# IK Start

Idrettsklubben Start (or simply IK Start) is a Norwegian football club from the city of Kristiansand that currently plays in the Norwegian First Division, the second tier of the Norwegian football league system. The club was founded on 19 September 1905. The club's current head coach is Azar Karadas. The team plays in yellow jerseys, black shorts and socks at home, and black jerseys, yellow shorts and socks away.
They play their home matches at Sør Arena, opened in 2007. Before moving to Sør Arena, IK Start played their games at Kristiansand Stadion. The team’s official supporter club, “Tigerberget,” existed until 2017, when the IK Start board decided to discontinue having an official supporter club.

## History

Start were Norwegian champions in 1978 and 1980. They participated in the European Cup in 1979 and 1981, as well as being qualified for the UEFA Champions League 2006–07. The years since 1995 have been turbulent, but recent investments have given greater expectations for the future. In 2004 they won the Norwegian 1. divisjon and were promoted to the top flight.
In 2005 they reached second place, following Vålerenga, after a strong comeback season in the Tippeligaen. For this, Start earned a place in the UEFA Cup 2006.
In 2006, after beating Skála of the Faroe Islands in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup, and Drogheda United of Ireland in the second qualifying round (after penalties), they reached the first round of the UEFA Cup, where they were knocked out by Ajax of the Netherlands.
2007 was a bad year for Start, with problems working as a team and management issues. It led to a disappointing 13th place, leading to Start's relegation to 1. divisjon. In 2008 the club got financial problems. The local government saved the club from bankruptcy. The financial difficulties has plagued Start for several seasons, due to the financial crisis and the Norwegian footballteams overspending, Start being no exception. The last couple of seasons, Start has downsized and saved money, for example by changing the turf on Sør Arena, the hopes being that the savings will keep the wheels turning in Start.
Ahead of the 2009 season, Knut Tørum was appointed head coach of Start. The next two seasons, Start was positioned at the lower half of Tippeligaen although achieving some strong results, like being the only team to beat Rosenborg in 2009, at Rosenborgs homeground Lerkendal, delaying their gold celebration. On 22 June 2011, Start had 13 points in 12 matches, and Tørum decided to resign hours before a cup-match against Strømsgodset, a match Start won without Tørum. Mons Ivar Mjelde replaced Tørum as head coach, but was not able to save Start from relegation. Start started the 2012 1. divisjon in strong fashion, leading the division and winning important matches and won promotion at the end of the season.
Start defeated Stabæk 4–1 on 4 July 2015. From 12 July 2015 to 18 September 2016, Start played 39 consecutive games without a win in Tippeligaen. This is the longest run without winning a single game across any top division in Europe.

## Badge

Since the club was founded in 1905, the club badge had been a blue and white pennant. In November 2017, the badge was replaced with a more modernised version in all black. The new crest was in use for four years, before Start decided to return to the old one in March 2022.

## Honours

* Eliteserien:
** Winners (2): 1978, 1980
** Runners-up (1): 2005
** Third place (7): 1973, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1991, 1992
* Norwegian Cup:
** Semi finalist (7): 1975, 1978, 1988, 2000, 2006, 2011, 2018
* 1. divisjon:
** Winners (4): 1968, 1972, 2004, 2012
** Promotion: 1958–59, 1988, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2017

## Recent history

    Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Notes 2002 Tippeligaen ↓ 14 262519 217211 Fourth round Relegated to the 1. divisjon 2003 1. divisjon 9 3012414 535040 Third round 2004 1. divisjon ↑ 1 302424 712874 Third round Promoted to the Tippeligaen 2005 Tippeligaen 2 261367 473545 Fourth round 2006 Tippeligaen 6 261079 293237 Semi-final 2007 Tippeligaen ↓ 13 266812 344426 Fourth round Relegated to the 1. divisjon 2008 1. divisjon ↑ 3 301785 583459 Fourth round Promoted to the Tippeligaen 2009 Tippeligaen 9 30101010 465240 Third round 2010 Tippeligaen 8 3011910 576042 Quarter-final 2011 Tippeligaen ↓ 15 307518 396126 Semi-final Relegated to the 1. divisjon 2012 1. divisjon ↑ 1 302064 713566 Fourth round Promoted to the Tippeligaen 2013 Tippeligaen 9 3010812 434638 Quarter-final 2014 Tippeligaen 12 3010515 476035 Fourth round 2015 Tippeligaen 14 305718 356422 Second round 2016 Tippeligaen ↓ 16 3021018 235916 Third round Relegated to the 1. divisjon 2017 1. divisjon ↑ 2 301677 573655 Second round Promoted to the Eliteserien 2018 Eliteserien ↓ 15 308517 305429 Semi-final Relegated to the 1. divisjon 2019 1. divisjon ↑ 3 301956 543162 First round Promoted to the Eliteserien 2020 Eliteserien ↓ 15 306915 335627 Cancelled Relegated to the 1. divisjon 2021 1. divisjon 9 3010812 595938 Fourth round 2022 1. divisjon 3 301668 633854 Fourth round 2023 1. divisjon 5 3012108 493046 Third round 2024 1. divisjon 12 309813 455735 First round
Source:

