Full name Løv-Ham Fotball Dissolved 2011 Founded 1975 | Nickname(s) Løverne (The lions) Ground Capacity Ca. 1000 Grounds Varden Amfi, Bergen | |
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Løv-Ham Fotball was a football club from Fyllingsdalen in Bergen, Norway. Its origin was two local sports teams in Fyllingsdalen called Løvåsen and Hamre. On 29 December 1975 those clubs were merged, choosing the name Løv-Ham. In March 1999 Løv-Ham was divided into a football division, Løv-Ham Fotball, and a handball division, Løv-Ham Håndball.
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Løv-Ham was most notable as a football club, with more than 600 members. The senior football team played in Adeccoligaen, the second tier of Norwegian football from 2005 till 2011 Norwegian First Division. After the 2011-season, Løv-Ham merged with Fyllingen to create FK Fyllingsdalen, and the two clubs ceased to exist.
History
The club was founded on 29 December 1975, as a merger between Løvåsen and Hamregården. From 1989 till 2004 the club was playing on the third and fourth tier of Norwegian football. In 2004, the club was promoted to Adeccoligaen, after winning their Second Division group. The club struggled against relegation throughout their stint in Adeccoligaen, but despite being a low-budget club, Løv-Ham was somewhat stabilised as an Adeccoliga-club. In the 2010 season, Løv-Ham finished in 4th place and they advanced the Tippeligaen play-offs. They lost 0–2 away in the semifinal against Fredrikstad FK. Promotion to the Tippeliga was not a goal for Løv-Ham, their goal was to develop talents in the Bergen region.
Merger with Fyllingen
Løv-Ham had in the recent years taken over Fyllingen's spot as Fyllingsdalen's best football-club, but it was still Fyllingen that had the biggest support and the financial power in the borough. In the end of 2007, the two clubs started negotiation to merge the football-departments of the two clubs. If this had been a reality the goal was a budget of at least 15 million, a doubling compared to the Løv-Ham's budget in 2007. The aim was to create an organization and a name that create a stable state football team, and which in time also be able to play up in the Premier League. The experiment stranded when it was not achieved sufficient majority at the extraordinary annual meeting of Fyllingen. Four years later, on 28 September 2011, the members of both clubs' voted yes to a merge. The new club, FK Fyllingsdalen, replaced Løv-Ham in the 2012 Norwegian Second Division, and the two old clubs ceased to exist. Kjetil Knutsen became head coach of the new team.