Idrottslaget Hødd is a multi-sports club from Ulsteinvik in

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Founded in 1919, it has sections for

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

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and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. It is best known for their men's football team, which since 2015 plays at Høddvoll, whose stated capacity is 4,081. The club's old home ground, Høddvoll Stadion, holds the record attendance of over 12,000 spectators at a match against Vålerenga in 1981. Hødd are currently playing in 2. divisjon, the third tier of Norwegian football. They played in the top tier in 1966, 1969–72 (4 seasons) and 1995 and is the club that has played most seasons at the second tier. Hødd won the

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

History

Formation and early years

Idrottslaget Hødd was founded on 1 August 1919. The name derives from Höðr, which was a gifted archer in

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

, and means "battle" or "fight". Before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the football team was not competitive with the two big clubs in the region, Rollon and Aalesund. Hødd was first promoted to the ''Landsdelserien'' (second tier) in 1950, and was close on promotion to Hovedserien in both the 1951–52 season and the 1958–59 season, but lost the promotion in the play-off against

Ranheim Ranheim is a neighbourhood in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the borough of Østbyen in Trondheim Municipality. The neighbourhood is approximately to the east of the centre of Trondheim. It comprises Older ...

and Brage respectively. Hødd also reached the third round of the

Norwegian Football Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

on several occasions during the 1950s, where they were eliminated by first-tier teams.

1965-1972: The golden era

Hødd was promoted to the

1. divisjon The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are promo ...

for the first time in the 1965 season when they won their 2. divisjon group ahead of Rosenborg and Brann on goal difference, after Rosenborg lost 2–1 against Brann in the decisive match while Hødd won 8–2 against Kvik Trondheim on Lerkendal Stadion. With Kjetil Hasund as the most notable star on the small team from a small place in the outskirts of Norway, the national media predicted that Hødd would relegated in its first season in the top-flight. The pundits were right and Hødd were relegated from the 1966 1. divisjon, but the team performed well and was only one point short of avoiding relegation. All the players stayed at the club after the relegation, and were again promoted to the top-flight in the 1968 season. When Hødd was back in the 1. divisjon, the team had learned its lesson and for the next three season the team had a miraculous ability to avoid relegation. As favourites to be relegated, Hødd won 3–1 against

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsbor ...

in the last match of the 1969 season while

Start Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Track and field#Starts use in race, Starts use in sport race * S ...

won 2–0 against Lyn. These results saved Hødd from relegation as they finished level on points but with better goal difference then Start and Lyn, who were relegated. That Lyn was relegated was quite a surprise, as the team had won the double in the previous season and played the quarterfinal of the

1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup was the ninth season of the European Cup Winners' Cup, a club football competition organised by UEFA for the cup winners from each of its member associations. The tournament was won by Czechoslovakian side ...

against

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. Hødd reached the quarter-final of the Norwegian Football Cup for its first time in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

, where they lost 1–3 against

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

. The next season, Hødd again avoided relegation with better goal difference then the relegated team, after Hødd won 6–0 against Pors while Skeid lost 1–0 against

Strømsgodset Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county) in Norway which is today a part of the city of Drammen. History Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). ...

in the decisive match, and Skeid was relegated. In the 1971 season, Hødd won 5–0 against

Frigg Frigg (; Old Norse: ) is a goddess, one of the Æsir, in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about her, she is associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance and motherhood, and dwells in the wetl ...

in the penultimate match and avoided relegation with two points ahead of Frigg. After four seasons in the first-tier league, Hødd were relegated in 1972.

1970s and 1980s

After playing in the 2. divisjon in the 1970s, Hødd were relegated in the 1980 season and were playing at the third tier since their last time in 1964. With

Terje Skarsfjord Terje Skarsfjord (28 June 1942 – 15 January 2018)1981 Norwegian Football Cup. The third-tier team met the defending

champions Vålerenga in the quarterfinal at Høddvoll, and Hødd scored the first goal before Vålerenga turned the match into a 2–1 victory. The match was watched by 12,300 spectators, which is the club's record attendance.

Jan Åge Fjørtoft Jan Åge Fjørtoft (born 10 January 1967) is a Norwegian former professional footballer. A powerful centre forward with goalscoring ability, he played professionally in Norway, Austria, England and Germany. In total, he scored 308 goals in 614 ga ...

and

Børre Meinseth Børre Meinseth (born 24 November 1966) is a retired Norwegian football defender. He is the uncle of athletes Even Meinseth (1996) and Ingvild Meinseth (1999). He played for Hødd, Bryne, Viking and Heerenveen and was capped 8 times for Norw ...

had their breakthrough in the 1985 season, but Hødd were relegated in 1987 and were playing at the third tier in 1988 and finished behind the local team Hareid before Hødd won promotion to the 2nd tier the next season.

1990s: Ups and downs

Hødd reached the quarter-final of the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, where they lost 3–5 after extra time against

Lyn Lyn or LYN may refer to: People * Lyn (singer), South Korean singer * Lyn (gamer), South Korean ''Warcraft III'' player * Lyn (given name) * Lyn (surname) In science and technology * Lynx (constellation), standard abbreviation * Lyn (locomotive ...

, and won the 1994 1. divisjon and was promoted to

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

with Erik Brakstad as head coach. Hødd eliminating the defending Norwegian Cup winners

Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

in the fourth round of the 1995 Norwegian Football Cup with 2–0 at home after goals from Tommy Sylte. The team went on to reach the semi-final where they lost 7–1 on aggregate against Rosenborg after losing 5–0 in the first leg at home. The team was however relegated after only one season, as they finished 12th in the

1995 Tippeligaen The 1995 Tippeligaen was the 51st completed season of top division football in Norway. Each team played 26 games with 3 points given for wins and 1 for draws. Number twelve, thirteen and fourteen are relegated. The winners of the two groups of th ...

