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 city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. 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. Hlíðarendi in Old Icelandic (Old Norse) mean'Slope's End' Gunnar Hámundarson the Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmar ...

. The club was originally formed as part of the local

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

to play

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, but later incorporated

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 goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

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 (appro ...

. Valur's handball section reached the

EHF Champions League The 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 men's com ...

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 (, ÍSÍ) is the National Olympic Committee representing Iceland, and the highest authority for sporting activity in the country. The main tasks of the ÍSÍ are to promote, coordinate and org ...

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 ) (), also abbreviated as gyr, is a bird of prey from the genus ''Falco'' (falcons and kestrels) and the largest species of the family Falconidae. A high-latitude species, the gyrfalcon breeds on the Arctic coasts and tundra, ...

. 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, 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 ...

, 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 The Valur men's basketball team, commonly known as Valur, is a basketball team based in Reykjavík, Iceland. It is part of the Valur multi-sport club. History The club was founded as ''Gosi'' on 25 December 1951 and was one of the founding mem ...

(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 133 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 () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...

. 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), by Joci Pápai, representing Hungary in the Eurovision ...

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 three times, 1980,1983 and 2022, and the Icelandic cup four times, 1980, 1981, 1983 and 2023.

=Titles

= * Icelandic Championships: 4 :*1980, 1983, 2022, 2024 * Cup Champions: 5 :*1980, 1981, 1983, 2023, 2025

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, Keflavík merged with nearby Njar ...

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 The Besta deild karla () is a professional association football league in Iceland and the highest level of the Icelandic football league system. The competition was founded in 1912 as the Icelandic Championship. Because of the harsh winters in I ...

* 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 on J ...

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

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 France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – 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 18 – Full diplomatic ...

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 ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

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 n ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2020 The year 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 even ...

* *Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, 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 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Icelandic League Cup Icelandic League Cup may refer to: * Icelandic Men's Football 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 c ...

* Champions (3):

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

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 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 also *Icelandic Men's Football Cup Refer ...

13 times.

=Titles

= * Icelandic Championships: 12 :*1978, 1986, 1988, 1989, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2019, 2021 * Cup Champions: 14 :*1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2022

Handball

Men's

=Titles

= * Icelandic Championships: 24 :*1940, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2007, 2017, 2021, 2022 *Cup Champions: 12 :*1974, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1998, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022 *Icelandic Super Cup: 1 :*2009 *

: :*Final 1980 *

EHF European Cup The EHF European Cup is an annual men's handball club competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF). It is the third-tier competition of European club handball, after the EHF Champions League and the EHF European League. Founde ...

: ** Champions : 2023–24

Women's

=Titles

= * Icelandic Championships: 18 :*1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1983, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2023 *Cup Champions: 8 :*1988, 1993, 2000, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022

Footnotes

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
1911 establishments in Iceland Multi-sport clubs in Iceland Sports clubs and teams established in 1911 Sports clubs and teams in Reykjavík

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

Footnotes

References

External links