompani was beaten 2-1 in the first match between two teams from Nord-Norge.

One of the most memorable moments from the 2004-season was the 0-2. loss against Tromsø IL, fielding players such as Morten Gamst Pedersen in their starting eleven, in the third round of the 2004 Norwegian Football Cup. On their way to the third round, they beat the second tier team Strømsgodset IF 2-0.

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.