On this day 128 years ago, Tvøroyrar Bóltfelag was founded. 16 people signed up to become the original members of the club and the first committee was chaired by Poul Effersøe, Oliver Effersøe and Johan Mortensen, and the substitute members were D.J. Larsen and Axel Nolsøe. The original name for the club was in danish, Tveraa Boldklub and in brackets the Faroase “Tvørá Bóltfelag. The first minutes from the first meeting can be seen here https://www.tb.fo/forkunnug-mynd/ (Only in Faroese). The first football club of the Faroes, indeed the first sports club of the Faroes became a reality on this day, a 128 years ago, three weeks prior to the founding of the famous English club, Liverpool FC.
Back then, times were different and the challenges even more so than what they are today. Despite the fact that we are in an age of technological innovations and are financially larger, there are still challenges just as great, as they were back then.
Now that the club has been in existence for 128 years, there is no denying that there have been many ups and downs along the way. The challenges that the Corona virus has presented to the world, however, the club has never experienced.
A lot of preparations were set in motion at the end of last season and have continued all the way up towards the start of the season this year, to build a good team with a good coach. Success has followed and today we can say we have a young and exciting team, with a broad coaching staff. A staff that has managed to create a positive environment for the players and instilled a sense of belief in their ability to achieve something great.
On the 12th of March this year, the Prime-Minister Bárður á Steig Nielsen announced that the Faroes were to slow down. This meant that this years football season abruptly came to a halt, indeed for all sports on the islands. Without a doubt a necessary measure implemented by the government, but this meant that the club was without income from season tickets, which is a key factor in the clubs financial existence. Our response has been to organize a variety of initiatives and our latest one, the club merchandise store, which is opening today.
It has been a heartfelt experience to witness how much devoted support TB has received from all over the country, and abroad. Even though people cannot attend matches, they have taken steps to pay for tickets to club on their own. We are eternally grateful. Also, a thank you to the financial support contributed by industries and to the municipality. Without your support, TB would be nothing.
TB has strong roots in the local community. The only team on the island of Suðuroy in the top league competition today is a strong and well functioning club, all the way from the youth academy to the very top. There is a lot of interest in the club at home but there has also been a sudden explosion of interest in the club from people abroad. This is of course a result of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish television, broadcasting Faroese football live. There is undoubtedly also interest abroad because we have Danes and Swedes on our team. We are currently working on ways to reach our supporters abroad by creating an online-store and translating newsletters to English.
The national competition has finally started and though we did not get the best result at the start of the new season, are optimism for the season 2020 has not withered.
Us that are responsible for running the club, from the coaches to the different committees wish to congratulate Tvøroyrar Bóltfelag on its 128th birthday. We know we are the historical custodians of the birthplace of all Faroese sports. We are proud of our club and will do our duty to carry the club into the future.
On behalf on the committees of Tvøroyrar Bóltfelag
Reidar Simonsen, chairman