The Norwegian football champions () or Eliteserien champions, are the winners of the highest-level football league in Norway. Norgesserien was competed three times with eleven
conferences
A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...
and
play-off
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 eith ...
s from
1937–38 to
1947–48. It was then replaced by the two-conference
Hovedserien, which was replaced by the single-conference 1. divisjon in
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...
. The top tier changed its name to the Tippeligaen in
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
, and to the current
Eliteserien
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 ...
for
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
and beyond. The winners of this title are not considered Norwegian football champions, as the title is reserved for the winners of the
Norwegian Football Cup
The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...
.
Sixteen clubs from ten cities have won the honor. With 26 titles
Rosenborg is the most successful team, including 13 consecutive titles from
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
through
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
. In the early years,
Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...
was highly successful, winning the first two titles and taking nine titles until
1960–61.
Viking
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
then took over dominance and rose to become the second-most winning team with their four consecutive titles from
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
through
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
.
The double—winning the league and cup the same season—has occurred fourteen times by six clubs.
At the end of the 1937–38 season,
Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...
were the first club to be crowned champions in the
history of the championship.
Rosenborg have won 26 titles, the most of any club. Fredrikstad are second with nine. Rosenborg dominated during the 1990s and 2000s, winning 13 consecutive league titles from 1992 to 2004. Fredrikstad secured all their titles before the league changed its format to a one-group top division in 1963. Third-most title winning team
Viking
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
dominated in the 1970s when they won five of their eight titles. Rosenborg and Viking are the only teams to have won the league title three or more consecutive times. All the clubs which have ever been crowned champions are still in existence today and all take part in the top six tiers 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 football pyramid.
Format
Attempts to create a national league were started in
1914–16 with the
Test League, although this never held any official status. The first official league competition was the League of Norway, which started being contested in the 1937–38 season. It consisted of eleven
double round robin
A round-robin tournament or all-play-all tournament is a competition format in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & ...
conferences, each with six or seven teams, with the conference winners playing a two-legged, four-round play-off. Only two full seasons were contested before it was interrupted by
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, but the league saw a final season be competed in 1947–48. The Main League started in the 1948–49 season, and saw two conferences each with eight teams. At the season end, the conference winners met for a two-legged final. In the
1959–60 and
1960–61, also bronze matches were played between the two conference runners-up.
The final season, in
1961–62, saw all 16 teams collected in a single league which was played over one and a half years. Starting with the 1963, ten team were collected into a single league, named the First Division. At the same time, the season changed from a winter to a summer league. From the
1972 season, teams from
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 ...
were also allowed to participate in the 1. divisjon, for the first time creating a pan-national league. The same season saw the number of teams increase from ten to twelve. The league was renamed to Tippeligaen in 1990, after the sponsor
Norsk Tipping
Norsk Tipping is a Norwegian gambling company headquartered in Hamar, Norway. Founded in 1948, Norsk Tipping is owned by the Norwegian government and administered by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture. The company offers a wide range of lottery ...
, and in 1997 a single-conference league was created below the top league for the first time. The Tippeligaen was expanded to 14 teams from the
1995 season and to 16 teams from the
2009 season.
List
The following is a list of winners (gold), runners-up (silver) and third place (bronze) teams in the highest-level football league in Norway. It also shows teams that won the double.
Total titles won
By club
The following is a breakdown of top three league positions by team and also presents the team's home city or town. Teams in bold compete in the Eliteserien as of the
2024 season.
By region
By city / town
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Norwegian Football Champions
Champions
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...
Norwegian
Champions
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...