Kristiansund is a town of “Møre og Romsdal” region, in Western Norway. It’s the hometown of talented (ex) players, being Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Øyvind Leonhardsen the most famous ones. In 2003 two rival clubs of Kristiansund, Kristiansund FK and Clausenengen FK, cooperated to create an elite club, the Kristiansund Ballklubb (Kristiansund BK).

In 2004, the new club (KBK) debuted in the 3rd Division (4th Tier), and in 2016 managed to secure the promotion to the Eliteserien (1st Tier). Last season, the team secured the return to the top tier after the play-offs.

This season, 2024, Kristiansund BK will be one of the most interesting teams to watch in the Norwegian top tier. The team is the second youngest in the league with an average age of 22.9, with 52% of the players being 21 years old or younger and 80% are 24 years old or less. From this 80% (20 players out of 25), 10 players have had caps by their youth National teams (U21 and younger) at least once. From the 25 that form the squad, 13 are club grown players.

The main prospects are:

Max Williamsen (CB) – Capped for Norway U21. The 20-year-old shows to have maturity and has some experience in the Eliteserien. He positions himself well, has good spatial awareness and leadership skills. He still needs to improve the efficiency in duels and his concentration.

Brynjólfur Willumsson (CF/AMC) – The Icelander has played 2 matches for Iceland’s main national team. Last season he has been adapted to attacking midfielder (centre). He helped the team to achieve promotion after 7 goals and 7 assists in 22 matches. He has good vision, good technique and good passing skills. He isn’t afraid of contact and has good movements without ball. With just a few games in his new position, he’ll need more time to feel comfortable in it. He’d benefit from playing simpler.

Oskar Sivertsen (RW/LW) – The 20-year-old has 3 caps for Norway U20. The right winger started to play regularly for the main squad this season. He is fast, has good technique, has good ball control and he’s quite consistent in his performances. He’s also the set piece taker. Sivertsen gained his space in the starting eleven in the second half of the season and contributed massively for Kristiansund’s promotion, contributing with 4 goals and 8 assists.

Heine Bruseth (MC) – Heine has 3 caps for Norway U20 and he’s just 19 years old. The central midfielder is fast, intelligent and reads the game well. He has good positioning, good passing skills, good ball control and vision. An injury in the beginning of last season delayed a bit his development and affirmation in the squad.

Kristiansund BK has also other young prospects that are already established in the team such as Olsen (CB), Rakneberg (WBL) and promising talents to develop like Alvheim, Haugen or Weidel.

Kristiansund BK played last season with a 1-3-5-2 and a 1-4-3-3 formation (plus variations). They finished 4th in the OBOS Ligaen (2nd tier) with the best attack. In the playoffs they showed to be a resilient team with good work rate.

Now that they’re back to the top tier, we all look forward to seeing how the team and the players develop and perform.

Good luck to them in this Eliteserien 2024.