## Current squad

    As of 8 March 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | NOR | Storm Strand-Kolbjørnsen |
| 2 | DF | NOR | Fredrik Pålerud |
| 3 | DF | NOR | Altin Ujkani |
| 4 | MF | NOR | Sivert Sira Hansen |
| 5 | DF | TUN | Omar Jebali |
| 6 | DF | NOR | John Olav Norheim |
| 7 | FW | LBR | Emmanuel Gono (on loan from AIK) |
| 8 | MF | NOR | Mathias Grundetjern |
| 10 | MF | CMR | Stève Mvoué |
| 11 | MF | NOR | Eirik Schulze |
| 12 | GK | NOR | Herman Seierstad Johnsen |
| 13 | DF | GER | Sebastian Griesbeck |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | FW | NOR | Marius Nordal |
| 16 | MF | SWE | Tom Strannegård |
| 18 | MF | NOR | Mikael Ugland |
| 19 | DF | NOR | Deni Dashaev |
| 20 | FW | NOR | Håkon Lorentzen |
| 21 | MF | NOR | Sander Sjøkvist |
| 22 | DF | NOR | Adrian Eftestad Nilsen |
| 27 | FW | NGA | Gift Sunday (on loan from Bodø/Glimt) |
| 44 | FW | SWE | Salim Nkubiri |
| 45 | GK | DEN | Jacob Pryts |
| — | FW | NGA | Terry Benjamin |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | NOR | Benjamin Sundo (to Arendal Fotball) |
| 1 | GK | NOR | Jasper Silva Torkildsen (to FK Haugesund) |
| 17 | FW | NOR | Sander Richardsen (To Flekkerøy IL) |

### Coaching staff

| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Azar Karadas |
| Assistant coach | Jóhannes Harðarson |
| Goalkeeping coach | Alexander Aaser |
| Fitness coach | Jamie Steel |
| Physiotherapist | Pål Erik Pedersen |
| Sports coordinator | Øyvind Evjen |

### Former head coaches

IK Start coaching history from 1947 to present :
| Håkon Hertzberg (1947–48) Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1954 – Dec 31, 1955) Håkon Hertzberg (1956) · Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1957 – Dec 31, 1957) Håkon Hertzberg (1958–60) Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1961 – Dec 31, 1961) Håkon Hertzberg (1966) Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1967 – 1968) Karl Durspekt (1970) Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1971 – Dec 31, 1974) Tor Røste Fossen (1975–77) Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1978 – Dec 31, 1981) Svein Hammerø (1982) · Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1985 – Dec 31, 1985) Brian Green (1986–87) Karsten Johannessen (1988 – Dec 31, 1989) Steve Perryman (1995) Teddy Moen (1 Jan 1996 – July 7, 1996) Karsten Johannessen (8 July 1996 – Dec 31, 1996) | Jan Halvor Halvorsen (1 Jan 1999 – June 30, 2002) Guðjón Þórðarson (1 July 2002 – Dec 31, 2002) Bård Wiggen (2003) Tom Nordlie (1 Jan 2004 – July 14, 2006) Stig Inge Bjørnebye (15 July 2006 – Sept 5, 2007) Benny Lennartsson (Sept 9, 2007 – Dec 31, 2007) Arne Sandstø (1 Jan 2008 – Dec 31, 2008) Knut Tørum (1 Jan 2009 – July 9, 2011) Mons Ivar Mjelde (10 July 2011 – Sept 4, 2015) Bård Borgersen (Sept 4, 2015 – Dec 31, 2015) Steinar Pedersen (1 Jan 2016 – Sep 29, 2017) Mick Priest (30 Sep 2017 – Dec 1, 2017) Mark Dempsey (1 Dec 2017 – May 18, 2018) Mick Priest (18 May 2018 – 1 June 2018) Kjetil Rekdal (1 June 2018 – 2 April 2019) Jóhannes Harðarson (2 April 2019 – 14 June 2021) Sindre Tjelmeland (14 June 2021 – 9 January 2024) Azar Karadas (8 February 2024 – ) |

## European record

| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Agg. |
| 1974–75 | UEFA Cup | First round | Djurgården | 1–2 | 0–5 | 1–7 |
| 1976–77 | UEFA Cup | First round | Wacker Innsbruck | 0–5 | 1–2 | 1–7 |
| 1977–78 | UEFA Cup | First round | Fram | 6–0 | 2–0 | 8–0 |
| 1977–78 | UEFA Cup | Second round | Eintracht Braunschweig | 1–0 | 0–4 | 1–4 |
| 1978–79 | UEFA Cup | First round | Esbjerg | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| 1979–80 | European Cup | First round | Strasbourg | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–6 |
| 1981–82 | European Cup | First round | AZ | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–4 |
| 2006–07 | UEFA Cup | First qualifying round | Skála | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| 2006–07 | UEFA Cup | Second qualifying round | Drogheda United | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 (11–10 (p)) |
| 2006–07 | UEFA Cup | First round | Ajax | 2–5 | 0–4 | 2–9 |