Sandefjord Fotball
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| Full name | Sandefjord Fotball |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Guttane (The Boys), The Whalers |
| Founded | September 10, 1998 |
| Ground | Komplett Arena |
| Capacity | 6,000 |
| Chairman | Roger Gulliksen |
| Manager | Lars Bohinen |
| League | Tippeligaen |
| 2016 | OBOS-ligaen, 2nd (promoted) |
| Website | Club home page |
Sandefjord Fotball is a Norwegian professional football club, founded on September 10, 1998. The club plays in the Tippeligaen. Their home ground is the Komplett Arena, located in Sandefjord, Vestfold.
The club reached the Norwegian First Division in 1999, where they made quick progress and soon settled as strong competitors for promotion to the Premier League. Finishing third in the First Division both in 2002 and 2003 they qualified for play-off matches, but lost both times. In 2004 they finished fourth, but the 2005 season finally proved a success, when they placed second and earned automatic promotion to the highest division.
The club performed surprisingly well in their first Tippeligaen season, finishing ninth in the table and reaching the cup final. However, the 2007 season was a disaster and they finished last and were relegated to the Adeccoligaen.
After a poor start to the 2008 season in the Adeccoligaen, Sandefjord recovered strongly to finish second and qualify for automatic promotion to Tippeligaen. In the 2009 season Sandefjord Fotball finished at eight place, their strongest performance in Tippeligaen to date. In 2010 Sandefjord Fotball were relegated to the Adeccoligaen. After fighting for promotion the following years, they finally won the OBOS-ligaen title in 2014, earning a promotion back to Tippeligaen. They were relegated the next year, but got back up again the following season.
Sandefjord Fotball were formed by parent clubs IL Runar and Sandefjord Ballklubb in 1998. They replaced Sandefjord Ballklubb in the 2nd division in 1999, and secured immediate promotion to the 1st division. There the club made quick progress and soon settled as a strong competitor for promotion to the Tippeligaen. Finishing third in the 1st division both in 2002 and 2003 they qualified for play-off matches, but lost both times, against Brann and Vålerenga. The 2003 play-off was lost after some controversial decisions by referee Jonny Ditlefsen that were all in Sandefjords disfavor. When manager Tom Nordlie left after the play-off games, Sandefjord Fotball hired Arne Dokken as their new coach. He was fired after just one season, 2004, when they finished fourth. But the 2005 season finally proved a success, with Tor Thodesen as their new coach. Placing second, Sandefjord earned automatic promotion to the highest division, where they finished 9th in their first season.
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