Mo Idrettslag is a football club from Mo i Rana, Norway.[1]

Mo
Full nameMo Idrettslag
Founded5 May 1904
GroundSagbakken stadion
Capacity1,000

History

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Mo IL was founded in 1904, as the first football club in Nord-Norge. In the first couple of years, Mo only played against teams with Englishmen working in the area, but on 7 June 1907 Ranen Kompani was beaten 2–1 in the first match between two teams from Nord-Norge.[2]

One of the most memorable moments from the 2004-season was the 0–2.[3] loss against Tromsø IL, fielding players such as Morten Gamst Pedersen in their starting eleven, in the third round of the 2004 Norwegian Football Cup. On their way to the third round, they beat the second-tier team Strømsgodset IF 2–0.[4]

Mo IL narrowly missed out on promotion to 1. divisjon in the 2005 season. Having led the table for much of the season, their promotion chances were ruined due to form declination during the season-ending fixtures.

Before the start of 2006 2. divisjon, there was a media-hype around Mo's chances for promotion. Mo IL got off to a horrendous start of the season, going through the eight first matches without one single victory. Media was speculating whether the current manager, Thor André Olsen, was going to be sacked. In an unlikely turn of events, a giant form leap during the autumn of 2006 took Mo from the very bottom of the table to a worthy fifth place at the season's end.

Mo was relegated from the 2. divisjon in 2010, but won their group in the 3. divisjon and won promotion in 2011. Again relegated in 2014, a victory in the 3. divisjon in 2015 led to another spell in the 2016 2. divisjon.

Notable former members include the football coaches Trond Sollied, Thor André Olsen and Charles Berstad, as well as the former football referee Jonny Ditlefsen.

Recent history

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Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Notes
2004 2. divisjon 4 26 15 5 6 51 30 50 Third round
2005 2. divisjon 2 26 15 2 9 59 44 47 Second round
2006 2. divisjon 5 26 12 3 11 60 48 39 First round
2007 2. divisjon 8 26 11 4 11 38 43 37 Third round
2008 2. divisjon 8 26 11 3 12 54 45 36 Second round
2009 2. divisjon 11 26 6 10 10 40 55 28 First round
2010 2. divisjon 14 26 3 4 19 26 85 13 First round Relegated to the 3. divisjon
2011 3. divisjon 1 22 17 3 2 79 22 54 First round Promoted to the 2. divisjon
2012 2. divisjon 9 26 9 4 13 41 49 31 Second round
2013 2. divisjon 6 26 12 4 10 47 44 40 First round
2014 2. divisjon 13 26 3 4 19 22 87 13 Second round Relegated to the 3. divisjon
2015 3. divisjon 1 22 18 3 1 82 25 57 First round Promoted to the 2. divisjon
2016 2. divisjon 14 26 3 1 22 31 94 10 Second round Relegated to 3. divisjon
2017 3. divisjon 11 26 10 4 12 54 63 34 First round Relegated to 4. divisjon
2018 4. divisjon 3 16 10 2 4 58 19 32 First round

Other sections

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In the past, Mo IL has had sections in other sports than football. From their now-defunct athletics section, Marit Hemstad participated in the European Championships. Famous politician Gerd-Liv Valla was a middle-distance runner for Mo IL as a teenager.

References

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  1. ^ Høgseth, Viktor Leeds (29 November 2017). "Stålkam og Mo IL slår seg sammen". Avisa Nordland (in Norwegian). Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  2. ^ Pedersen, Per Bjørn. "Da fotballen kom til Nord-Norge". nrk.no (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  3. ^ "Mo - Tromsø - NM, menn - 3. runde, 09.06.2004". Altomfotball.no. 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  4. ^ "Mo - Strømsgodset - NM, menn - 2. runde, 26.05.2004". Altomfotball.no. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
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