Groruddalen Ballklubb was a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
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 ...
club from
Groruddalen
The Grorud Valley ( no, Groruddalen)
is a valley and urban area
or suburb
in the northeastern part of Oslo, the capital of Norway. Four of Oslo's boroughs lie within the Grorud Valley; Bjerke to the west, Alna to the south, Grorud to the north ...
,
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
.
The club came into existence through the merger of a number of local clubs in 2002, but went defunct again in 2008, after some of those clubs withdrew their backing. The club's short existence was spent in the Norwegian third and second division, missing its aim, to earn promotion to the first division, narrowly in 2007.
Founding
The valley of Groruddalen had a long history of competition between the many football teams.
SF Grei
SF Grei is a Norwegian sports club from Rødtvet, Oslo. It currently has sections for association football, floorball and gymnastics.
The women's team cooperated with Linderud IL on the team Linderud-Grei Toppfotball, which played in Toppseri ...
was the best team for most of the 1990s, but there was little backing to be found from other clubs in the region. In late 1995 there were talks about a merger, this time between the football branches of
Refstad-Veitvet IL,
Linderud IL and possibly
Årvoll IL
Årvoll Idrettslag is a Norwegian sports club from Årvoll, Bjerke, Oslo. It has sections for association football, team handball, volleyball, orienteering and Nordic skiing.
It was founded on 16 October 1932. The club colors are red and blue. ...
and
Hasle-Løren IL.
In 2002 the talks became more concrete. By that time Grei and Årvoll both had recently been relegated from the Second to the Third Division. These clubs first made plans together with
Grorud IL,
Vestli IL and
Furuset IF. When the umbrella team Groruddalen BK was finally founded,
Høybråten og Stovner IL had also joined. The foundation date was 22 September 2002.
Rommen SK and
Romsås IL later joined the cooperation.
Sporting success
The club's goal was to be in the
First Division within five years. In its first active season, 2003, Groruddalen BK won their Third Division group with flying colors.
The team had a goal difference of 122–20, and won 20 of 22 matches. They however succumbed to
Drøbak/Frogn IL in the
promotion playoff.
[ In 2004 they won the Third Division group again, but this time they beat ]Jevnaker IF
Jevnaker Idrettsforening is a Norwegian sports club from Jevnaker. It has sections for association football, speed skating, gymnastics and skiing.
Football
The men's football team currently plays in the Third Division, the third tier of Norweg ...
in the promotion playoff.
In the 2005 Norwegian Second Division, Groruddalen ended in sixth place, one place behind Drøbak/Frogn. In the 2006 Norwegian Second Division The 2006 2. divisjon season was the third highest football (soccer) league for men in Norway.
26 games were played in 4 groups, with 3 points given for wins and 1 for draws. Notodden, Skeid, Mandalskameratene and Raufoss were promoted to the Fi ...
they finished second, eight points behind Skeid. They scored 73 goals in 26 games, best in their group. In the 2007 Norwegian Second Division The 2007 2. divisjon was the third highest football league for men in Norway.
26 games were played in 4 groups, with 3 points given for wins and 1 for draws. Nybergsund, Hødd, Sandnes Ulf and Alta were promoted to the First Division. Number ...
they finished third. Christian Torbjørnsen became joint top goalscorer in the entire Second Division (four groups) in 2007 with 26 goals, and in 2006 he became joint runner-up with 23 goals.
Downfall
They then lost their coach Rolf Teigen and assistant coach Mathias Haugaasen to Bryne FK after the 2007 season, and nearly their entire roster. By November 2007, only two players from the 2007 season were left. They had a hopeless 2008 Norwegian Second Division The 2008 2. divisjon season was the third highest association football league for men in Norway.
26 games were played in 4 groups, with 3 points given for wins and 1 for draws. Mjøndalen, Skeid, Stavanger and Tromsdalen were promoted to the Firs ...
season, and ended in last place with only eight points.[ Groruddalen BK tried to incorporate the squad of the club Oslo City FC into theirs,][ and because the cooperating parts (Grei, Grorud, Vestli, Furuset, Høybråten og Stovner, Rommen and Romsås) were not backing the club enough. For instance, Grorud signalized that in a 2009 Third Division season, Groruddalen would be their direct competitor.][ Groruddalen eventually pulled their team, and ceased to exist.
]
See also
* FK Oslo Øst
* Bjerkealliansen
* Linderud-Grei Toppfotball
References
{{Reflist
Defunct football clubs in Norway
Football clubs in Oslo
Association football clubs established in 2002
Association football clubs disestablished in 2008
2002 establishments in Norway
2008 disestablishments in Norway