How football brought two villages closer
The guests in Fløtugerð today are from Eiði and nearby.
We can perhaps say that it is not a foreign bird that visits, because for more than 100 years football has connected Eiði and Fuglafjørður together. That's what history says, and there are many of us who remember it with joy. So it's perhaps not surprising that this "collaboration" between the two communities is part of this first piece of history. IF was founded in March 1946. But we don't know exactly when football "got rolling" in the village for the first time. Most likely it was around the same time as so many other places around the country. That is, more than 120 years ago. But for the first few years, football in the village was not organized in a football club. And they never competed with clubs and other villages in those first few years.
On February 9, 1938, as it says in a meeting report, "some football players called for a meeting in the old school in Fuglafjørður, and then a club was founded, which was named" Fuglafjarðar bóltfelag ". The meeting report also states that Poul Andreas Vørðhamar was elected chairman. The others on the board were: Daniel P Eliasen, vice chairman, Andrew Hansen, treasurer, Herluf Berthelsen, secretary, Martin Jacobsen, board member, Ismar Joensen, inspector, Joen Edvard Hansen, inspector.
A few days ago there was an article in the news about Eiðis bóltfelag, which celebrated their 110th anniversary on February 24th this year. Eiðis bóltfelag is thus the oldest sports club in the Eastern Islands. It can be noted that GÍ (then Norðragøtu bóltfelag) is set to be founded in 1926 and LÍF (then Leirvíkar bóltfelag) in 1928. In the article about Eiðis bóltfelag, it says that the first game on the newly built field at Mølini was in 1916, and that it was against the Fuglafjørður team. It is also said that the field was smaller, so it was agreed to play with nine men on each side.
The Eysturoy Championship in 1938-39
During the 1920s and 1930s, the people of Fuglafjørður, Eiði, Gøta, and Leirvík regularly played football matches against each other, mostly in the autumn and winter. In documents from 1938, we read about a competition between these four towns with the headline "The Matches for the Trophy. Winter 1938 and Spring 1939." (from November 6th to February 5th).
It is mentioned that two matches will be played on "their own lawn", but according to the competition schedule, two matches will be played in Fuglafjørður and Gøta, while one match will be played in Eiði and one in Leirvík. Everyone plays against each other, and in a letter to Fuglafjørður Football Club dated February 13, 1939, the standings in the competition are settled.
Norðragøta Football Club won the competition with 5 points. Fuglafjørður Football Club and Eiði Football Club both received 3 points each, while Leirvík Football Club did not get any points in this round. The letter was signed by Martin Kruse, Eiði Football Club, who ended the letter with the words "The trophy is sent to Gøta."
Eysturoy Championship in 1939-40 - "move the match due to current conditions"
In a letter sent by Eiði Football Club to Fuglafjørður Football Club in the autumn of 1939, it is stated that the competition from the winter of 1938-39 will be repeated in the winter of 1939-40 (from November 5th to February 2nd). However, this time there will be two matches in Eiði and Leirvík and one match in Fuglafjørður and Gøta.
In those days, when transportation is well developed and lifestyles have changed so much, it is interesting to note two breaks in the letter from Eiði Football Club. It states, among other things:
"We are sending these rules for this reason, that we could avoid sending any dispatches to you this year because we are so remote."
And further on it says:
"We have no objection to moving the match in Fuglafjørður due to the current conditions. We want the referee to be at the place where the match is played."
This fits well with what Herluf Berthelsen said in a speech in 1980: "In Fuglafjørður, the matches were played on the beach. It was around 1910 when the people of Fuglafjørður started playing football, and the first team they played against was a team of people from Eiði. At Sandinum, the football game had to adapt to the current conditions because the ball could only be kicked when there was a lot of tide."
"Plenan" in use in 1956
Above it is mentioned that the people of Fuglafjørður were invited to the first match on the new "plena" at Mølini in Eiði in 1916.
But fourteen years later, on November 11th, 1956, it was actually the people of Eiði who were invited to play the first match against the people of Fuglafjørður, when the new "plena" in Trøðni (in Fløtugerði) was put into use.
Field expanded in 1979
And to my knowledge, the story did not repeat itself after the field in Fløtugerði was expanded in 1979.
Although three matches in the 1st division were played on the field with temporary permission from the FSF in the fall of 1979 - all won and crucial for the championship title for ÍF - the field was still not publicly used and put into use until the National Day in 1980. And then it was just the "veterans" from Eiði and Fuglafjørður who played the first minutes on the newly refurbished and smart field in Fløtugerði - many of the same people who were there in 1956.
Note: In the above text, I have reproduced the names of the football clubs as they are mentioned in the source documents.
PS! The story of the "playing fields" in Fuglafjørður will be part of a later history fragment.
GG! This "history fragment" and others are based on my own experiences, what has been told to me, or documents that I have obtained or researched.
Comments on this and other "history fragments" - corrections, additions, questions, etc. - are warmly welcome. And if anyone has ideas for things to highlight in this context, I am happy to hear them. Similarly, I am happy to receive pictures that tell the story of sports in Fuglafjørður - especially football, handball, rowing, and volleyball.
