Eliteserien

Before 1937, there was no national league competition in Norway; only regional leagues and the Norwegian Cup. Starting in 1937–38, the various regional leagues in Southern Norway were aligned into eight districts, with a championship playoff between the winners to crown a national champion. This competition was called Norgesserien (English: The League of Norway). In the early years, the top flight teams were divided into eleven groups from eight districts. The league champion was decided in either a knockout tournament or a final between the winners of these groups. Fredrikstad was the first champions of the league, winning the 1937–38 season. They won the two-legged final against Lyn 4–0 on aggregate. Fredrikstad defended their title in the 1938–39 season. From the 1937–38 season and until the beginning of World War II, the teams were divided into eight district groups. There were plans at the time to merge the district leagues into a national competition, but because of World War II, this process was delayed until after the war, although also the first post-war season in 1947–48 had eleven district-based groups.

In 1948, Hovedserien (English: The Main League) was created, consisting of the 16 top teams from the district leagues, who were placed into two groups of eight, with the group winners playing a two-legged final for the national championship at the end of the season. This format was in place from the 1948–49 season until 1960–61, when it was decided to merge the two groups into a single top division, and have the season follow the calendar year from 1963 onwards. The 1950s were dominated by Fredrikstad FK and Larvik Turn. Fredrikstad won their latest league title in 1960–61, which secured their ninth title out of sixteen possible. Larvik Turn won Hovedserien three times in four seasons from 1955–56. The 1961–62 season was played during 15 months. The teams from the two groups in the 1960–61 top division were put in one group consisting of 16 teams. The 1961–62 season became a transitional season, where the 16 top-flight teams were placed in a single group, playing a season that went on for 15 months and one half of its teams were relegated. Officially still known as Hovedserien, the 1961–62 season is often referred to as Maratonserien ("The Marathon League") due to its unusual length.[3] The Maratonserien was won by Brann.

In 1963, a single top division containing ten teams was introduced, and the league was renamed 1. divisjon (English: 1st Division). The first regular one-league season was played spring-autumn and was won by title defenders Brann in 1963. The league was expanded to 12 teams in 1972. Teams from Northern Norway were not allowed to gain promotion to the top division before 1972, when Mjølner became the first team from Northern Norway to play in the top flight, and until 1979 were subject to stricter promotion rules than teams from the rest of the country. Viking won the league four consecutive seasons beginning in 1972. Lillestrøm won back-to-back titles in 1976 and 1977. In 1979 teams from Northern Norway were given the same promotion rights as the rest of the country. In the beginning of the 1980s, Vålerengen were the dominant team, with their titles from 1981, 1983 and 1984.

The former logo of the league, Tippeligaen, which it was known as from 1990–2016.

In 1990, the league was renamed Tippeligaen, after Norsk Tipping which has been the main sponsor of the league since then.[4] However, unofficially the league was still known as 1. divisjon by most people. And ahead of the 1991-season it was decided to let the second level league of Norwegian football "inherit" the name 1. divisjon to help Tippeligaen establish as a brand.[5] Rosenborg of Trondheim won the first year the league bore the name Tippeligaen in 1990. Followed by a win by Viking of Stavanger in 1991. In 1992, Rosenborg started a run of 13 consecutive titles which lasted to the 2004 season. During the first years of Rosenborg's thirteen-year run, they won the league with substantial margins, only partly challenged by Bodø/Glimt, Molde, Lillestrøm and Brann. However, this was steadily narrowing down towards a dramatic finish in 2004, where the Trondheim team tied with Vålerenga of Oslo in game points and on goal difference, but finished ahead on number of goals scored. However, in 2005 the winning streak came to an end as Vålerenga clinched the title, one point ahead of Start of Kristiansand. Rosenborg was never in contention that season and would finish only 7th. In 2006, Rosenborg returned to the top of the league, coming back from 10 points behind Brann at the halfway point to clinch the title with a match to spare. Brann won the league in 2007, and Stabæk won their first-ever title in 2008. Rosenborg then returned for a two-year winning streak in 2009 and 2010. Molde's back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012 makes it the only other club to win consecutive titles in the current format, and outside Rosenborg, the first team to do so since Vålerenga in 1983 and 1984.

In 2016 it was decided to change from the sponsorship name Tippeligaen to the non-sponsorship name Eliteserien, effecting from the 2017 season.[6] Rosenborg won the league four consecutive times from 2015 to 2018, before Molde ended their streak by winning the title in the 2019 season. Lillestrøm were relegated from the 2019 Eliteserien and ended their record spell with 45 consecutive top division seasons.

The league has been professional since 1992.[7] In 1995, Tippeligaen was expanded to 14 teams, and in 2009 it was further expanded to 16 teams.

As of the 2020 season there are 16 clubs in the Eliteserien, seven of which are located in Eastern Norway, six are from Western Norway, and one each are from Southern Norway, Trøndelag and north of the Arctic Circle.

During the course of a season, each club plays the others twice, home and away, for a total of 30 games for each club, and a total of 240 games in a season. The season starts in March and lasts until early November. Rounds played during the weekends are usually broken up into two games on Saturdays, five games on Sundays and one game on either Fridays or Mondays. For the final two rounds, all games start simultaneously so that no club may gain an unfair advantage by knowing the results of other games in advance of kicking off their own.

