Knattspyrnufélagið Valur is an Icelandic

multi-sport 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

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. The club is situated close to the city center, in the east side of town, on the former farmland of

Hlíðarendi Hlíðarendi () is a famous place in Icelandic historical literature. Gunnar Hámundarson Gunnar Hámundarson () was a 10th-century Icelandic chieftain. He lived in Hlíðarendi in Fljótshlíð and is probably better known as Gunnar of H ...

. The club was originally formed as part of the local

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

to play

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 ...

, but later incorporated

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. Valur's handball section reached the

EHF Champions League The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the me ...

final in 1980. It has won the Icelandic league 22 times, more than any other Icelandic handball team. In 2019, Valur women's teams won the national championships in basketball, football, and handball, the first time that one club held all three major titles. The Valur women's basketball team also won all four major titles during the year and 47 of their 50 games. For this feat, it was selected as the Icelandic Sports Team of the Year by the Icelandic Association of Sports Journalists in an annual ceremony held by the

National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland The National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland ( is, Íþrótta- og Ólympíusamband Íslands) (abbreviated ÍSÍ) is the National Olympic Committee representing Iceland, and the highest authority for sporting activity in the country. The ...

History

The club was founded on 11 May 1911, as a subdivision of KFUM, the Icelandic

. Later that year its name was changed to Valur, which is an Icelandic word for

gyrfalcon The gyrfalcon ( or ) (), the largest of the falcon species, is a bird of prey. The abbreviation gyr is also used. It breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra, and the islands of northern North America and the Eurosiberian region. It is mainly a reside ...

. In 1930 the club won its first national title, and it has been amongst the best football teams in the country ever since. In 1939 Valur bought the farmland of

which retains its name even today, where they now have a football field and an indoor arena. Originally Valur played only

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 form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, but around 1940 the club got involved in more sports, starting with men's handball. They won their first national handball title in 1940, and reached the final of the

in 1980. In the post-war era (1948), a women's handball division was started at Valur, and in the 1970s a women's football division was added. In 1970, Körfuknattleiksfélag Reykjavíkur (Reykjavík Basketball Club, KFR) joined Valur and became their

division. Valur is the most successful sports club in the 3 biggest sports in Iceland with 120 titles across football, handball, and basketball in both men's and women's National and Cup championships. It is the wealthiest sports club in Iceland.

Stadia

The grounds at

were completely renovated in the years between 2004 and 2007. Valur's football teams currently play their home games at Valsvöllur and basketball and handball teams in the Valshöllin, the first section of the new grounds to be utilized. The football pitch was used for the first time in the 2008 season. In June 2007 the club signed a 5-year sponsorship deal with

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

. In June 2018 the club signed a five-year sponsorship deal with

Origo Origo may refer to: * ''Origo'' (album), an album by the band Burst * ''Origo'' (moth), a genus of moth in the family Gelechiidae * Origo (pragmatics), a concept in pragmatics * "Origo" (song), the Hungarian representative for the Eurovision Song C ...

which saw the football stadium being renamed Origovöllurinn and the indoor stadium being renamed Origo-höllin (English: Origo arena).

Clubs

Basketball

Men's

The Valur men's basketball team was founded as ''Gosi'' on 25 December 1951 and was one of the founding members of the Icelandic men's top division. On 22 December 1957 the club changed its name to ''Körfuknattleiksfélag Reykjavíkur'' (Reykjavík Basketball Club) and played under that name until 1970. On 3 October 1970 the club merged into Valur sports club and became its basketball department. Under the new name it has won the Icelandic Championship two times, 1980 and 1983, and the Icelandic cup three times, 1980, 1981 and 1983.

=Titles

= * Icelandic Championships: 2 :*1980, 1983 * Cup Champions: 3 :*1980, 1981, 1983

Women's

Valur first played in the Icelandic top-tier basketball league in 1993. In April 2019, the team won its first ever national championship when it beat

Keflavík Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavik merged with nearby Njarð ...

in the Úrvalsdeild finals 3-0.

Football

Men's

The Valur men's football team participated in the Icelandic soccer tournament for the first time in 1915 and became the Icelandic champion for the first time in 1930. In total, it has won the Icelandic championship 23 times, most recently in 2020.

=Titles

= Úrvalsdeild * Champions (23):

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

, 1933, 1935,

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, 1937,

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

, 1940,

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

, 1956, 1966, 1967,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, 1980,

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, 2007,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

* *Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the season was cancelled with four games left to play. Valur was awarded the title as the team in first at the time of suspension. Icelandic Cup * Champions (11): 1965, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Icelandic League Cup The Icelandic Men's Football League Cup (Icelandic: Deildarbikar karla), also known as the Lengjubikar karla for sponsorship reasons, is a pre-season professional football competition in Iceland. It is considered the third most important competit ...

* Champions (3):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Icelandic Super Cup * Champions (11): 1977, 1979, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2006, 2008, 2016,

, 2018

Women's

The Valur women's football team has won the Icelandic championship 10 times and the

Icelandic Women's Cup The Icelandic Women's Football Cup ( is, Bikarkeppni kvenna í knattspyrnu) is the national women's football cup competition in Iceland. The first edition of the cup was played out in 1981. List of finals The list of finals: By team See al ...

13 times.

=Titles

= * Icelandic Championships: 12 :*1978, 1986, 1988, 1989, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2019, 2021 * Cup Champions: 13 :*1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011

Handball

Men's

=Titles

= * Icelandic Championships: 23 :*1940, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2007, 2017, 2021 *Cup Champions: 11 :*1974, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1998, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2021 *Icelandic Super Cup: 1 :*2009 *

: :*Final 1980

Women's

=Titles

= * Icelandic Championships: 17 :*1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1983, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2019 *Cup Champions: 7 :*1988, 1993, 2000, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Football clubs in Iceland Association football clubs established in 1911 Football clubs in Reykjavík 1911 establishments in Iceland

History

Stadia

Clubs

Basketball

Men's

=Titles

Women's

Football

Men's

=Titles

Women's

=Titles

Handball

Men's

=Titles

Women's

=Titles

Further reading

References

External links