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Foreningen af Divisionsklubber i Danmark ( en, Danish League), commonly referred to as Divisionsforeningen or shortened to DF (or FDD), is a trade, special interest and employers' organization for men's professional
association football in Denmark Association football is the most popular sport in Denmark, with 331,693 players and 1,647 clubs registered () under the Danish Football Association, Danish FA. The game was introduced into Denmark by British sailors. Kjøbenhavns Boldklub is the ...
and the elite clubs (or their companies) that partake in the top three Danish leagues, the Superliga, 1st Division and 2nd Division, representing their interests, especially forwards the
Danish Football Association The Danish Football Union ( da, Dansk Boldspil-Union; DBU) is the governing body of football in Denmark. It is the organization of the Danish football clubs and runs the professional Danish football leagues and the men's and women's national t ...
(DBU), the
Danish Football Players' Association Spillerforeningen (or SPF or The Danish Player Association) is the Danish representative organisation for professional footballers. It was founded in 1977, and has approximately 1,000 members, of which 250 are full-time professional players both in ...
and the local municipalities. Divisionsforeningen is one of two formal members of the
Danish FA The Danish Football Union ( da, Dansk Boldspil-Union; DBU) is the governing body of football in Denmark. It is the organization of the Danish football clubs and runs the professional Danish football leagues and the men's and women's national ...
and is subject to the laws and regulations of the national association. The association's secretariat is located together with the offices of the Danish FA at Fodboldens Hus, DBU Allé 1 in Brøndby. It is the organiser of the Danmarksturneringen i fodbold, the Danish Cup and the Danish Reserve League on behalf of the Danish FA, and responsible for negotiating the television rights for the three professional leagues and the national cup tournament. Originally founded on 2 February 1969 under the name Foreningen af 1. divisionsklubber under DBU as an association solely for the clubs in the top-flight league, it was renamed Foreningen af Fodbold Divisionsklubber i Danmark after the inclusion of the clubs in the second-tier in 1970 and third-tier in 1971. The Danish league organisation was the founder of the Nordic Royal League, which was run in collaboration with the corresponding Swedish and Norwegian organisations, and had also previously organised the unofficial Danish indoor football championship, Divisionsturneringen and the Danish League Cup. The group was one of the 14 founding members of EUPPFL in 1997, and a founding member in the reorganisation to the
European Leagues European Leagues (EL) is a sports organization within association football created for growth of professional football in Europe. Its members are the professional football leagues organisations of 29 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark ...
(EL) in 2005. An association agreement between Divisionsforeningen and Kvindedivisionsforeningen (KDF) was signed in February 2014 with the aim of strengthening mutual cooperation and the development of both men's and women's elite football clubs in mind.


History

At the initiative of Kjøbenhavns BK, on 19 December 1968 the other eleven top-flight clubs were sent invitations to a briefing in Copenhagen on 19 January 1969 to discuss the formation of a league organisation, that could deal with the common issues surrounding the clubs such as salaries to the players and coaches, TV and radio charges, stadium fees, large events and national match days versus match days for clubs. Kjøbenhavns BK had previously floated the idea of forming an advisory body consisting of clubs from the Copenhagen FA (KBU), but at that time it did not gain the necessary support. The organisation was formally founded at a meeting on 2 February 1969 at the offices of Kjøbenhavns BK and was named ''Foreningen af 1. divisionsklubber under DBU''. As indicated by its name, the members of the organisation were 14 clubs: the 12 clubs that partook in the
1969 Danish 1st Division Statistics of Danish 1st Division in the 1969 season. Overview It was contested by 12 teams, and Boldklubben 1903 won the championship. League standings Results ReferencesDenmark - List of final tables (RSSSF) {{Portal bar, Association ...
and the previous season's two relegated clubs. The then chairman of
BK Frem Boldklubben Frem (also known as Frem, BK Frem or BK Frem Copenhagen) is a Danish sports club based in the Valby-Sydhavnen area of Copenhagen. It is best known for its semi-professional football team. Since its foundation in 1886, Frem has w ...
, Svend Petersen, was selected as the new association's first
chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
, vice chairman of Kjøbenhavns BK, Børge Pockendahl, was chosen as vice chairman, Sonny Thomsen of Aalborg BK became the treasurer, while the rest of the board included Ejvind Sørensen (chairman of B 1909) and Svend Erik Bang Sørensen ( Aarhus GF). The organisation was not seem as a protest against the
Danish FA The Danish Football Union ( da, Dansk Boldspil-Union; DBU) is the governing body of football in Denmark. It is the organization of the Danish football clubs and runs the professional Danish football leagues and the men's and women's national ...
(DBU) and the organisation of regional football associations (LFU). The association's first board meeting took place in
Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...
on 4 April 1969, and resulted in common ground on the aspect of identical entrance fees at half price at top-flight league matches for children and old-age and invalidity pensioners across the entire country – the clubs in the 2nd and 3rd divisions received a recommendation from the association to introduce the same scheme. The initiative was welcomed by the Danish FA, who offered to provide the administration. It was also decided to investigate the possibility of taking out a collective accident insurance for the clubs' 25 best players – insurance of all players in the 14 clubs was deemed as not being financially feasible. A condemnation of the Danmarks Idrætsforbund's TV committee for allowing a TV broadcast from the
1969 Ice Hockey World Championships The 1969 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 36th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships, which also doubled as the 47th European ice hockey championships. For the first time the Pool A, B and C tournaments were hosted by different natio ...
at the same time as the premiere of the Danmarksturneringen, discussion of contracts for advertising on training shirts, attention to unpaid exploitation of players in an advertising context, discussion about disbursing money to players, the issue of standard contracts and identical salaries for professional coaches, and establishing a cooperation with the corresponding Swedish association, was also on the agenda at the meeting. Two board members stated that the new association would be working towards making the game of football in Denmark more attractive, including providing entertainment at matches with the goal of attracting more spectators. At the formation of the league organisation, it was decided to not initially include the clubs in the 2nd of 3rd divisions. The clubs in the 2nd divisions became members in 1970, while the clubs in the 3rd division became members in 1971. Clubs that were relegated to the
fourth division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
would lose their membership. Since 1999, Divisionsforeningen have entered into collective agreements with the
Danish Football Players' Association Spillerforeningen (or SPF or The Danish Player Association) is the Danish representative organisation for professional footballers. It was founded in 1977, and has approximately 1,000 members, of which 250 are full-time professional players both in ...
.


List of chairmen

* Svend Petersen,
BK Frem Boldklubben Frem (also known as Frem, BK Frem or BK Frem Copenhagen) is a Danish sports club based in the Valby-Sydhavnen area of Copenhagen. It is best known for its semi-professional football team. Since its foundation in 1886, Frem has w ...
(1969–1979) * Hans Bjerg-Pedersen, Lyngby BK (1979–1994) * Peter Iversen, AC Horsens (1994–2003) * Thomas Christensen,
BK Skjold Boldklubben Skjold af 1915 is a Danish football club based in Østerbro, Copenhagen- Founded in 1915, the club has over 1,400 members making it one of Denmark's biggest football clubs in terms of membership. BK Skjold's teams use either Fælled ...
and Odense BK (2003–''present'')


References


External links

* {{Football in Denmark Zealand Sports organizations established in 1969 Football leagues in Denmark