The 16 May round, which is played the day before Norway's Constitution Day, 17 May, is one of the most anticipated rounds of the season. It is often referred to as the "national day of football"[8] and since it precedes a national holiday, games usually see higher attendance than other rounds.[9]

Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, goals scored, and then head to head records used to separate teams on equal points. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned "League Winner". The title of "Norwegian Champions" is reserved for the winners of the Norwegian Football Cup. The two lowest placed teams are automatically relegated to the 1. divisjon and the top two teams from the 1. divisjon take their place. The fourteenth placed team in Eliteserien is also in danger of being relegated and must enter play-offs against one team from the 1. divisjon to stay in the top flight.

Rosenborg (11 times) and Molde (once) are the only Norwegian clubs to participate in the UEFA Champions League group stage. Rosenborg reached the quarterfinal in the 1996–97 season. They were eliminated by runners-up Juventus with 1–3 on aggregate. In the 1968–69 season, Lyn lost the European Cup Winners' Cup quarterfinal against runners-up Barcelona with 4–5 on aggregate. Brann lost the quarterfinal against Liverpool in the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and Vålerenga lost the quarterfinal against Chelsea in the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with 2–6 on aggregate. Rosenborg (twice), Brann and Molde have reached the round of 32 in UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League. In addition, Tromsø (twice), Viking (once) and Sarpsborg 08 (once) have participated in the UEFA Cup/Europa League group stage.

Aalesund

Bodø/Glimt

Brann

Haugesund

Kristiansund

Mjøndalen

Molde

Odd

Rosenborg

Sandefjord

Sarpsborg 08

Start

Strømsgodset

Viking

Oslo

Oslo region teams:
Stabæk
Vålerenga

Locations of the teams in 2020 Eliteserien

The following sixteen clubs are competing in the Eliteserien during the 2020 season.

Notes

The following medals have been awarded:

Note: ¹ First season when North Norwegian teams was allowed to play in the top division.

Eliteserien title holders

The following clubs have won one or more Eliteserien medals since 1937–38:

Clubs in European football are commonly honoured for winning multiple league titles and a representative golden star is sometimes placed above the club badge to indicate the club having won 10 league titles. In Norway the star symbolizes 10 Eliteserien titles. Rosenborg was the first team to introduce a star when they won their 10th title in 1995. No club has introduced a star since 2006, when Rosenborg won their 20th league title to put a second star on their badge. The clubs closest to their first are Fredrikstad with 9 Eliteserien titles and Viking with 8 Eliteserien titles. The following table is ordered after number of stars followed by number of Eliteserien titles.

Statistics updated as of the end of the 2019 season

Club	Eliteserien titles	Stars	Introduced 1st star	Introduced 2nd star
Rosenborg	26		1995	2006

In the UEFA coefficient, UEFA's rankings of European leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a five-year period, the league ranked 27th at the end of the 2012–2013 European season, its lowest ranking since 1993. The league's highest ranking, tenth place, came in 1998. The winners of the previous calendar year's Eliteserien enter the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, while the cup winners and second placed team enter the second qualifying round of the Europa League.[19] The third placed team enters the first qualifying round of the Europa league. Norway also had an additional place in the first qualifying round of the Europa League for the 2013–2014 season due to its fair play ranking.

The following data indicates Norwegian coefficient rankings between European football leagues.[20]

From 1963 to 1971, the league consisted of ten teams (90 matches a year). Between 1972 and 1994, the league consisted of 12 teams (132 matches a year). The number was raised to 14 teams (182 matches a year) in 1995 and to 16 teams (240 matches a year) in 2009. Attendances reached peaks in 1963, 1968, 1977 and 2007, and were at their lowest in 1986.[23]

The record for highest average home attendance for a club was set by Rosenborg in 2007 (19,903 over 13 home matches). 12 October 1985 saw the record for highest attendance at a match, with 28,569 in the game between Rosenborg and Lillestrøm at Lerkendal Stadion. The highest ever average attendance for Eliteserien as a whole was set in 2007 with 10,521.

Daniel Berg Hestad is the player with the highest number of appearances in Eliteserien.

Number	Player	Years	Matches
1	Daniel Berg Hestad	1993–2016	473
2	Morten Berre	1996–2015	452
3	Frode Kippe	1997–2019	441
4	Roar Strand	1989–2010	439
5	Øyvind Storflor	1999–2019	421
6	Espen Hoff	1999–2016	406
7	Steffen Hagen	2004–present	356
8	Christer Basma	1993–2008	350
9	Ola By Rise	1977–1995	346
10	Runar Berg	1990–2009	345

Last updated: 1 December 2019. Source: rsssf.com.

Sigurd Rushfeldt is the top scorer in Eliteserien history.

Number	Player	Years	Goals	Matches	Average
1	Sigurd Rushfeldt	1992–2011	172	299	0.58
2	Harald Martin Brattbakk	1990–2005	166	255	0.65
3	Petter Belsvik	1989–2003	159	292	0.54
4	Odd Iversen	1967–1982	158	225	0.70
5	Per Kristoffersen	1956–1968	145	194	0.75
6	Frode Johnsen	1999–2015	132	301	0.45
7	Thorstein Helstad	1995–2013	116	234	0.50
	Bengt Sæternes	1996–2011	116	280	0.41
9	Jostein Flo	1987–2001	114	213	0.54
10	Arild Sundgot	1995–2011	111	325	0.34

Last updated: Start of the 2020 season. Source: rsssf.com.

The winners of Eliteserien win two trophies. One small trophy in silver which they keep and one bigger trophy which are held only by reigning champions.[26] The big trophy was introduced in 2012 and all winners from 2012 and onwards will get its club's name engraved on it. The ribbons that drape the handles are presented in the team colours of the league champions that year.