Bodø/Glimt

Ground: Aspmyra Stadion

Visits: 1

Date: 18th July 2010

Match: Bodø/Glimt - Tromsdalen 2-0 (1. divisjon)

Attendance: 2 147

Pictures: Scroll down!

When I discovered I had enough bonus points to travel from Copenhagen to anywhere in Scandinavia for free I decided to go to the north of Norway, the Arctic! I wanted to do Tromsø and and Bodø in one trip. As I was to lose some bonus points 30 June I had to book, but not make, the trip before this deadline. With 5 days to spare NFF finally confirmed fixtures for July and I was pleased to notice it was possible to do both Tromsø and Bodø on the same weekend. I travelled to Tromsø on Saturday evening and was greeted by sunshine and 20 °C, unusual for this latitude. Because of the nice weather I was able to take some stunning pictures of Tromsø and the coastline. See the Tromsø page for these pictures. On Sunday morning I then made the 50 minute flight to Bodø. Bodø is situated about 90 km north of the Arctic Circle and is the biggest town in Nordland County. That means a population of around 45 000, including nearby fishing villages. The Midnight Sun period in Bodø is between 2 June and 15 July every year. Not much sunshine when I travelled to Bodø though but despite all the clouds I was able to get a nice view of the spectacular surroundings as we approached Bodø airport. The airport is very close to the sea and when we landed it felt like we actually landed in the sea. Torrential rain and a strong wind is not usual in Bodø but I had hoped for slightly better conditions....

The local football team, Bodø/Glimt, have twice (1975 and 1993) become Norwegian champions but last year they were relegated to Adeccoligaen. They play their matches at Aspmyra Stadion which has a capacity of around 7 300. To comply with Tippeligaen (and UEFA) demands Aspmyra Stadion has been redeveloped in recent years. The all-seated stands on the south side and east end of the ground have been built recently. Only the old main stand on the north side of the ground remains from the "old" ground. Bodø/Glimt don't have any local rivals and today's opponents Tromsdalen (from Tromsø) are actually their closest opponents in Adeccoligaen. Only 300 km separate the two towns. When I travelled down from Tromsø I was accompanied by the Tromsdalen team but when the match started it was soon obvious I was no lucky mascot for Tromsdalen. Bodø/Glimt dominated from start and scored twice in the first half. With a very cold wind coming in from the sea I had to wear multiple layer of clothes, watching football in the arctic is something special. I was warmed by the game though and Bodø/Glimt's first 45 minutes, with the two goals, was really entertaining. The second half didn't produce any goals and the game ended 2-0 to Bodø/Glimt. As I walked back from the stadium after the match the sun suddenly appeared and the evening in Bodø was quite pleasent. This Sunday I have been to my first game north of the Arctic Circle. When I go to Tromsø tomorrow I will watch a game at the most northern top division ground in the world. A day to look forward to!

bodö, hamnen