Idrettsforeningen Fram, better known as Fram Larvik to distinguish it from other sport clubs, is a sports club from Torstrand in Larvik,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. It has sections for

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

, handball and

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skatin ...

General history

The club was founded on 15 January 1894. That makes Fram

's oldest existing association football club. It is often known as ''Fram Larvik'', mainly to distinguish it from

IL Fram Idrettslaget Fram is a Norwegian sports club from Skatval, Nord-Trøndelag. It has sections for association football, team handball, track and field and volleyball. It was founded in 1892. It is currently chaired by Eli Arnstad. The men's ...

from Skatval.

Football

The men's football team currently plays in the Norwegian Second Division, the third tier of the

Norwegian football league system The Norwegian football league system, or pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in Norway. 2017 system in men's football , the current national league system administered by the NFF is organised as 1–1–2–6, where E ...

. The club reached the final of the 1912 Norwegian Cup. Fram won the final 2–1, but the opponent Mercantile claimed that Fram had used an illegit player. The Norwegian FA ruled a replay the next weekend. On 20 October 1912, Fram lost the replay 0–6 against Mercantile at Gamle Frogner Stadion in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. The club's greatest achievement came in 1950, when the club won the 1949–50 Hovedserien, the

Norwegian top division Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

. Fram played in the Second Division to

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, but was down to the 4. divisjon for a period after relegation in the

1999 3. divisjon The 1999 season of the '' 3. divisjon'', the fourth highest association football league for men in Norway. Between 20 and 24 games (depending on group size) were played in 19 groups, with 3 points given for wins and 1 for draws. All group winners w ...

campaign. After that, the team was remade to Larvik Fotball, which won several promotions and resided in the 2. divisjon for some years. The cooperation club Larvik Fotball ceased to exist in late 2004, and the

2005 2. divisjon The 2005 2. divisjon season was the third highest association football league for men in Norway. 26 games were played in 4 groups, with 3 points given for wins and 1 for draws. Sarpsborg Sparta, Manglerud Star, Haugesund and Tromsdalen were ...

was played as IF Fram, but with abysmal results. After a few seasons back in the 3. divisjon, however, Fram won the league in 2008 and the subsequent

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, and has played in the 2. divisjon since.

Petter Belsvik Petter Belsvik (born 2 October 1967) is a Norwegian football coach and former player, who played as a striker. With 159 goals in the Norwegian Premier League he ranks third in the all-time goalscorer statistics, behind Harald Brattbakk. He neve ...

took over as head coach after the 2013 season from Tom Helge Jacobsen. In 2021 Haakon Lunov is head coach of Fram Football arter signing a two-year contract. Notable footballers include Tom Rüsz Jacobsen,

Kenneth Stenild Kenneth Stenild Nielsen (born September 11, 1987) is a Danish retired professional footballer. Career He was regarded as one of the most talented goalkeepers in Denmark, having played 33 matches for various Danish youth national teams. At the ...

, Lars Bakkerud, Freddy Ørbeck Jonny Hansen and Sverre Hansen.

Honours

* Norwegian top flight: **Winners (1): 1949–50 *

Norwegian Football Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest footba ...

: **Runners-up (1): 1912

Recent seasons

: Source:

Handball

The club also have a handball team, that plays in the First Division, the second highest tier in men's handball. Ole Kristian Strøm is the coach, and they play their matches in Framhallen. Notable handballers include

Eivind Ellingsen Eivind Ellingsen is a Norwegian handball player. He made his debut on the Norwegian national team in 2000, and played 70 matches for the national team between 2000 and 2007. He competed at the 2001 World Men's Handball Championship The 2001 ...

, Pål Myrdam, Are Ruud and Tom Bakke.

Speed skating

Notable speed skaters in Fram include

Bjørg Eva Jensen Bjørg Eva Jensen (born 15 February 1960) is a speed skater from Norway. She had her best year in 1980, when she became junior world allround champion, finished third at the senior allround world championships, and won the 3,000 m event at t ...

Tom Erik Oxholm Tom Erik Oxholm (born 22 February 1959) is a former speed skater from Norway. He had his best period in the early 1980s. At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, Oxholm won two bronze medals – on the 5,000 m and the 10,000 m. ...

, Roger Strøm,

Else Marie Christiansen Else Marie Karlsen (born Else Marie Christiansen, 13 May 1921 – 19 September 2017) was a Norwegian female speed skater. She won a silver medal at the World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Women in 1947, behind Verné Lesche ...

, Minna Nystedt, Anne Therese Tveter, Bjørn Tveter and Øyvind Tveter.

References

External links

Official websiteFramparken on Nordic Stadiums
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fram Larvik Norwegian handball clubs Athletics clubs in Norway Sport in Vestfold og Telemark

IF Fram Larvik Idrettsforeningen Fram, better known as Fram Larvik to distinguish it from other sport clubs, is a sports club from Torstrand in Larvik, Norway. It has sections for association football, athletics, handball and speed skating. General history T ...

Association football clubs established in 1894 Football clubs in Norway Multi-sport clubs in Norway