. With the exception of 2000, Hødd played in the 1. divisjon until 2006 when the club was relegated to the 2. divisjon, and is the club with the most seasons at the second tier since 1963. Hødd hired Sture Fladmark, who won Tippeligaen coach of the year in 2002, as the new head coach ahead of the 2007 season, to win promotion back to the 1. divisjon. Hødd won promotion to the First Division in 2007, and started the 2008 season with a win against Sarpsborg Sparta before the team collected six points in the next 16 matches. With nine points and seven losses in a row Hødd fired Fladmark in August 2008.

A new golden generation

Einar Magne Skede and Lars Arne Nilsen replaced Fladmark, but could not prevent the team from relegation. Skede and Nilsen continued as head coaches in 2009, when Hødd finished third in the 2. divisjon, before Nilsen continued as the sole head coach in 2010 when the team won promotion to the 1. divisjon. The newly promoted team impressed in the 2011 season, and managed to go 29 matches without losing until they lost away against

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

on 22 May 2011. Hødd was positioned at second place half-way through the season, before finishing the season at eighth place. The next season did not start as good, and after eight matches Hødd had three points with 21 conceded goals, before they went unbeaten for the next six league-games. Hødd remained in the relegation-zone throughout the season and avoided relegation with better goal difference then

Tromsdalen or is an urban neighborhood in the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø which is in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located just to the east of the city centre on the mainland along the coast of the Tromsøysundet strait. The v ...

. In

, Hødd won its first

. The feat was according to pundit Arne Scheie the biggest upset in the history of the Norwegian Cup, as Hødd was a second-tier team who had in fact been fighting against relegation up until the last round in the league. Despite their troubles in 1. divisjon, Hødd defeated the first-tier teams

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...

and Brann, qualifying them to their first ever cup final. Their opponent in the final was

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

, who finished fourth in

. After regular time, the score was 1–1, and no goals were scored in

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

. In the

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

, Hødd won 4–2.

Ørjan Nyland Ørjan Håskjold Nyland (born 10 September 1990) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Sevilla and the Norway national team. Nyland previously played for Hødd, and was named the man of the match i ...

was named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

, while Fredrik Aursnes became the youngest ever Norwegian Cup winner aged 16 years and 351 days. Hødd failed to defend the Norwegian Cup title, as the team was eliminated by the defending Tippeligaen winners Molde in the third round of the

2013 Norwegian Football Cup The 2013 Norwegian Football Cup was the 108th season of the Norway, Norwegian annual knockout association football, football tournament. It began with 2013 Norwegian Football Cup qualifying rounds, qualification matches in March 2013. The first r ...

, after a penalty shoot-out where Hødd's former goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland, who had transferred to Molde after the previous season, saved two penalties. As a result of the Norwegian Cup win, Hødd qualified for the first time in a European competition,

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. They debuted with a 1–0 victory at home against

Aktobe Aktobe (, ; ) is a major city located on the Ilek River in western Kazakhstan. It serves as the administrative center of the Aktobe Region and is an important cultural, economic, and industrial hub in the region. As of 2023, the city has a popu ...

, but the European adventure ended after a 2–0 loss in the second leg.

Notable players

After the relegation from the top-flight in 1972, the club did not manage to keep the talented youngsters at the club, and Svein Inge Urke and

Åge Hareide Åge Fridtjof Hareide (born 23 September 1953) is a Norwegian former football coach and player who last managed the Iceland national team. In his playing career, he played for Hødd and Molde in Norway as well as Manchester City and Norwich Cit ...

moved to

and Molde respectively. For the next decades, the club continued to develop talented players, like the sons of the generation that played in the First Division,

Geir Hasund Geir Hasund (born 3 July 1971) is a former Norwegian football player that played as an offensive midfielder or forward at Hødd, Viking and Brann. He was capped for Norway at U21-level. Career After playing for Hødd, like his father Kjeti ...

, Børre Meinseth, Egil Ulfstein, Ole Bjørn Sundgot and Arild Sundgot along with Jan Åge Fjørtoft and Karl Oskar Fjørtoft moved elsewhere to play in the top-flight after having had a good development in Hødd. In 2012, Hødd arranged an official voting of the best player in the history of the club and Kjetil Hasund, who scored 460 goals in 646 matches for Hødd, was voted as the best ever player. He was capped 16 times for

and is still the only player to be capped for Norway while playing for Hødd. With his 683 matches, André Nevstad is the player with most matches for Hødd and he was voted as the second best Hødd-player, while Otto Sundgot finished third in the competition.

, Sindre Eid, Hallbjørn Hasund, Karl Oskar Fjørtoft,

, Geir Televik and

were the other players in the top ten, while Vidar Ulstein was voted as the best goalkeeper.

Honours

**Winners (1):

Recent history

: Source:

European record

History of league positions (since 1963)

Current squad

Out on loan

Other sports

IL Hødd also has sections for

and

. The club previously had a section for

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), competitio ...

, which utilized the multi-use stadium Høddvoll as well. Hødd's athletics department hosted the 1980 Norwegian Championships in standing jumps. Athletics in the city has now been taken over by the Dimna IL sports club.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hodd, IL Football clubs in Norway Eliteserien clubs Association football clubs established in 1919 Sport in Ulstein 1919 establishments in Norway Defunct athletics clubs in Norway