ØIF Arendal

ØIF Arendal
Full nameØyestad Idrettsforening Arendal
NicknameØyestad
Short nameØIF
FoundedApril 1, 1929 (1929-04-01)
ArenaSparebanken Norge Amfi Arendal, Arendal
Capacity3,000
Head coachJosip Vidovic
CaptainKristijan Jurisic
LeagueElkjøp-ligaen
Club colours   
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Home
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Away
Website
Official site

ØIF Arendal is a Norwegian handball team located in the municipality of Arendal in Agder county, Norway. Since 2009, they have competed in the highest league for men's handball clubs in Norway.

The team colours are red and black. They play their home matches at Sparebanken Norge Amfi Arendal, with the playing court dressed in red and black.

History

The club was founded on April 1, 1929. The club was promoted to the top division in the 2008/2009 season. Former international Preben Vildalen also played for the promoted team.

Before their 2009 top division debut season, the men's team was separated into a distinct legal entity under the multi-sport club Øyestad IF Allianse, which is when they got their current name: ØIF Arendal (legally: Øyestad IF håndball elite). The original Øyestad sports club men's team (Øyestad IF håndball) plays at the national third level and partners with ØIF Arendal as a feeder team.

The team debuted in the elite series on September 26, 2009, defeating Runar Sandefjord 27–24 at home.[1] They finished fourth in 2010 and 2011.

In the 2012/2013 season, the team moved from the Nedeneshallen sports hall to the new Sparebanken Sør Amfi (renamed Sparebanken Norge Amfi Arendal in 2025).

On 30 December 2014, ØIF won the Norwegian Cup for the first time after defeating Bodø HK 23–22 in the final.[2] ØIF won the Norwegian League in 2015, 2016 and 2019.

Team

Current squad

Squad for the 2026–27 season[3]
ØIF Arendal

Technical staff

  • Head coach: Croatia Josip Vidovic
  • Assistant coach: Sweden Kenny Ekman
  • Physiotherapist: Norway Harald Eiker Berg
  • Physiotherapist: Norway Preben Jørgensen

Transfers

Transfers for the 2026–27 season

Transfer History

Previous squads

Accomplishments

EHF ranking

As of 30/11/2025[5]
RankTeamPoints
104Luxembourg HC Berchem46
105France Chambery Savoie46
106Norway ØIF Arendal45
107Kosovo KH Besa Famgas44
108France USAM Nimes44

Former club members

Notable former players

Goalkeepers

Right wingers

Left wingers

Line players

Left backs

Central backs

Right backs

References

  1. ↑ AS, TV 2 (2009-09-25). "ØIF Arendal tilbake i toppen". TV 2 (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-11-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ "Norwegen: Arendal zum ersten Mal Pokalsieger" (in German). handball-world.news. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  3. ↑ https://oifarendal.no/spillerstall/
  4. ↑ https://www.topphandball.no/artikkel/elverum-signerer-strek-kjempen-sondre-gjerdalen/
  5. ↑ "Eurotopteam, classement européen des clubs de Handball".