Íþróttafélagið Leiknir (, ), commonly known as Leiknir Reykjavík (), is an Icelandic multi-sport club. It is best known for its men's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

section, but also fields departments in

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

. The club was founded in 1973 and is based in

Breiðholt Breiðholt () is a southeastern district of Reykjavík, Iceland. It includes three neighbourhoods: ''Neðra-Breiðholt'' (Bakkar , Mjódd and Stekkir ), ''Efra-Breiðholt'' (Hólar , Berg and Fell ) and ''Seljahverfi'' (Sel ). It is one of th ...

neighbourhood of

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

. Leiknir plays its home matches at Leiknisvöllur, which has a capacity of 1,215 of which 525 seating The club's motto is ''"Pride of Breiðholt"''.

Facilities

The whole Leiknir area is newly renovated and is in excellent condition. In 2008 the club opened its new facilities which replaced the old cabin that had served as the club's office and dressing facility since 1987. The current facilities are a 700 sq m club house, artificial turf with heat, main stadium and total of 4 practice grounds. One practice ground is called Þorsteins-völlur, named on 7 September 2012 in memory of 9-year-old Þorsteinn Björnsson, a former player of the youth department in Leiknir. The club has access to a swimming pool and a gymnasium located next to the Leiknir area.

Men's football

Seasons

Leiknir currently plays in 1. deild karla, the second tier of Icelandic football. In

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

the men's football team placed 1st in the 1. deild karla and won a promotion to the

Úrvalsdeild The Besta deild karla () is a professional association football league in Iceland and the highest level of the Icelandic football league system. The competition was founded in 1912 as the Icelandic Championship. Because of the harsh winters in I ...

, for the first time in the clubs history, however after just one season they were relegated to back to the first division. In 2021 they returned to the top flight having finished second in the 2020 season and this time they managed to finish 8th. In 2022 they finished above the relegation spots in the regular season but were relegated after the playoffs.

Support

The organized supporters of Leiknir are known as Leiknisljónin, translated in English as the Leiknir's Lions. Founded in 2015 they have been the main supporter group of Leiknir. In 2022, Leiknir got its second unofficial faction, a youth faction called Ghetto Boys. The club's anthem is In the Ghetto made famous by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and is played before every home game.

Rivalry

Leiknir's main rivals are their neighbours ÍR. Leiknir and ÍR are the only football clubs in

and they represent two very different areas of the neighbourhood. The match between these two is known as Breiðholtsslagurinn. Those games tend to be very interesting. The club's record against ÍR in more recent times is very favorable.

Youth academy

The club runs a youth setup in its district for children aged 6–18. The club is renowned for playing many homegrown players and developing young players. Some of the most noticeable home-grown players are Rúnar Kristinsson, Hannes Þór Halldórsson, Hilmar Árni Halldórsson, Sævar Atli Magnússon and Júlíus Magnússon

Honours

League

* 1. deild karla (1st Division) ** Winners (1):

**''Runners-up (1)'':

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

* 2. deild karla (2nd Division) ** Winners (1):

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

* 3. deild karla (3rd Division) ** Runners-up (1): 2003

Cups

* Reykjavíkurmótið (Reykjavik Cup) ** Winners (2): 2013 2016 ** Runners up (1): 2015 * Deildarbikarkeppni KSÍ – B deild (League Cup – B division) ** Winners (1): 2005

Players

Current squad

Managerial history

Backroom staff

Club officials

Source
Leiknir , Stjórn Leiknis

Basketball

Leiknir's basketball department was founded in 1992. In October 2021, Brynjar Karl Sigurðsson was announced as the new chairman of Leiknir's basketball department.

Men's basketball

Titles

* 2. deild karla: ** Winners (1): 2016 ** Runner up (1): 1993, 2010

Women's basketball

History

In March 2022, the team started a collaboration with Aþena basketball club to field a team in the women's second-tier 1. deild kvenna.

Footnotes

References

External links

*
Videos of architects impression of new facilities
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Leiknir Reykjavik Football clubs in Iceland Football clubs in Reykjavík Basketball teams in Iceland Association football clubs established in 1973 Sports clubs and teams in Reykjavík 1973 establishments in Iceland