Valur


Knattspyrnufélagið Valur is an Icelandic athletic club based in Reykjavík, Iceland. The club is situated close to the city centre, in the east side of town, on the former farmland of Hlíðarendi. The club was originally formed as part of the local YMCA to play association football, but later incorporated handball and basketball. Valur's handball section reached the EHF Champions League final in 1980. It has won the Icelandic league 22 times, more than any other Icelandic handball team.
In 2019, Valur women's teams won the national championships in basketball, football and handball, the first time that one club held all three major titles. The Valur women's basketball team also won all four major titles during the year and 47 of their 50 games. For this feat, it was selected as the Icelandic Sports Team of the Year by the Icelandic Association of Sports Journalists in an annual ceremony held by the National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland.

History

The club was founded on 11 May 1911, as a subdivision of KFUM, the Icelandic YMCA. Later that year its name was changed to Valur, which is an Icelandic word for gyrfalcon. In 1930 the club won its first national title, and it has been amongst the best football teams in the country ever since. In 1939 Valur bought the farmland of Hlíðarendi which retains its name even today, where they now have a football field and an indoor arena.
Originally Valur played only football, but around 1940 the club got involved in more sports, starting with men's handball. They won their first national handball title in 1940, and reached the final of the EHF Champions League in 1980. In the post-war era, a women's handball division was started at Valur, and in the 1970s a women's football division was added. In 1970, Körfuknattleiksfélag Reykjavíkur joined Valur and became their basketball division.
Valur is the most successful sports club in ballgame with 120 titles across football, handball and basketball in both men's and women's Icelandic and Cup championships. It is the wealthiest sports club in Iceland.

Stadia

The grounds at Hlíðarendi were completely renovated in the years between 2004 and 2007. Valur's football teams currently play their home games at Valsvöllur and basketball and handball teams in the Valshöllin, the first section of the new grounds to be utilised. The football pitch was used for the first time in the 2008 season.
In June 2007 the club signed a 5-year sponsorship deal with Vodafone. In June 2018 the club signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Origo which saw the football stadium being renamed Origovöllurinn and the indoor stadium being renamed Origo-höllin.

Basketball

Men's basketball

The Valur men's basketball team was founded as Gosi on 25 December 1951 and was one of the founding members of the Icelandic men's top division. On 22 December 1957 the club changed its name to Körfuknattleiksfélag Reykjavíkur and played under that name until 1970. On 3 October 1970 the club merged into Valur sports club and became its basketball department.
Under the new name it has won the Icelandic Championship two times, 1980 and 1983, and the Icelandic cup three times, 1980, 1981 and 1983.

Titles

As of 2018, the Valur women's basketball team plays in the top-tier Úrvalsdeild kvenna. It played in the 2018 Úrvalsdeild finals, losing to Haukar 2-3.

Football

Men's football

European competition

Valur first competed in Europe at the 1966–67 European Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary Round, playing to a draw in its first match against Standard Liège, ultimately losing on aggregate 9–2. Since then, the club has participated in European competition 20 times, never advancing beyond the second round of any tournament.
SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregate
1966–67UEFA Cup Winners' CupPreliminary Round Standard Liège1–11–82–9
1967–68European CupFirst round Jeunesse Esch1–13–34–4
1967–68European CupSecond Round Vasas0–61–51–11
1968–69European CupFirst round Benfica0–01–81–8
1974–75UEFA CupFirst round Portadown0–01–21–2
1975–76European Cup Winners' CupFirst round Celtic0–20–70–9
1977–78European CupFirst round Glentoran1–00–21–2
1978–79European Cup Winners' CupFirst round 1. FC Magdeburg1–10–41–5
1979–80European CupFirst round Hamburg0–31–21–5
1981–82European CupFirst round Aston Villa0–20–50–7
1985–86UEFA CupFirst round Nantes2–10–32–4
1986–87European CupFirst round Juventus0–40–70–11
1987–88UEFA CupFirst round Wismut Aue1–10–01–1
1988–89European CupFirst round Monaco1–00–21–2
1989–90European Cup Winners' CupFirst round Dynamo Berlin1–21–22–4
1991–92European Cup Winners' CupFirst round Sion0–11–11–2
1992–93European Cup Winners' CupFirst round Boavista0–00–30–3
1993–94European Cup Winners' CupQualifying round MyPa3–11–04–1
1993–94European Cup Winners' CupFirst round Aberdeen0–30–40–7
2006–07UEFA CupFirst qualifying round Brøndby IF0–01–31–3
2008–09UEFA Champions LeagueFirst qualifying round BATE Borisov0–10–20–3
2016–17UEFA Europa LeagueFirst qualifying round Brøndby IF1–40–61–10
2017–18UEFA Europa LeagueFirst qualifying round Ventspils1–00–01–0
2017–18UEFA Europa LeagueSecond qualifying round Domžale1–22–33–5
2018–19UEFA Champions LeagueFirst qualifying round Rosenborg1–01−32–3
2018–19UEFA Europa LeagueSecond qualifying round FC Santa Coloma3–00–13–1
2018–19UEFA Europa LeagueThird qualifying round Sheriff Tiraspol2–10–12–2
2019–20UEFA Champions LeagueFirst qualifying round Maribor0−30−20−5
2019–20UEFA Europa LeagueSecond qualifying round PFC Ludogorets Razgrad1−10−41−5
UEFA coefficient
RankCountryTeam
346Teuta1.700
347KF Laçi1.700
348Flamurtari1.700
349Valur1.650
350Breiðablik1.650
351Víkingur Reykjavík1.650
352Fram Reykjavík1.650

Players

Current squad
Out on loan

Coaches

Úrvalsdeild
Icelandic Cup
Icelandic League Cup
Icelandic Super Cup
The Valur women's football team has won the Icelandic championship 10 times and the Icelandic Women's Cup 13 times.

Titles

Men's handball

Titles

Titles