Molde Fotballklubb is a football club from Molde, Norway. It was established in 1911 as International by a group of people gathered by Klaus Daae Andersen. After permission was granted, it took the current name and joined the league system in 1928. Until 1937, Molde played in regional leagues, after numerous promotions and relegations. Since 1930, the team has played in the Norwegian Football Cup. In 1939, the club joined the third season of the League of Norway, the top division, but the break-out of the World War II caused a halt to all organized sports and thus this season was never completed.

In 1947–48, Molde played their first full season in the top division. They finished third in the District VII table, but was relegated to the second tier due to a reconstruction of the league system. Molde then played nine consecutive seasons on the second tier (1.divisjon and Landsdelsserien) before promoting to the 1957–58 Hovedserien. Molde won only one of their fourteen games back in the top division, and was relegated after finishing in seventh place out of eight teams in Hovedserien's group B.

The club's first trophy was won in 1994, when Molde defeated Lyn 3–2 in the 1994 Norwegian Cup final. Molde won their second Norwegian Cup in 2005. In 2011, in the 100th anniversary of the club, Molde won their first league title. They defended the title in 2012. In 2013, Molde won their third Norwegian Cup by winning 4–2 against main rivals Rosenborg. Molde won their first double in 2014. The club had limited success in the UEFA tournaments, never coming past the group stage, until reaching the round of 32 of the Europa League in the 2015–16 season. The success during the 2010s has largely been credited to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who managed the club in the years 2011–2013 and 2015–2018 before he became manager of Manchester United.

International The club was founded by a group of people gathered at Utstillingsplassen in Molde by Klaus Daae Andersen on 19 June 1911. 32 men became members of the club that day and J. Ferdinand Dahl was elected as the club's first chairman. On a general election on 24 April 1912, it was decided that the club would be named International, perhaps because the opponents were primarily visitors from cruise ships or trading vessels, or that it was to make room for the many Danes who worked in the Gideon engine factory. On 5 August 1912, the club played its first competitive match, an away match against Kristiansund which ended 2–2. Molde's first home game was played on 22 September 1912, again was Kristiansund their opponent. Tickets to the game were sold for NOK 0.25, and the club organized a dance party after the game. International was one of the six founding clubs in Romsdals Fotballkrets which was founded on 28 June 1914. The rising interest and activity in football in neighbouring towns caused the club to change its name to Molde Fotballklubb in 1915.

Name change and financial problems At the club's annual general meeting in 1915, the club changed its name to Molde Fotballklubb. During the World War I, Molde played few games due to lack of money, problems with their pitch and that eight of their players were called up to military duty. The poor economic situation in Molde Fotballklubb saw a change after a successful market held by the club in 1919. Molde got new kits in 1920; blue with white cuffs. It was also decided that the club should have a crest.

Molde debuted in the Norwegian Cup in 1921. Their first match was lost 1–2 against Rollon in the qualifying round of the 1921 Norwegian Cup.

The club played its first season in the top division in 1939–40, but the season was abandoned due to the German occupation and was never completed. Molde's first full season was the first post-war season in 1947–48. They finished third in the District VII table, but was relegated to the second tier due to a reconstruction of the league system. Molde then played nine consecutive seasons on the second tier (1.divisjon and Landsdelsserien) before promoting to the 1957–58 Hovedserien. Until 1955, Molde FK had been playing their games at Rivalbanen. This year, Molde moved to their new stadium, Molde Stadion, which opened on 28 August 1955 with a second tier league match between Molde FK and Kristiansund FK. Arne Hemnes scored the first and only goal of the game, thus the home team won 1–0. Approximately 2,500 spectators attended the opening game.

Molde won only one of their fourteen games back in their top division comeback in, 1957–58 and was relegated after finishing in seventh place out of eight teams in Hovedserien's group B. The club went on to play four consecutive seasons on the second tier before they were further relegated to 3. divisjon ahead of the 1963 season.

The breakthrough (1964–77) On 2 August 1964, Molde shocked nine-time Norwegian Cup champions and nine-time Norwegian League Champions Fredrikstad by eliminating them from the 1964 Norwegian Cup in the third round with a 3–2 win at home. Jan Fuglset, Torkild Brakstad, Odd Berg and Harry Hestad, amongst others, played at Molde during this period. The club played in local lower leagues, save for a short visit in the top division in the 1957–58 season. In 1970, Molde was promoted to the second tier and played there for three seasons until its promotion to the top flight with a 5–1 away win against Sogndal on 16 September 1973.

