Greenhorns of this year’s cups: Nordsjaelland benefits from collaboration with Ghanaian team

In the 2011/12 season, out of nowhere, the Champions League group, until then and since then silence on the trail. Only this year, the Danish side flew through the Europa Conference League qualification, overcoming Partizan Belgrade 6-0 in the play-offs and could be one of the dark horses of the competition.

Nordsjaelland is a Danish club from the city of Farum, founded in 1991 under the name Farum Boldklub. It started in the fourth highest competition and the current name has been associated with the Wild Tigers since 2003.

The name Farum Boldklub refers to the merger of two clubs from the town of 60,000 – Farum IK and Stavnsholt BK. The jersey combination has also split in half, the red and white referring to Stavnsholt, the yellow and blue to F.I.K.

Nordsjaelland first reached the Danish elite after promotion in the 2001/02 season and have never been relegated since. On the other hand, he graced his very first season in the top flight with a third place finish and his first peek at the cups. He was knocked out of the UEFA Cup in the first round against Panionios.

The first major trophy came in the 2009/10 season, when Nordsjaelland beat Midtjylland in the cup final. They also beat the same opponent in the final the following year, ironically falling out to Sporting Lisbon in both subsequent Europa League qualifiers.

After two cups in a row, the Wild Tigers added the most valuable one. Moreover, the league triumph meant direct qualification to the Champions League. Although the club became the first Danish team with artificial turf in the same year, the group played at the national stadium Parken Stadium.

Another historic moment was agreeing a partnership with Ghanaian team Right to Dream Academy in 2016. Since then, 19 Ghanaians have joined Nordsjaelland, making it a stable Danish team.

As part of the collaboration, the stadium was renamed Right to Dream Park. And the Danes certainly can’t complain, after all, they brought up Mohamed Kudus, who shone at Ajax and is now at West Ham. Kamaldeen Sulemana also kicked Premier League goals last year.

This year, Nordsjaelland will be looking at the cup group for the second time in their history. The road was not easy, but FCSB and Partizan Belgrade were beaten soundly. Fenerbahce, Ludogorets Razgrad and Spartak Trnava will also enjoy a group stage.

Source: Nordsjaelland