In my Praise The Underdogsposting, I already introduced you to the amazing story of KI Klaksvik, who qualified as the first Faroese team for the group stage of the UEFA Conference League. I knew that I had to watch a match of these new European soccer heroes and was absolutely nervous when I headed to Vagar Airport (FAE) for the second time in 2023. On 29th November 2023, Klaksvik was scheduled to compete with Slovakian Slovan Bratislava. After a successful campaign so far – a tied match and a victory their nominal home matches – the Faroese even still had a chance to advance from the round-robin. My posting is, however, not a match report, but a stadium review and about telling you about the spectator experience.
Torsvollur – Location & Traffic
Klaksvik could not play their UEFA home matches in their home town’s stadium Djupumyra, but needed to head to Faroese capital Torshavn hosting their visitors at the national stadium Torsvollur (the fully correct spelling is Tórsvøllur). The arena is part of the sports park in the North of the city. There is also a swimming pool, a couple indoor arenas and the Ovari Vollur at Gundadalur, which is typically used for national league matches.
Maybe in contrast to your expectations, the public transport in Torshavn itself is rather good. There are numerous bus stops around the sports park. Quite a range of the bus lines brings you close enough to the area. I opted for the Hilton Garden Inn Faroe Islands I already stayed in in September 2023, which allowed me to simply walk to the stadium. If you have a remote hotel or stay in another city on the islands, you should also be able to grab a parking lot around Torsvollur.
Torsvollur – Arena & Ticket Situation
Torsvollur is a roughly 6,000 capacity arena, which has been opened in 2000. It is only used for national team matches, the local league is typically not competing in there. A very special feature of the arena is that matches are held on artificial grass. The stadium is all-seated and is a real beauty – I took some of the pictures below during my visit in late summer 2023 already.
I had no idea about the demand for tickets for the Conference League matches. Thus, I went for the better safe than sorry option, buying the three match ticket Klaksvik initially offered. The price for all the matches for a seat in the middle of the pitch was roughly 60 EUR. I guess that the ticket situation for the real home ground of KI Klaksvik is much more difficult – Djupumyrar also just comes with 2,500 seats.
As you see on the pictures, the stadium is really nice and fit for purpose. There are quite a lot of hospitality facilities as well. One side of the stadium just comes with very limited stands. During the UEFA Conference League match, the Bratislava fans were majorly in one corner of the stadium. The area did have increased security, but no barriers, so that I had a chat with some of the fans during half time. There are plenty of bathrooms on the roofed grandstand in the South where my seat was located. They are not overwhelmingly charming, but absolutely fine regarding it is a soccer stadium.
Torsvollur – Atmosphere
The official attendance of the match was just 1,200. I guess that the early kick-off and the fact that the local Torshavn soccer clubs are quite dominant in the mind of the capital inhabitants decrease the figures. I am sure that the atmosphere is better during a national team match – but both fans had quite some support and the crowds also got quite enthusiastic in deciding parts of the match. A bit of strange, the Klaksvik fans were split into two groups, one behind the goals and one roughly at the middle of the pitch. They partially did not coordinate and thus weakened their own support. As the match was quite a thriller, I would have loved to have more cheering, though.
Torsvollur – Food & Shopping
At the Southern stand I was sitting at, there were several stands for vending. One was used for merchandise, the other for food. A hot dog was 40 DKK (roughly 5.50 EUR), coffee about half of it. Apart from warm drinks and beer, chocolates were very popular as well. There is more capacity for food vending during more popular matches. The waiting time, especially during half time, was definitely bearable.
When KI Klaksvik lived their dream in the European Cup, they got more and more global support and ran out of merchandise. During the match, the club sold a decent collection of wearables again. I bought a schal, which was 270 DKK , which is roughly 36 EUR(!). The 800 DKK UEFA Conference League jersey feels like a bargain compared to that.
KI Klaksvik at Torsvollur – My View
Regarding the atmosphere, I am sure that visiting a real KI home match in their own town is more fun. However, they did create a nice match and friendly atmosphere. The people were really kind, the atmosphere was relaxed and sill the people tried to push their team forward. By loosing against Bratislava, the 2023/24 UEFA Conference League story for the Faroese will definitely close with the match at OSC Lille in December 2023. The left a smile in many European soccer fans this season. Maybe one day they host Bratislava again… In their own town. They did a huge step towards it and somehow turned Torsvollur into their secondary home this year.
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