Valur (club)

Knattspyrnufélagið Valur is an Icelandic multi-sport club based in Reykjavík, Iceland. The club is situated close to the city center, in the east side of town, on the former farmland of Hlíðarendi. The club was originally formed as part of the local YMCA to play association football, but later incorporated handball and basketball. Valur's handball section reached the EHF Champions League final in 1980. It has won the Icelandic league 22 times, more than any other Icelandic handball team.

Valur
Full nameKnattspyrnufélagið Valur
NicknameValsarar
Hlíðarendapiltar
SportsBasketball, Football, Handball
Founded11 May 1911 (1911-05-11)
Home groundHlíðarendi
Reykjavík
Iceland
ChairmanÁrni Pétur Jónsson[1]
WebsiteValur.is

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.[2] 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.[3]

History

The club was founded on 11 May 1911, as a subdivision of KFUM, the Icelandic YMCA. Later that year its name was changed to Valur, which is an Icelandic word for gyrfalcon. 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 Hlíðarendi which retains its name even today, where they now have a football field and an indoor arena.

Originally Valur played only football, 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 EHF Champions League 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 basketball division.[4]

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.[5]

Stadia

The grounds at Hlíðarendi 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.[6] In June 2018 the club signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Origo which saw the football stadium being renamed Origovöllurinn and the indoor stadium being renamed Origo-höllin (English: Origo arena).[7]

Clubs

Men's
Main article: Valur (men's basketball)

The Valur men's basketball team was founded as Gosi on 25 December 1951[8] and was one of the founding members of the Icelandic men's top division.[9] On 22 December 1957 the club changed its name to Körfuknattleiksfélag Reykjavíkur (Reykjavík Basketball Club) and played under that name until 1970.[10] On 3 October 1970 the club merged into Valur sports club and became its basketball department.[11][12]

Under the new name it has won the Icelandic Championship three times, 1980,1983 and 2022,[13] and the Icelandic cup four times, 1980, 1981, 1983 and 2023.[14]

Titles
  • 1980, 1983, 2022
  • 1980, 1981, 1983, 2023

Women's
Main article: Valur (women's basketball)

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 in the Úrvalsdeild finals 3-0.[16][17]

Men's
Main article: Valur (men's football)

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[18]

  • Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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.[19][20]

Icelandic Cup

  • Champions (11): 1965, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2005, 2015, 2016

Icelandic League Cup

Icelandic Super Cup

  • Champions (11): 1977, 1979, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2006, 2008, 2016, 2017, 2018

Women's
Main article: Valur (women's football)

The Valur women's football team has won the Icelandic championship 10 times[21] and the Icelandic Women's Cup 13 times.[22][23][18]

Titles
  • 1978, 1986, 1988, 1989, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2019, 2021
  • 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011

Men's
Main article: Valur (men's handball)
Titles
  • 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

Women's
Main article: Valur (women's handball)
Titles
  • 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1983, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2023
  • Cup Champions: 7
  • 1988, 1993, 2000, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019

Further reading

References
  1. "Aðalstjórn Knattspyrnufélagsins Vals". valur.is (in Icelandic). Knattspyrnufélagið Valur. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  2. Valur Páll Eiríksson (29 December 2019). "Viðburðaríkt ár Valskvenna gert upp". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  3. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (29 December 2019). "Kvennalið Vals í körfubolta lið ársins 2019". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  4. "Saga – Knattspyrnufélagið Valur" (in Icelandic). valur.is. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  5. "Sagan af því hvernig Valur varð ríkasta íþróttafélag á Íslandi". Kjarninn (in Icelandic). 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  6. "Valsmenn kynna ný íþróttamannvirki" (in Icelandic). ruv.is. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  7. Anton Ingi Leifsson (27 December 2018). "Íþróttasvæðið á Hlíðarenda tekur upp nafn Origo". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  8. Körfuknattleiksdeild stofnuð – K.F.R. sameinast Val
  9. Fyrsta Íslandsmótið í körfuknattleik á morgun
  10. „Körfuknattleiksfélag Reykjavíkur" í stað „Gosi"
  11. Körfuknattleiksdeild stofnuð – K.F.R. sameinast Val
  12. KFR lagt niður og gert að körfuknattleiksdeild Vals
  13. Íslandsmeistarar – Úrvalsdeild karla
  14. Bikarkeppni – Meistaraflokkur karla
  15. "Körfuknattleiksdeild – Titlar" (in Icelandic). valur.is. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  16. Valur Páll Eiríksson (27 April 2019). "Valskonur Íslandsmeistarar í fyrsta sinn". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  17. Anton Ingi Leifsson (28 April 2019). "Rúmlega þrettán þúsund dagar á milli Íslandsmeistaratitla á Hlíðarenda". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  18. "Knattspyrnudeild – Titlar" (in Icelandic). valur.is. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  19. "Valur er Íslandsmeistari 2020". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 30 October 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  20. Gunnar Birgisson (31 October 2020). "Nýstárlegar leiðir í fögnuði Íslandsmeistaranna". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  21. "Valur Íslandsmeistari eftir 8:1 sigur". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 4 September 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  22. Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (22 August 2011). "Bikardrottningin í Valsliðinu". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). p. 30. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  23. Ólafur Már Þórisson (22 August 2011). "Tilfinningin er yndisleg". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). pp. 4–5. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  24. "Handknattleiksdeild – Titlar" (in Icelandic). valur.is. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  25. "HSÍ meistaraskrár" (in Icelandic). Handball Association of Iceland. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
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