Kidderminster’s Unexpected Fanbase in Norway

On Norway’s rugged west coast sits Ålesund, a town known for its Art Nouveau architecture, island setting and postcard-worthy harbour. It is not the sort of place you would expect to find a pocket of devotion to an English sixth-tier football club. Yet inside the Brooklyn Bar, dressed in red and white, lives one of football’s most charming oddities: a Norwegian supporters’ group for Kidderminster Harriers.

The story sounds like a joke at first. In fact, that is more or less how it began.

A club chosen almost by accident

Lars Andreas Vegsund, who founded the Harriers of Norway, says the idea came when his old boys team wanted to enter Norway’s annual Supporters Cup in Oslo. The competition, organised by the Supporters Union of British Football, brings together fan groups of British clubs from across the country. To join in, they needed to pick an English side that did not already have an established Scandinavian supporters’ club.

So they started scrolling.

They moved through the leagues on their phones, searching for a name that stood out. When one of Lars’ friends said “Kidderminster,” Lars immediately replied, “Harriers.” That was enough. He had used the club on football management games before, liked the sound of it, and the decision stuck.

What was initially a bit of fun quickly became something more serious. Within a week, seven Norwegians had signed up to launch the group, and their first board meeting was held in the Brooklyn Bar in Ålesund.

From novelty to nationwide following

A few years on, the supporters’ club had expanded far beyond a local joke between friends. Membership grew to 191 people spread across Norway, including supporters in Bergen, Trondheim, Halden, Mo i Rana and Oslo.

That growth is especially striking given Kidderminster’s place in the football pyramid. This is not a glamour club with a global brand, but a team whose recent life has been spent outside the Football League. For the Norwegians involved, though, that is precisely the appeal.

Lars describes it as a reaction against modern, commercialised football. Following Kidderminster offers something more human and more rooted. Instead of chasing the polished spectacle of the global game, they have found meaning in a club that still feels close to the traditions many supporters say they miss.

Building Aggborough in Ålesund

Watching Kidderminster from Norway is not easy. Live access is limited, and opportunities to attend matches in person are rare. So the Harriers of Norway created their own answer.

They follow games through BBC Hereford & Worcestershire commentary, then gather later to watch highlights projected onto a wall inside an old factory basement. There, they have built what they call the “Ålesund Aggborough,” a homemade tribute to Kidderminster’s ground.

It is more than a decorated room. The space is designed to echo the North Stand at Aggborough, complete with red railings, old shirts and club memorabilia. There is even a bar tucked into the corner. On matchdays, members stand with pints in hand, taking in the projected action as if they were back in Worcestershire.

It may be a replica, but it reflects something real: the effort supporters will make to feel close to a club that matters to them.

The real thing still matters most

As impressive as their Norwegian version of Aggborough may be, it cannot replace the genuine experience. Members of the group have already made several trips to England, and they are eager for more.

COVID interrupted some of those plans, but the appetite remains strong. Home matches have already given them a taste of the club and its supporters, and an away-day trip remains high on the wishlist. Lars recalls particular disappointment when a planned journey to Scarborough was called off.

That desire to travel says a lot about the seriousness of their attachment. This is not fandom at a distance in the casual sense. It is an ongoing commitment, shaped by weekends, flights and the hope of getting on the away coach one day.

A welcome from club and community

What has deepened that bond is the response from Kidderminster itself. The club has embraced its Norwegian followers in a way that left a lasting impression.

At one point, manager Russell Penn held a question-and-answer session for them from his own kitchen. During a visit in September 2022, the group were invited to watch first-team training, where captain Shane Byrne presented them with a shirt signed by the squad.

The warmth extended beyond the club walls. On one trip, after a fixture was postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, local supporters took the Norwegian visitors to a cricket match instead. It was a small gesture, but one that underlined the hospitality they had found around the club.

For Lars, that human connection is central. Supporting Kidderminster has not only brought back the feeling of having a team to call their own; it has also introduced them to a community that embodies what they believe football should still be.

From TV feature to FA Cup spotlight

Their unusual story did not stay hidden for long. Norwegian broadcaster Viaplay produced a television feature on the Harriers of Norway, visiting Ålesund to film the recreated stand and speak to members of the group.

The segment aired before Kidderminster’s FA Cup tie against West Ham, one of the club’s biggest occasions in recent years. For supporters who had built an entire following around a non-league side, it was another reminder that football’s most compelling stories often live far from the top division.

Why Kidderminster, not the local side?

Ask Lars where his loyalties would fall if Kidderminster played his hometown club and there is no hesitation. He would back the Harriers.

That answer speaks to how deeply the relationship has taken hold. What started as a practical choice for a supporters’ tournament has turned into genuine belonging. In Kidderminster, they found not just a badge but an identity.

The club’s pull across Scandinavia

There is also a historical curiosity in the connection. Kidderminster once had a distinctly Scandinavian flavour during their Football League years, with Jan Mølby in charge and players such as Bo Henriksen and Thomas Skovbjerg involved. Lars is well aware of that link and admits that a Norwegian turning out for the club would feel like a dream for the group.

For now, no Norwegian has made that leap. But the Harriers of Norway like to imagine themselves as potential scouts on the ground, ready to point the club towards the right talent should one emerge.

A romance with football’s lower reaches

At the time, Kidderminster were settled in mid-table in the National League North, not obviously headed for promotion or disaster. Yet that uncertainty does nothing to lessen the enthusiasm in Ålesund. If anything, it is part of the attraction.

The Harriers of Norway are not attached to success. They are attached to ritual, to camaraderie, to the emotional texture of supporting a side that does not come wrapped in worldwide marketing.

Each weekend, they continue to fill their own version of Aggborough, track results from afar and seize any opportunity to cross the North Sea for the real thing. Perhaps one day they will see Kidderminster climb again. Perhaps one day they will even carry the club’s name to victory on the artificial pitches of Oslo’s Supporters Cup.

Either way, in a bar in Ålesund, an English non-league club has already found something many bigger teams would envy: supporters who chose it freely, unexpectedly and wholeheartedly.