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| Full name | Sandnes Ulf | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Ulf Ulvane (The Wolves) Di lyseblå (The Light Blues) | ||
| Founded | 1 June 1911; 114 years ago (1 June 1911); as SK Ulf 1987; as Ulf-Sandnes February 2004; as Sandnes Ulf | ||
| Ground | Øster Hus Arena, Sandnes | ||
| Capacity | 6,046[1] | ||
| Chairman | Stig Ravndal | ||
| Head coach | Arturo Cleveland | ||
| League | 2. divisjon | ||
| 2025 | 2. divisjon, 1st of 16 (promoted) | ||
| Website | www | ||
Sandnes Ulf is a Norwegian association football club fromSandnes,Rogaland, currently playing in the2. divisjon, the third highest division in theNorwegian football league system. The club play their home matches atØster Hus Arena. The club was founded on 1 June 1911 as SK Ulf, and today has over 80 registered teams, making it the largest football club inRogaland.
Sandnes Ulf play in light blue jerseys, white shorts and light blue socks. Sandnes Ulf is an open member association and the annual general meeting is the highest policy-making body. The meeting approves the accounts and elects the chairman and board. Stig Ravndal is the current chairman, elected in 2012. Daily operations are run by a managing director who liaises with the chairman.
Sandnes Ulf's official fan club is known as Gaukereiret ("The Cuckoo's Nest"), reflecting on the nickname for people fromSandnes; Sandnes-cuckoos.
The sport offootball came directly toSandnes from its home country, England, when two British brothers Arnold and Hubert Thomas moved to the town in 1907. It did not take long before Sandnes' first football club was established,Sandnes Fodboldforening, but the club was dissolved a few years later when the two brothers moved back to England. The interest and love for football, however, had found its place in Sandnes, and in the summer of 1911 the new football club, Sportsklubben Ulf, was founded.
Nils Voss, a 1912 Olympic gold-medal winner in gymnastics, became the club's first President. In its inaugural year the club had a turnover of 88Norwegian krones and 84øre (approximately 14 US$). In 1916 the club's board decided to introduce a new uniform, choosing the light blue jersey and white shorts we see today.
In 1919 the club was promoted to class A in Landsdelsserien, which at the time was the highest level. In June 1927 the club openedSandnes stadion, the arena where the club played until 2020, when they moved about 100 meters toØster Hus Arena.
The 1930s was a successful decade for the club with top-3 positions six consecutive seasons, and qualifying for the newly established top division Norgesserien in 1937. The club played at this level until 1940 when the season was cancelled due toWorld War II. When the league started again in 1947 the club failed to qualify.
SK Ulf had spells on the second highest level during the 1950s, 60s and 70s, but have mostly been playing at level three or four in the 80s and 90s.
In 1997 the 11 football clubs ofSandnes foundedSandnes FK in an attempt to form a potential top club. The project however only succeeded partly, with a couple of seasons in Second Division. In 2003 Sandnes FK was on the verge of bankruptcy when they won their Third Division group, whereas Ulf-Sandnes was relegated to Fourth Division. This increased the keenness of both parts to cooperate, and during the winter of 2003–04 Sandnes FK incorporated into Ulf, with Ulf thus changing its name to Sandnes Ulf.
WithAsle Andersen arriving at the club in 2006 as a player-manager he revitalised and professionalised the club and immediately brought on-field success. In 2007, Sandnes Ulf won promotion to Adeccoligaen (2008 1. divisjon), the second highest division in the Norwegian football league system. They won their2. divisjon group three points ahead ofStavanger IF. This sparked renewed interest in the club, with increased press coverage and attendances atSandnes stadion.
Prior to the 2008 season, the signings ofPaul Oyuga andArtur Kotenko brought even more experience from professional football to the club. They were relegated back to 2. divisjon in 2008, but recovered and returned to the 1. divisjon for the 2010 season.
The club finished the2010 1. divisjon at a relegation spot once again. However,Follo FK, a team which had managed to avoid relegation, was forced to withdraw from the league because of financial difficulties, and Sandnes Ulf kept its place in the division for the2011 1. divisjon.
The 2011 season turned out to be very successful for the club: On 23 October 2011, one hundred years after its formation and one year after it was supposed to be relegated from the1. divisjon, Sandnes Ulf gained promotion to theNorwegian top flight. Until that date,Sandnes had been the only city among the 10 largest cities in Norway which had not had a team in the top flight after World War Two.
Sandnes Ulf are playing their home games atØster Hus Arena,[2] which is located next to their old stadium. The stadium is an all-seater with a capacity of 6,046 spectators.[3]
("Ulf-Sandnes" until, and including, 2003)
| Season | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Cup | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 2. divisjon | ↓12 | 26 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 47 | 56 | 31 | First round | Relegated to the3. divisjon |
| 2002 | 3. divisjon | 6 | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 42 | 40 | 33 | ||
| 2003 | 3. divisjon | ↑1 | 22 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 61 | 25 | 56 | First round | Promoted to the2. divisjon |
| 2004 | 2. divisjon | 8 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 38 | 47 | 34 | Second round | |
| 2005 | 2. divisjon | 4 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 57 | 43 | 42 | Second round | |
| 2006 | 2. divisjon | 2 | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 50 | 32 | 52 | First round | |
| 2007 | 2. divisjon | ↑1 | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 66 | 30 | 55 | First round | Promoted to the1. divisjon |
| 2008 | 1. divisjon | ↓15 | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 36 | 55 | 25 | Third round | Relegated to the2. divisjon |
| 2009 | 2. divisjon | ↑1 | 26 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 88 | 28 | 61 | Second round | Promoted to the1. divisjon |
| 2010 | 1. divisjon | 13 | 28 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 33 | 40 | 31 | Third round | Escaped relegation due to the demotion ofFollo FK for financial reasons |
| 2011 | 1. divisjon | ↑2 | 30 | 18 | 2 | 10 | 58 | 32 | 56 | Third round | Promoted to theTippeligaen |
| 2012 | Tippeligaen | 14 | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 44 | 56 | 32 | First round | |
| 2013 | Tippeligaen | 13 | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 36 | 58 | 33 | Second round | |
| 2014 | Tippeligaen | ↓16 | 30 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 27 | 53 | 22 | First round | Relegated to the1. divisjon |
| 2015 | 1. divisjon | 7 | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 49 | 40 | 47 | Second round | |
| 2016 | 1. divisjon | 4 | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 55 | 28 | 51 | Fourth round | |
| 2017 | 1. divisjon | 5 | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 44 | 39 | 51 | Second round | |
| 2018 | 1. divisjon | 10 | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 43 | 47 | 42 | Third round | |
| 2019 | 1. divisjon | 9 | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 46 | 49 | 38 | Third round | |
| 2020 | 1. divisjon | 7 | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 46 | 55 | 41 | Cancelled | |
| 2021 | 1. divisjon | 8 | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 43 | 49 | 39 | Quarter-final | |
| 2022 | 1. divisjon | 5 | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 54 | 52 | 47 | Third round | |
| 2023 | 1. divisjon | 11 | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 42 | 45 | 37 | Second round | |
| 2024 | 1. divisjon | ↓16 | 30 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 80 | 17 | Semi-final | Relegated to the2. divisjon |
| 2025 | 2. divisjon | ↑1 | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 72 | 30 | 54 | First round | Promoted to the1. divisjon |
Source:[4]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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