On Top of the World / An Arctic Adventure / Managing Alta IF [Norwegian Third Tier]

[Monsoon Whiskey]

Alta IF / Season One, 2021

I've decided to start a save in one of my favourite countries, Norway. Home to the Midnight Sun, the Northern Lights and tons of snow it's something that I've wanted to do for a while - a bit of a road to glory outside of the usual names in England. I've started with Alta Idrettsforening, as they are the Northernmost team in the country (and roughly in the world) based in the municipality of the same name and home to just shy of 21,000 people. The football team are rather unique in the sense that they have two home grounds, Alta Idrettspark which is an outdoor venue and Finnmarkshallen which is an indoor complex, used when the outdoor pitch is unplayable due to snow and at full capacity, can hold 1,000 Alta supporters.

Finnmarkshallen, home of Alta IF

Currently playing in the 2. divisjon (the third tier of Norway's pyramid) it's my goal to bring the club through the ladder into the 1. divisjon and finally, to the promised land of the Eliteserien. To my knowledge the club have never played in the top flight, so achieving this would be a massive achievement to the team and the local people. From my research, I don't believe that a Norwegian club has progressed further than the group stage in the UEFA Champions League either, so getting into the knockout stages would see me make history on a national level.

I plan to heavily rely on youth, with a focus on signing only Scandinavian players to turn this into a 'rough' home-grown challenge. Hopefully bringing through some fantastic newgens who can perhaps assist Erling Haaland and Martin Odergaard for the national team! For now, we start in the third tier as a semi professional club, with the ambition on gaining promotion in our first campaign and progressing through the ladder.

The Team (Key Players):

A name that will be familiar to most who follow the English game, our star man (and who I've appointed captain) is Morten Gamst Pedersen, arguably most famous for playing for Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League. Following stints at Rosenborg and Tromso, he recently signed for Alta IF at the age of 38 turning down offers from throughout Europe to play for his hometown team - his stats for a third tier side is absolutely insane and despite being in his twilight years this is someone who I'm prepared to lean on throughout the season.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Monsoon Whiskey

[mark wilson27]

Hi Monsoon and welcome FM Stories.

Looks a very interesting story, just take a quick look at the HOUSE RULES  regarding screenshots and photos.

Apart from that looking forward to reading more

Mark