Tromsø is the largest urban area in Northern Norway and the third largest area north of the Arctic Circle after the larger Russian cities of Murmansk and Norilsk. Most of Tromsø, including the city centre and the Alfheim football stadium is located on the island of Tromsøya.
With vivid open landscapes Tromsø sits 350 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. This is a place where the midnight sun occurs from mid May through until the end of July. Owing to Tromsø’s high latitude the twilight can be long meaning that there is no real darkness between late April and mid-August.
In contrast during the winter the sun remains below the horizon from about November 26th to 21st January but there is some daylight for the locals during this period.
With the Norwegian league season occurring between March and October the hours of darkness do not really impact upon football here unless the club plays in UEFA competition.
However, vivid snow heavy landscapes surround Tromsø even during the summer months in June and July.
This combination of snow cover and bright sunshine often creates intense light conditions from late February through to the autumn months.
A pleasant city with a small compact centre there are historic wooden houses all around. Many of these look down just behind the small compact Alfheim Stadion home of Tromsø IL.
The locals are very proud of the local team creating good atmospheres at the small ground.
Tromsø Idrettslag were founded in 1920 and play home games at the colourful community stadium called the Alfheim Stadion. Twice UEFA Cup and Europa League group stage participants the club currently play in the top division Tippeligaen and hold the position as the northern most top level football club in the world.
Despite the distant location they are not alone. Just next door are another club Tromsdalen UIL who play in the lower Norwegian Adeccoligaen. Founded in 1938 they are located in Tromsdalen in the municipality of Tromsø not far from the Arctic Cathedral landmark.
In the summer of 2012 we undertook an adventure to Norway via Oslo to this northern most of places. Vivid landscapes could be seen during the two hour plane trip north as the spectacular Norwegian location of Tromsø appeared underneath.
You can see images from the home grounds of Tromsø IL and Tromsdalen UIL here.
This feature first appeared in voicesinfootball.com during 2012.