Sarpsborg FK

Sarpsborg Fotballklubb is a Norwegian football club from Sarpsborg, Østfold. It was founded on 8 May 1903. Sarpsborg is one of the most successful teams in the Norwegian Football Cup, with six titles and twelve finals in total. In 2007, the club merged into the club that is now called Sarpsborg 08, and today Sarpsborg FK is an amateur club playing in the Fifth Division, the sixth tier of Norwegian league system.

History

Sarpsborg played their first cup final as early as 1906, which they lost against Odd. In 1917, in Sarpsborg's third final, the club won its first title after Brann was beaten 4-1. Sarpsborg also won the cup in 1929, 1939, 1948, 1949 and 1951. Harry Yven participated in four of these six championships, the first time as a 17-year-old in 1929 and the last as a 37-year-old in 1949.

Sarpsborg's latest period of greatness was the years around 1970. That year, they participated in the European Cup. With the exception of 1957 to 1962 and 1973, Sarpsborg played at the top tier from the inaugural season in 1937–38 till the club was relegated in 1974. Former Scottish international forward Jim McCalliog played for Sarpsborg FK in 1979. Sarpsborg last played in the Norwegian First Division in 1997.

Sarpsborg

Sarpsborg [ˈsɑʂbɔr] is a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg.

Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neighbouring Fredrikstad. As of 1 January 2010, according to Statistics Norway these two municipalities have a total population of 125,797 with 52,159 in Sarpsborg and 73,638 in Fredrikstad.

Borregaard Industries is, and always has been, the most important industry in the city. The city is also the home of Borg Bryggerier, part of the Hansa Borg Bryggerier, which is Norway's second largest brewery-group.

General information

Name

In Norse times the city was just called Borg (from borg which means "castle"). The background for this was the fortification built by Olav Haraldsson (see History section). Later the genitive case of the name of the waterfall Sarpr (Sarp Falls) was added.

In Norse times Østfold county was called Borgarsýsla which means "the county (sýsla) of Borg" and the law district of southeast Norway was called Borgarþing meaning "the thing/court of Borg".

Sarpsborg 08 FF

Sarpsborg 08 Fotballforening is a Norwegian football club based in Sarpsborg, currently playing in Tippeligaen. Sarpsborg 08 played in Adeccoligaen from 2005 to 2010. In 2010, the club was promoted to the Tippeligaen, the top league in Norway, but finished last and was relegated back to Adeccoligaen in 2011. In 2012, they were promoted again. They play their home games at Sarpsborg Stadion.

History

Football in Sarpsborg has traditionally been dominated by Sarpsborg FK (SFK), which won the Norwegian Cup six times and played 20 seasons in the top division, and to a lesser extent IL Sparta, which won the Norwegian Cup in 1952 and played nine seasons in the top division. However, after SFK's relegation from the 1974, no teams from Sarpsborg played in the top division for the next two decades. In 1999, 16 teams in the Sarpsborg-area joined forces to create a team that could compete in the top divisions of Norwegian football, called Sarpsborg Fotball, which overtook SFK's spot in the league-system. In its first season the team was relegated from the Second Division, and several clubs including both SFK and Sparta, withdrew from the collaboration.