Grótta was officially founded on 24 April 1967 by Garðar Guðmundsson, a football supporter from Seltjarnarnes who had begun the process of forming a club the previous year. Initially the club had only a football team but later expanded to include handball (1969), gymnastics (1985) and powerlifting (2013). The club has over the years tried to incorporate sports including basketball, skiing and chess but they have all failed.[6]
On 24 April 2007, the club held a festival to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its foundation. The day included a parade through the town with a brass band, displays by the club's various teams, addresses by the mayor and chairman and a gala.[1]
The football team plays its home matches at the Vivaldi stadium, which has an artificial grass playing surface and a capacity of 300 spectators.[7]
Men's team
History
In 2007, the men's football team was promoted to the 2. deild karla after defeating BÍ/Bolungarvík 5–1 on aggregate in the play-offs.[8] In 2010, the side won promotion to the 1. deild karla and remained there for two seasons before returning to the third tier for the 2012 campaign. It returned to the 1. deild in 2017 but were relegated straight away. However, they won promotion again the following year. In 2019 they then produced what has been referred to as one of the most surprising seasons in Icelandic football history when they won the 1. deild and were promoted to the top tier of Icelandic football for the first time in the club's history.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
In 2016-2019 the Gymnastics department went under major reconstruction where the house was rebuilt bigger and new equipment was bought which has greatly improved the facilities for the participants.[10]
Footnotes
^Íþróttafélagið is the definite form of Íþróttafélag, meaning "the sports club".
References
^ abc"Íþróttafélagið Grótta 40 ára" [Grótta Sports Club 40 years old] (PDF). Skólablaðið Skinfaxi (in Icelandic). 1 May 2007. p. 28. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
^"Um Gróttu". grottasport.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 February 2018.
^"Saga félagsins" [History of the club] (in Icelandic). GrottaSport.is. 28 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