Email: [email protected]
We can perhaps say that it is not a foreign bird that visits, because for more than 100 years football has connected Eiði and Fuglafjørður together. That's what history says, and there are many of us who remember it with joy. So it's perhaps not surprising that this "collaboration" between the two communities is part of this first piece of history. IF was founded in March 1946. But we don't know exactly when football "got rolling" in the village for the first time. Most likely it was around the same time as so many other places around the country. That is, more than 120 years ago. But for the first few years, football in the village was not organized in a football club. And they never competed with clubs and other villages in those first few years.
On February 9, 1938, as it says in a meeting report, "some football players called for a meeting in the old school in Fuglafjørður, and then a club was founded, which was named" Fuglafjarðar bóltfelag ". The meeting report also states that Poul Andreas Vørðhamar was elected chairman. The others on the board were: Daniel P Eliasen, vice chairman, Andrew Hansen, treasurer, Herluf Berthelsen, secretary, Martin Jacobsen, board member, Ismar Joensen, inspector, Joen Edvard Hansen, inspector.
A few days ago there was an article in the news about Eiðis bóltfelag, which celebrated their 110th anniversary on February 24th this year. Eiðis bóltfelag is thus the oldest sports club in the Eastern Islands. It can be noted that GÍ (then Norðragøtu bóltfelag) is set to be founded in 1926 and LÍF (then Leirvíkar bóltfelag) in 1928. In the article about Eiðis bóltfelag, it says that the first game on the newly built field at Mølini was in 1916, and that it was against the Fuglafjørður team. It is also said that the field was smaller, so it was agreed to play with nine men on each side.
The Eysturoy Championship in 1938-39
During the 1920s and 1930s, the people of Fuglafjørður, Eiði, Gøta, and Leirvík regularly played football matches against each other, mostly in the autumn and winter. In documents from 1938, we read about a competition between these four towns with the headline "The Matches for the Trophy. Winter 1938 and Spring 1939." (from November 6th to February 5th).
It is mentioned that two matches will be played on "their own lawn", but according to the competition schedule, two matches will be played in Fuglafjørður and Gøta, while one match will be played in Eiði and one in Leirvík. Everyone plays against each other, and in a letter to Fuglafjørður Football Club dated February 13, 1939, the standings in the competition are settled.
Norðragøta Football Club won the competition with 5 points. Fuglafjørður Football Club and Eiði Football Club both received 3 points each, while Leirvík Football Club did not get any points in this round. The letter was signed by Martin Kruse, Eiði Football Club, who ended the letter with the words "The trophy is sent to Gøta."
Eysturoy Championship in 1939-40 - "move the match due to current conditions"
In a letter sent by Eiði Football Club to Fuglafjørður Football Club in the autumn of 1939, it is stated that the competition from the winter of 1938-39 will be repeated in the winter of 1939-40 (from November 5th to February 2nd). However, this time there will be two matches in Eiði and Leirvík and one match in Fuglafjørður and Gøta.
In those days, when transportation is well developed and lifestyles have changed so much, it is interesting to note two breaks in the letter from Eiði Football Club. It states, among other things:
"We are sending these rules for this reason, that we could avoid sending any dispatches to you this year because we are so remote."
And further on it says:
"We have no objection to moving the match in Fuglafjørður due to the current conditions. We want the referee to be at the place where the match is played."
This fits well with what Herluf Berthelsen said in a speech in 1980: "In Fuglafjørður, the matches were played on the beach. It was around 1910 when the people of Fuglafjørður started playing football, and the first team they played against was a team of people from Eiði. At Sandinum, the football game had to adapt to the current conditions because the ball could only be kicked when there was a lot of tide."
"Plenan" in use in 1956
Above it is mentioned that the people of Fuglafjørður were invited to the first match on the new "plena" at Mølini in Eiði in 1916.
But fourteen years later, on November 11th, 1956, it was actually the people of Eiði who were invited to play the first match against the people of Fuglafjørður, when the new "plena" in Trøðni (in Fløtugerði) was put into use.
Field expanded in 1979
And to my knowledge, the story did not repeat itself after the field in Fløtugerði was expanded in 1979.
Although three matches in the 1st division were played on the field with temporary permission from the FSF in the fall of 1979 - all won and crucial for the championship title for ÍF - the field was still not publicly used and put into use until the National Day in 1980. And then it was just the "veterans" from Eiði and Fuglafjørður who played the first minutes on the newly refurbished and smart field in Fløtugerði - many of the same people who were there in 1956.
Note: In the above text, I have reproduced the names of the football clubs as they are mentioned in the source documents.
PS! The story of the "playing fields" in Fuglafjørður will be part of a later history fragment.
GG! This "history fragment" and others are based on my own experiences, what has been told to me, or documents that I have obtained or researched.
Comments on this and other "history fragments" - corrections, additions, questions, etc. - are warmly welcome. And if anyone has ideas for things to highlight in this context, I am happy to hear them. Similarly, I am happy to receive pictures that tell the story of sports in Fuglafjørður - especially football, handball, rowing, and volleyball.
Email: [email protected]
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