In 1974, Molde returned to the top division following the debut of several talented players in the first team, which coincided with the return of top level players like Fuglset, Brakstad and Hestad. Molde shocked the established clubs in their first season of the 1. divisjon, leading the league in 9 of 22 matchdays. Ahead of the final match of the season, Molde would win the league if they defeated Sarpsborg and Viking lost against Strømsgodset. However, both Molde and Viking won their last match, meaning Molde won the silver medal after finishing one point behind champions Viking. Odd Berg scored 13 goals in the league and became Molde's first top scorer in the top division.

Due to their second-place finish in the league in 1974, Molde was qualified for the 1975–76 UEFA Cup. The club's first game in a UEFA competition was played on 17 September 1975. Molde won the UEFA Cup first round first leg 1–0 at home against Swedish opponent Öster. Kjell Westerdahl scored the goal at Molde Idrettspark. Molde lost the second leg 0–6, the biggest defeat in UEFA competitions in the club's history, and was knocked out of the UEFA Cup with 1–6 on aggregate.

Ups and downs (1978–93) Between 1978 and 1984, Molde did not play on the same level in two consecutive years. Molde was relegated from the 1. divisjon in every even-numbered year, and promoted to back to the first tier in every odd-numbered year, making it three consecutive promotions and relegations. In fact, Molde and Brann did not play at the same level these years, as Brann were promoted when Molde was relegated and the other way around.

In 1982, Molde played in their first cup final, despite being relegated from the 1982 1. divisjon. They lost the final at Ullevaal Stadion 3–2 against Brann.

The 1987 season was the closest Molde came to winning the league championship before winning it in 2011, when a draw at home against Moss in the final round would have ensured the title. Despite numerous goal scoring opportunities, Moss won the match 2–0 at Molde stadium, thus winning the league championship, while Molde won their second silver medal. The attendance of 14,615 set the record at the old Molde stadion.

Molde played their second cup final in 1989. The first match against Viking ended in a 2–2 draw, and the subsequent replay was won 2–1 by Viking.

When Molde again was relegated from the Norwegian top flight in 1993, the club was in major economic difficulties following a number of projects, the most notably of which was an expansion of the main stand at Molde stadion. Local businessmen Kjell Inge Røkke and Bjørn Rune Gjelsten started to invest in the club, and since 1993 they have invested approximately on old debts, new players and the new stadium.

The silver generation (1994–2000) First trophy

Åge Hareide was the head coach of Molde in the 1994 season, when they finished second in their 1. divisjon group and was thus re-promoted to Tippeligaen. Molde finished four points behind group B winners Hødd. Molde also met their main rivals Rosenborg in the semi-final of the 1994 Norwegian Cup. Molde won 2–1 at home and drew 2–2 in Trondheim, and with a 4–3 win on aggregate, Molde qualified for their third cup final. After having lost to Molde, Rosenborg head coach Nils Arne Eggen called Molde's playing style for "arse-football" ("rævvafotball"). Molde won their first title by defeating Lyn 3–2 in the final at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo. Tarje Nordstrand Jacobsen, Ole Bjørn Sundgot and Arild Stavrum scored Molde's goals in the final.

Three S's

During the 1995 season, Molde became known for their three strikers, known as the three S's due to their surname's first letters: Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Arild Stavrum and Ole Bjørn Sundgot. In their first league match, Molde won 6–0 against Brann in Bergen, with Solskjær scoring two goals and Stavrum and Sundgot also contributing in one of Brann's heaviest-ever losses at home. With six-straight wins, Molde stayed in the top two positions of the league throughout the season, but eventually finished second, 15 points behind Rosenborg.

Solskjær scored 31 goals in 42 matches for Molde and was sold to Manchester United on 29 July 1996 as Molde finished in eighth position that season. In 1997, Molde finished fourth in the league, and Erik Brakstad replaced Åge Hareide as head coach ahead of the 1998 season.

New stadium In the 1998 season, Molde moved to the new Molde Stadion. The opening game was played on 18 April against Lillestrøm, a game Molde won 4–0. Molde played their first 21 matches without losing, a Norwegian record until 2009, when Rosenborg went 26 matches undefeated. In the 22nd round, Molde lost against Vålerenga while Rosenborg defeated Kongsvinger to surpass Molde at the top of the table. Rosenborg player Mini Jakobsen subsequently said, "It was fun as long as you managed to keep up. Thank you for helping to create tension in Tippeligaen!" On 26 September 1998, Rosenborg won 2–0 against Molde in the 23rd round and won the championship, with Molde settling for second place. Molde scored a club record 70 goals in the 1998 Tippeligaen. The all-time attendance record at Aker Stadion dates from the 1998 rivalry game against Rosenborg on 26 September 1998, which was followed by 13,308 spectators.

Champions League