Norway Football Punch: FK Bodø/Glimt

 NORW 1H15 doc (talk & some celebrations & training footage)

Elitserien.2023.Bodo.Doc.112023.NORW.twb22-1.ts

1.06 Go https://1fichier.com/?ixibvm0hosgftq4lpcck

There is an image in the lobby of the striking Stormen library, perched on the edge of the harbour in cosmopolitan Bodø, that speaks to the Norwegian city’s past. An old family photograph shows an elderly couple from Nordland, but what is not instantly recognisable is that the man’s Sami footwear, traditionally made from reindeer hide to cope with subzero temperatures, has been purposefully scribbled over and hidden.

Bodø is one of the northernmost cities in the world – it is 200km north of the Arctic Circle and among the best spots to spy the aurora borealis – and while skrei cod fishing represents the historical currency in the area, it now has a modest football club with the equivalent of a healthy League One budget. Bodø were prevented from playing in Norway’s leading domestic division until 1972, with north Norwegians more than geographically isolated from society (the nearest major cities are at least a nine-and-a-half-hour drive); north Norwegians struggled to book hotels in the south. Bodø won the Norwegian Cup three years later – members of that side meet for coffee most mornings – and are entwined with the area. These days Bodø supporters carry giant yellow toothbrushes to games as a riposte to jibes from southern Norwegians about their teeth.

Bodø have won the league for the past three seasons. Bodø’s wage bill is €5m (£4.15m) and their highest earners take home about the same as counterparts at Wigan or Wycombe, in England’s third tier. “The funny thing in Norway is that everyone’s tax records get published annually so you can see what anybody earns so there is no point trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes in the dressing room,” . “The budget is tiny, tiny, tiny and that is what makes the achievement so huge. You’re certainly not going to come here for the money, you’re certainly not going to come here for the weather, but you are going to come here if you’re serious about career development.” Bodø is a European City of Culture for 2024 and the club is planning to build an all-wood stadium. The club’s finest hour was that trouncing of Roma in October 2022....