Aabyhøj Idrætsforening (; commonly known as Aabyhøj IF), is a

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

based in Aabyhøj,

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

, Denmark. Founded in 1919 as Aabyhøj Idrætsforening "Thrott" by a group of local young men, the club mainly features

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. The men's team competes in the

Jutland Series Jutland Series ( da, Jyllandsserien, JS, Herre Jyllandsserien) is the highest division for men organized by the regional association DBU Jylland and one of the fifth-highest divisions overall in the Danish football league system. The Jutland Asso ...

, the fifth tier of the Danish football league system and the highest division of the regional

DBU Jutland DBU Jutland ( da, DBU Jylland) is the local governing body for association football and futsal in Jutland, Denmark. They are responsible for the governance and development of men's and women's football at all levels in the region. DBU Jutland is a ...

association. A club focusing mainly on youth development, Aabyhøj IF has brought forward players such as

John Stampe John Stampe Møller (16 February 1957 – 29 July 2012) was a Danish football player and coach. He played 444 games (and scored 12 goals) for AGF Aarhus Aarhus Gymnastikforening (; commonly known as AGF ), is a professional sports club based ...

, John Amdisen, Finn Overby, Lars Jensen, Tom Bonde, Claus Christiansen, Peter Vesterdal,

Henrik Bundgaard Henrik Bundgaard (born 20 March 1975) is a former Danish professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the ...

and Frederik Krabbe.

History

Having been founded on 8 July 1919 as Aabyhøj Idrætsforening "Thrott", the club had its first home ground at Åby Østergård close to Silkeborgvej, a main boulevard in Aarhus. The name ''Thrott'' comes from the non, þróttr, which means "strength". The club became a member of Jydsk Boldspil-Union (JBU) in 1920, and in September of that year, Aabyhøj IF played its first noteworthy matches in a tournament against teams from AGF,

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ancient town in Greece * ''Aia'', the collected ed ...

Aarhus 1900 Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

, Vejlby IK. At this point, a wrestling department had already formed in the club, which still today bears the name ''Thrott''. Later, tennis,

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

, boxing and

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

were added as new departments, and the club also featured a women's department with

Danish longball Danish longball ( Danish: ''Langbold'', Swedish: ''Långboll'', Norwegian: ''Slåball'') is a bat-and-ball game similar to brännboll played in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. It is also played in some British secondary schools, and is played recreati ...

and gymnastics. Because the departments could not agree on financial distribution, the club split in three parts as the wrestling and tennis departments became independent clubs. In 1921, Aabyhøj IF moved their home ground to an area between Silkeborgvej and Åbyvej, where a stadium was opened in 1929. A new stadium – Aabyhøj Stadium – was opened on 2 July 1944, where the club continues to play its home games. A clubhouse was built adjacent to the stadium in 1969; the club's 50th anniversary. Despite Aabyhøj IF never having made the higher divisions of Danish football, the club has become an established institution in Aarhus.

References

Sport in Aarhus {{Denmark-footyclub-stub