The Norwegian Third Division, also called Norsk Tipping-Ligaen, is the fourth highest division of the men's football league in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Like the rest of the

Norwegian football league system The Norwegian football league system, or pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in Norway. 2017 system in men's football , the current national league system administered by the NFF is organised as 1–1–2–6, where ...

, the season runs from spring to autumn, running approximately from April to October. After the 2010 season, the league was reorganised, reducing the number of teams to 164 and halving the number of parallel sections from 24 to 12. After the 2016 season, the league was again reorganised, reducing the number of teams from 164 to 84, and halved the number of groups from twelve to six. All six group winners promote to 2. divisjon, while the bottom four in all groups are relegated to 4. divisjon.

History

1963–2010

The 3. divisjon was known as the 4. divisjon from 1963 until 1990, when the top-tier league changed its name to

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

, the 2. divisjon became the 1. divisjon and the names of all the lower divisions were adjusted accordingly. Until 2010, there were 24 parallel sections of the 3. divisjon, each consisting of between 10 and 16 teams. The winners paired up and played each other in one home match and one away match in a

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. Thus, 12 teams were promoted to the 2. divisjon. This system was in place from

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. The number of teams that were relegated from each section to the 4. divisjon, varied from two to four, depending on the number of teams in each section.

2011–2016

From

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

to 2016, 3. divisjon consisted of 12 parallel sections of 12 or 14 teams, and the winners of each group was promoted to the 2. divisjon. Ten sections consisted of 14 teams each, from the South of Norway, the last two sections consisted of 12 teams each, from the

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

. In the sections with 14 teams, the bottom three teams were relegated to the 4. divisjon, and in the two sections with 12 teams each, the bottom two teams were relegated.

2017–

After changes in the Norwegian football pyramid, no teams were promoted from the 3. divisjon after the 2016 season. The fourth tier was split into six groups which for the 2017 season consisted of the teams finishing from 7th to 14th in the 2016 2. divisjon groups and the top 4 teams from the 3. divisjon groups along with the 8 best 5th-placed teams in the 3. divisjon. The rest of the teams in the 2016 3. divisjon was relegated. As of the 2018 season, the 3. divisjon consist of 6 groups of 14 teams. Like in the rest of the Norwegian Football league system, all the teams play each other twice, once at home and once away. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and if two teams are equal on points, the one with the best goal difference is above the other on the table. The teams are placed in the 6 sections according to geographic considerations. Travel times have also been considered occasionally; Bjørnevatn IL in the outskirts of

Kirkenes (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), (Northern Sami language, Northern Sami; , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town lies on a peninsu ...

was placed in a group dedicated to the greater Oslo area in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, as commuting by plane between Kirkenes Airport and Gardermoen Airport was deemed easier than travelling westwards through northern Norway by road.

Current members

The following 84 clubs are competing in the 2025 Norwegian Third Division. Group 1 * Alta 2 *

Bærum Bærum () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a populatio ...

* Fløya *

Frigg Frigg (; Old Norse: ) is a goddess, one of the Æsir, in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about her, she is associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance and motherhood, and dwells in the wetl ...

Gamle Oslo Gamle Oslo is a List of boroughs of Oslo, borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. The name means "Old Oslo", and the district contains Old Town, Oslo, Old Town. The borough has several landmarks and large parks, including the Edvard Munch Museum, t ...

Harstad Harstad may refer to: Places *Harstad (town) Harstad (; ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Harstad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is also the administrative centre of Harstad Municipality. The city has a populati ...

* Innstranda * Junkeren * KFUM 2 * Skjervøy *

Sortland Sortland may refer to: Places *Sortland Municipality, a municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Sortland (town), a town within Sortland Municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Sortland Church, a church in the town of Sortland in Sortland Municipa ...

* Tromsø 2 * Ulfstind *

Ullern Ullern is a List of boroughs of Oslo, borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History The borough has its name from an old farm, Old Norse language, Norse ''Ullarin''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Norse god Ullr. The l ...

Group 2 * Aalesund 2 * Byåsen * Kristiansund 2 *

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* Melhus * Molde 2 * Nardo * Ranheim 2 * Rosenborg 2 * Spjelkavik *

Surnadal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Nordmøre Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre is the village of Skei, Møre og Romsdal, Skei. Other ...

Tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn ...

* Trygg/Lade * Volda Group 3 * Bjørkelangen *

Elverum Elverum () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Elverum ( ...

* Gjøvik-Lyn * Ham-Kam 2 * Kongsvinger 2 *

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

* Lillestrøm 2 *

Lørenskog is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. A suburb of Oslo, it is part of the Oslo urban area and the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipa ...

* Nordstrand *

Skedsmo Skedsmo was a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality was the List of cities in No ...

Skjetten Skjetten is a town in Lillestrøm municipality, Akershus county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of J ...

* Strømsgodset 2 * Ull/Kisa 2 *

Åssiden Åssiden is the largest borough of Drammen in Buskerud Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Åssiden was a part of Lier, Norway, Lier municipality until 1951, when it became part of Drammen municipality. Åssiden is located on the western side of ...

Group 4 * Åsane 2 *

Askøy Askøy is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island municipality is located in the Midhordland district of the county, sitting in a large group of islands immediately northwest of the city of Bergen, which i ...

* Bjarg * Fana * Fjøra *

Førde Førde is a former municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative center was the town of Førde which in 2016 had 10,255 inhabitants. Other villages in Før ...

Fyllingsdalen Fyllingsdalen () is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough is located southwest of the city centre in the Fyllingsdalen valley, west of the mountain Løvstakken. The neighbourhoods of Fyllingsdalen mainly consis ...

* Gneist * Loddefjord * Lyn 2 * Lyngbø * Os * Sandefjord 2 * Vålerenga 2 Group 5 * Brodd * Djerv 1919 * Haugesund 2 * Hinna *

Madla Madla is a borough of the Stavanger (city), city of Stavanger which lies in the southwestern part of the large municipality of Stavanger in Rogaland county, Norway. It lies in the western part of the city, along the coast of the Hafrsfjorden. T ...

* Sandnes Ulf 2 *

Sola Sola may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Saints of Los Angeles'', a 2008 album by Mötley Crüe * ''Sola'', an album by Olga Tañón * ''Sola'', an album by Zayda y los Culpables Songs * Sola (Becky G song), "Sola" (Becky G song ...

* Staal Jørpeland *

Stord Stord is a municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since i ...

Torvastad Torvastad is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1965. The administrative centre was the village of Haugesund (town), Haugesund (from 1838 until 185 ...

* Våg * Vidar *

Viking 2 The ''Viking 2'' mission was part of the American Viking program to Mars, and consisted of an orbiter and a lander essentially identical to that of the '' Viking 1'' mission. ''Viking 2'' was operational on Mars for sols ( days; '). The ''V ...

* Vinbjart Group 6 * Drøbak-Frogn *

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

* Fram * Fredrikstad 2 * Grei * Kvik Halden * Lokomotiv Oslo * Odd 2 * Oppsal * Ørn Horten * Pors 2 *

Ready Ready may refer to: Film and television * ''Ready'', a 2002 British short starring Imelda Staunton * Ready (2008 film), ''Ready'' (2008 film), an Indian Telugu-language film by Srinu Vaitla ** Uthamaputhiran (2010 film), ''Uthamaputhiran'' (201 ...

* Sarpsborg 08 2 * Stabæk 2

Reserve teams

Reserve teams of clubs from the two top divisions can participate in the 3. divisjon. Reserve teams of clubs from the

1. divisjon The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are promo ...

can not play in the 2. divisjon, and can therefore not be promoted from the 3. divisjon.Norwegian Football Association website

Sponsorship

From 2017, 3. divisjon has its

title sponsor Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

ship rights sold to Norsk Tipping.

Winners

2011–2016

*¹ Start 2 were not eligible for promotion, runners-up

Egersund Egersund is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Eigersund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is located along the southwestern coast of Norway, about south of the city of Stavanger (city), Stavanger. The town is situat ...

promoted.

2017–

References

External links

*
3.division summary
SOCCERWAY) {{UEFA fourth leagues 4 Year of establishment missing Nor Professional sports leagues in Norway