Established in 1905, IK Start competes in the Eliteserien having won the league for the first time in 1978. The club has had quite a few ups and downs in its history. IK Start was promoted to the top league in 2004 but were relegated back to the Norwegian 1. divisjon in 2008 owing to its poor performance and financial problems. The team finally emerged through all its troubles and went on to be promoted at the end of a very successful 2012 season.
