In Tromso, a small city in the north of Norway, the winters are long and hard. From November
until January, the polar night renders the sun invisible and for 24 hours there is almost
complete darkness. Then there is the snow, so thick that it disrupts
the day-to-day lives of the city’s residents. The conditions make things difficult for the
local football team, too: Tromso IL, the northernmost top-tier club in the world, have been forced
to do things differently since their inception in 1920.
Located on the island of Tromsoya, north of the Arctic Circle, the city is connected to
mainland Norway by bridges. Inevitably, travelling to games is made more difficult by the remote
location. The closest team to Tromso in the Eliteserien last season was Trondheim-based
club Rosenborg BK, and even that is a round trip of over 1,400 miles. To drive it would
take more than 16 hours. Flying is a necessity, and over a season it
can prove costly. It is tiring for the players, too. “One of the main challenges of the
distance, first and foremost, is the economy, because of long distance flights and sleeping
over,” Morten Giæver, Head of Academy at Tromso, told Tifo. “We spend more time traveling
than the rest.” Giæver’s role takes on added importance
at Tromso. The adverse weather conditions and the isolated location makes it harder
to attract players, particularly from other countries. Some are reluctant to move somewhere
so remote, although Giæver insists attitudes have changed in recent years.
“I would say that it was more like that before,” he said.
“Now, probably with the world being more and more connected, most players know that
it's not that different and it's only a two-hour, often cheap flight back to their family.”
Some are simply deterred by the cold. The average temperature during the winter months
is below 0° and snowfall is common. And the almost constant darkness is easier to cope
with for some more than others. “Because of the longer winter here than
in the south of Norway we have to cancel more training sessions because of snow,” added
Giæver. “We have some indoor fields to train, but
they are not full-sized pitches suited to eleven-a-side. Also, the snow has to be removed
more often than at other stadiums in Norway, so there is more damage to the pitch and more
human resources go to maintenance and removing snow from the field and the stands.”
To avoid constant postponements, an artificial pitch was fitted at the club’s Alfheim Stadion
in 2005. Underfloor heating was added too, and it became easier to manage heavy snowfall.
Despite the unavoidable difficulties they are faced with, Tromso have never bemoaned
their situation. They have adapted, gone about their work professionally, and managed to
compete consistently at the top of the Norwegian game.
“Because of our location we had to be really curious and open to the rest of the world,”
Giæver said. “This also made us a bit more innovative and creative. We have the advantage
of being curious and open (to) new ideas. At the same time you would think we've been
a bit more hardened over the years which has made us tougher and braver. But this is not
science. I would love it if someone did research and a science project to find out what the
actual difference is, mentally and physically.” Tromso have achieved an impressive amount
given their clear disadvantages: they won the Norwegian Cup in 1986 and 1996, and qualified
for the group stages of the Europa League in 2016, eventually losing out to Tottenham,
Anzhi Makhachkala and Sheriff Tiraspol. The likes of Chelsea and Galatasaray have also
faced ignominious defeat at the Alfheim Stadion, the former losing out on a snow-covered pitch,
in a game played with an orange ball during a blizzard.
Things have not gone entirely to plan for Tromso of late. They finished second from
bottom in this year’s Eliteserien, unable to avoid relegation and continue their five-year
stint in the top flight. Instead, they will play next season in the second tier, looking
for an immediate return to the Eliteserien. But what is certain is that they will not
be deterred by this set back. They have battled the elements, economic hardship and the challenge
of travelling thousands of miles for every away game. “Our history is really interesting,”
says Giæver. The future, for this truly unique club, should
be too.