Joey Guðjónsson has announced his decision to step down as head coach of Akademisk Boldklub A/S, having informed the club’s ownership of his wish to leave his position after 16 games of the 25/26 season.

Guðjónsson was originally appointed as head coach on May 15, 2024 and has overseen 54 games in charge of the club.

Assistant coach Fannar Berg Gunnólfsson will be promoted to head coach, with goalkeeper coach Joakim Sternas and strength and conditioning coach Konstantinos Ntolaptsis remaining in position.  News of additional appointments to Gunnólfsson’s coaching staff will be announced in due course.

“I’m sorry to be leaving AB, but it’s a decision I have to make for family reasons. The last 18 months with AB have been absolutely brilliant and filled with great moments. The players, staff, volunteers, fans and other stakeholders make this club so unique. From the beginning I’ve felt welcome and appreciated by my surroundings, and despite leaving before our goals are reached, I’m confident that I’m leaving the club in a very good place,” said Gudjonsson. “Working with Fannar and the rest of the staff has made the time unique, and I’m certain that Fannar is the right person to lead the project going forward. I want to thank the board and management, who have done everything in their power to help us succeed, and I’m positive the direction they’ve set for the club will lead them to where they want to be. Thank you AB, I’ll be cheering on from home.”

 “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Joey and the way he sees football and I’ve enjoyed working with him. His departure is obviously not an outcome that we wanted. However, we’ve known for some time that due to family circumstances for Joey back in Iceland, it was a possibility – but we were hoping the situation would change. Unfortunately, we have to accept his decision now and move forward,” said Jen Chang, sporting director. “Our priority is two-fold. First, to ensure the progress that has been made on the pitch under Joey is maintained for the rest of this campaign. Second, to preserve the club’s playing philosophy and identity on the pitch. It is for this reason that we have opted for continuity with our approach and after careful consideration appointed Fannar as head coach.

Fannar has been instrumental in helping Joey develop the game model and has the same coaching principles and playing philosophy. I’m confident that we will continue with the same attack-minded approach and high pressure intensity under Fannar’s leadership.”

“On behalf of all of AB A/S, I would like to reaffirm our profound appreciation for Joey. We are saddened to lose a manager of such caliber and tried everything possible to enable him to stay. At the same time, we fully respect his personal family reasons as to why he has decided to leave the club.  We look forward to working with Fannar as head coach,” said Brian Grieco, Chairman of Akademisk Boldkub A/S.

“I’m extremely proud to be named the next head coach for AB. This historic club has so much potential, and I’m confident that we as a club can continue to improve and develop through hard work, so that we will reach our goals together. Joey and I share the same philosophy, so I’m excited to continue working with and perfecting our style of play and identity. When I first arrived here for a 4 week period to help Joey back in 2024, I could not imagine how much this place would end up meaning to me. My family and I have settled well here, and we’re thankful for the opportunity to continue what we’ve started. I promise the fans that the work won’t stop, and we’ll be pushing every single day to make them proud of us,” said Fannar Berg Gunnólfsson.