AaFK earns historic Champions League place

The latest news from Møre og Romsdal over the past 48 hours has been dominated by a historic first for the county’s women’s football: AaFK’s players have secured an unprecedented qualification for the Champions League. The weekend in Møre og Romsdal also saw a national award for a wetland restoration project on Harøya, contrasting men’s sporting results and several local rural initiatives.

Møre og Romsdal news: AaFK earns historic European qualification

AaFK’s women’s team defeated LSK 3-0 on Sunday, 25 October. The result guarantees the club a place in next season’s Champions League qualifying rounds and at least second place in the Toppserien (NRK Møre og Romsdal). It is the first time in the club’s history that a team has qualified for the Champions League and for a European competition.

Katarina Dybvik Sunde, who has scored 28 league goals this season, netted two of Aalesund’s three goals. “It’s incredibly good. It’s a historic day. I have no plans to stop scoring,” she told NRK. Emilie Blindheim, 17, scored the final goal just before the final whistle. “It felt really good. I’m always looking to perform and do my best, so it’s nice to score and get confirmation that I’m doing something well,” she added to the same source. Brann lead the table (NRK Møre og Romsdal).

Men’s sport: Lonebu succeeds as KBK and Aalesund face difficult finishes

In the men’s game, Kristian Lonebu scored four goals in the match at Røkkeløkka against FFK, a game described as a football celebration in a context where his name was linked with Erling Braut Haaland’s (NRK Møre og Romsdal). KBK ended its season against KFUM in a confusing finish featuring a red card and an injury to Ulvestad (NRK Møre og Romsdal).

Aalesund’s men held their own against Sarpsborg for long with 10 players, before a painful end to the match (NRK Møre og Romsdal). Hødd led twice against a top team in the 1. divisjon in a match counting towards the race for a place in the top 6 (NRK Møre og Romsdal). MFK’s performance was described as “from another world” and “world-class” by the local press (Romsdals Budstikke). A player also reflected on his feeling of having let his teammates down: “It’s very hard now” (Sunnmørsposten).

Environment: Selviktjønna restoration honoured on Harøya

On the island of Harøya, the Selviktjønna restoration project received the national landscape architecture award (Landskapsarkitekturprisen 2026) this weekend. For more than 50 years, the wetland had virtually disappeared following drainage work in the 1970s: the water had receded and the area had become overgrown (NRK Møre og Romsdal).

Rigmor Brøste, deputy director of the Statsforvalteren i Møre og Romsdal, received the award alongside landscape architects from Rambøll and Henning Larsen. The jury describes the project as an example of nature restoration showing how landscape architecture can address both environmental and climate challenges (NRK Møre og Romsdal). The process was initiated by Arne Follestad of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA).

Local business and rural initiatives in Sunnmøre

In Norddal in Sunnmøre, Christin Martens and her partner arrived from Germany to grow sustainable vegetables. The farm shop’s business model was not enough: she lost local contracts, and the 9 miles of road to Ålesund made selling too distant. “It was a little disappointing at first,” she explains to NRK.

The couple redirected the business towards a flower market garden between the mountains. “It’s a dream to be at home, on the farm, and create things,” she says. “I love the creative side of the work, making bouquets and arrangements.” As recently as last year, she was bent over the vegetable rows pulling up potatoes; this year, she walks between rows of colourful, fragrant flowers (NRK Møre og Romsdal).

A local company announces a record financial year (Romsdals Budstikke), a duo attracts attention on TikTok (Sunnmørsposten), and Kitty, 21, from Bud, has been selected from more than 350 applicants (Romsdals Budstikke). In the weather, a new storm was forecast for Saturday, 25 October (Sunnmørsposten), and images of the storm at Lesjaskog circulated the same day (Sunnmørsposten). The clocks changed to winter time on Sunday, 25 October (The Local Norway).

📌 Local briefs

Saturday night into Sunday was busy for the county police: 3 people are suspected of driving an electric scooter while intoxicated in Ålesund, including a teenager stopped just before 02h00, who had a blood test and whose guardian was informed (NRK Møre og Romsdal).

Two men in their twenties were reported at 03h47 for the same reasons, another was removed from the city centre at 02h39 for disturbing public order, and 2 men were cleared from Moa before 03h00 (NRK Møre og Romsdal). Molde police also intervened at around 03h00 (NRK Møre og Romsdal).

Sources: NRK Møre og Romsdal, Sunnmørsposten, Romsdals Budstikke, The Local Norway — Period: 25 October 2026 and 26 October 2026