Fotballklubben Eik Tønsberg Allianseidrettslag (formerly known as Eik-Tønsberg), is a
Norwegian football club from the
Eik neighborhood of
Tønsberg
Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative c ...
,
Vestfold
Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered t ...
. The club got its current name on 1 January 2020 after a merger with
FK Tønsberg. The football team competes with the name FK Eik Tønsberg 871 where the number represents the founding year of the town of
Tønsberg
Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative c ...
.
History
The club was founded as ''Eik Idrettsforening'' on 14 March 1928,
and included the city name
Tønsberg
Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative c ...
in 1989. Before 1988, the district
Eik was located in
Sem municipality, but Sem was incorporated into Tønsberg.
It was formerly a team of nationwide importance. The team played their first season in the
Norwegian top division
Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promoti ...
in the
1957–58 season and finished in sixth place out of eight teams in group B. In the
1959–60 season they finished second in the Main League group B, reaching a bronze play-off match which they won 4–2 against
Vålerengen. Since this was the first time a bronze play-off was held, Eik became the first bronze medalists in Norwegian football's top division. In the following
1960–61 season they won the Main League group B, reaching a gold playoff match which they lost to
Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad.
The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 1 ...
. Well-known players were
Arne Natland,
Arne Høivik and
Tore Halvorsen, all of whom were capped by
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
[
Eik were promoted to the Norwegian top flight in 1982, finished fifth in 1983, and were relegated in 1985. Among the profiles on this team were midfielder Geir "Bolla" Johansen and striker ]Nick Sandberg
Nick Sandberg (born 17 October 1958) is a Norwegian footballer. He played in one match for the Norway national football team
The Norway national football team ( no, Norges herrelandslag i fotball, or informally ''Landslaget'') represents N ...
, both of whom played briefly on the international stage, as well as future Tottenham
Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Walthams ...
goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt
Erik Thorstvedt (born 28 October 1962) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He won 97 caps for the Norwegian national team, and was the starter in goal at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He played for Viking, Eik-T� ...
who left the club after the 1983 season.
In the 1990s the team was a mainstay in the 1. divisjon, the second tier. After the 1997 season it even contested a playoff
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
to win promotion to the Tippeligaen
Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotio ...
, but did not win. The team was relegated after the 2000 1. divisjon season, and played in the 2001 2. divisjon The 2001 2. divisjon was the third highest association football, football league for men in Norway.
26 games were played in 4 groups—changed from the 8 groups in the 2000 2. divisjon, 2000 season—with 3 points given for wins and 1 for draws. To ...
.
Merger with FK Tønsberg
On 10 October 2001, a new club was founded. FK Tønsberg was to be an umbrella team in the district, and was supported by 20 teams in the region. As Eik-Tønsberg was the best regional team, FK Tønsberg took their place in the league system from 2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...
and Eik-Tønsberg started anew.
Eik-Tønsberg won their 3. divisjon group in both 2003, 2004 and 2005, but in each year it succumbed to other clubs in the promotion playoffs. In 2010 the club also contested the playoffs as the 2nd placed team, but was again defeated, and remained in the 3. divisjon. It was relegated to the 4. divisjon after the 2012 season. The club was promoted back to the 3. divisjon for the 2015 season, but was relegated again in 2016. After the 2020 merger with FK Tønsberg, Eik Tønsberg advanced a tier since FK Tønsberg played in the 3. divisjon at the time.
Recent seasons
Sources:
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eik Tonsberg
Football clubs in Norway
Eliteserien clubs
Sport in Vestfold og Telemark
Tønsberg
Association football clubs established in 1928
1928 establishments in Norway