IK Start

Idrettsklubben Start (or simply IK Start) is a Norwegian football club from the city of Kristiansand that currently plays in the Eliteserien, the top tier of the Norwegian football league system. The club was founded on 19 September 1905. The club's current head coach is Azar Karadas. The team plays in yellow jerseys, black shorts and socks at home, and black jerseys, yellow shorts and socks away.

They play their home matches at Sør Arena, opened in 2007. Before moving to Sør Arena, IK Start played their games at Kristiansand Stadion. The team’s official supporter club, “Tigerberget,” existed until 2017, when the IK Start board decided to discontinue having an official supporter club.

History

Start were Norwegian champions in 1978 and 1980. They participated in the European Cup in 1979 and 1981, as well as being qualified for the UEFA Champions League 2006–07. The years since 1995 have been turbulent, but recent investments have given greater expectations for the future. In 2004 they won the Norwegian 1. divisjon and were promoted to the top flight.

In 2005 they reached second place, following Vålerenga, after a strong comeback season in the Tippeligaen. For this, Start earned a place in the UEFA Cup 2006.

In 2006, after beating Skála of the Faroe Islands in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup, and Drogheda United of Ireland in the second qualifying round (after penalties), they reached the first round of the UEFA Cup, where they were knocked out by Ajax of the Netherlands.

2007 was a bad year for Start, with problems working as a team and management issues. It led to a disappointing 13th place, leading to Start's relegation to 1. divisjon. In 2008 the club got financial problems. The local government saved the club from bankruptcy. The financial difficulties has plagued Start for several seasons, due to the financial crisis and the Norwegian footballteams overspending, Start being no exception. The last couple of seasons, Start has downsized and saved money, for example by changing the turf on Sør Arena, the hopes being that the savings will keep the wheels turning in Start.

Ahead of the 2009 season, Knut Tørum was appointed head coach of Start. The next two seasons, Start was positioned at the lower half of Tippeligaen although achieving some strong results, like being the only team to beat Rosenborg in 2009, at Rosenborgs homeground Lerkendal, delaying their gold celebration. On 22 June 2011, Start had 13 points in 12 matches, and Tørum decided to resign hours before a cup-match against Strømsgodset, a match Start won without Tørum. Mons Ivar Mjelde replaced Tørum as head coach, but was not able to save Start from relegation. Start started the 2012 1. divisjon in strong fashion, leading the division and winning important matches and won promotion at the end of the season.

Start defeated Stabæk 4–1 on 4 July 2015. From 12 July 2015 to 18 September 2016, Start played 39 consecutive games without a win in Tippeligaen. This is the longest run without winning a single game across any top division in Europe.

Badge

Since the club was founded in 1905, the club badge had been a blue and white pennant. In November 2017, the badge was replaced with a more modernised version in all black. The new crest was in use for four years, before Start decided to return to the old one in March 2022.

Honours

• Eliteserien: Winners (2): 1978, 1980 Runners-up (1): 2005 Third place (7): 1973, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1991, 1992
• Norwegian Cup: Semi finalist (7): 1975, 1978, 1988, 2000, 2006, 2011, 2018
• 1. divisjon: Winners (4): 1968, 1972, 2004, 2012 Promotion: 1958–59, 1988, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2017

Recent history

Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Notes 2002 Tippeligaen ↓ 14 26 2 5 19 21 72 11 Fourth round Relegated to the 1. divisjon 2003 1. divisjon 9 30 12 4 14 53 50 40 Third round 2004 1. divisjon ↑ 1 30 24 2 4 71 28 74 Third round Promoted to the Tippeligaen 2005 Tippeligaen 2 26 13 6 7 47 35 45 Fourth round 2006 Tippeligaen 6 26 10 7 9 29 32 37 Semi-final 2007 Tippeligaen ↓ 13 26 6 8 12 34 44 26 Fourth round Relegated to the 1. divisjon 2008 1. divisjon ↑ 3 30 17 8 5 58 34 59 Fourth round Promoted to the Tippeligaen 2009 Tippeligaen 9 30 10 10 10 46 52 40 Third round 2010 Tippeligaen 8 30 11 9 10 57 60 42 Quarter-final 2011 Tippeligaen ↓ 15 30 7 5 18 39 61 26 Semi-final Relegated to the 1. divisjon 2012 1. divisjon ↑ 1 30 20 6 4 71 35 66 Fourth round Promoted to the Tippeligaen 2013 Tippeligaen 9 30 10 8 12 43 46 38 Quarter-final 2014 Tippeligaen 12 30 10 5 15 47 60 35 Fourth round 2015 Tippeligaen 14 30 5 7 18 35 64 22 Second round 2016 Tippeligaen ↓ 16 30 2 10 18 23 59 16 Third round Relegated to the 1. divisjon 2017 1. divisjon ↑ 2 30 16 7 7 57 36 55 Second round Promoted to the Eliteserien 2018 Eliteserien ↓ 15 30 8 5 17 30 54 29 Semi-final Relegated to the 1. divisjon 2019 1. divisjon ↑ 3 30 19 5 6 54 31 62 First round Promoted to the Eliteserien 2020 Eliteserien ↓ 15 30 6 9 15 33 56 27 Cancelled Relegated to the 1. divisjon 2021 1. divisjon 9 30 10 8 12 59 59 38 Fourth round 2022 1. divisjon 3 30 16 6 8 63 38 54 Fourth round 2023 1. divisjon 5 30 12 10 8 49 30 46 Third round 2024 1. divisjon 12 30 9 8 13 45 57 35 First round 2025 1. divisjon ↑ 2 30 16 7 7 58 35 55 Second round Promoted to the Eliteserien 2026 Eliteserien Second round

Source:

Current squad

As of 13 April 2026

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Coaching staff

Former head coaches

European record

External links

• (in Norwegian)
• – official fan club (archived 10 March 2016)