It was established on 27 September 2010, and started contesting in the 2011 3. divisjon which is the fourth tier of the Norwegian league system. In its second season, in 2012, the team won promotion to third tier. From 2013 to 2016 the team played in the third tier of the Norwegian league system, and won promotion to the second tier in 2016.
The club is an umbrella team for IK Grane and IF Trauma. The two clubs had tried fielding an umbrella team earlier from 2000 to 2008, called FK Arendal. FK Arendal never reached the same level as Arendal Fotball.