The Norwegian Second Division, also called 2. divisjon and often referred to as
PostNord-ligaen for sponsorship reasons, is the third-highest level 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 ...
.
There are 28 teams divided into two groups, and at the end of the
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
the winner of each group earns promotion to the second-highest division,
1. divisjon. The teams finishing in second place in their respective group will qualify for the promotion play-offs, where they will face each other. The winner will play against the 14th placed team in 1. divisjon for promotion. The bottom three teams in each group are relegated to
3. divisjon.
2. divisjon is the highest league a
reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...
can participate in, and only reserve teams from the
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 ...
clubs (first tier) are allowed to enter. The participation of reserve teams stirs debate from time to time.
History
Between 1963 and 1990, 2. divisjon was the second highest level 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 ...
, therefore the name of the third highest level was 3. divisjon. When the highest level was rebranded in 1991, this level changed its name to 2. divisjon. From 2009 to 2011, the official name of the league was Fair Play ligaen, and from 2012 to 2015 the name was Oddsen-ligaen (after the main sponsor
Norsk Tipping's betting-game called Oddsen). The league is currently branded as PostNord-ligaen, sponsored by
PostNord.
Current members
The following 28 clubs are competing in the
2025 Norwegian Second Division.
;Group 1
*
Arendal
*
Brann 2
*
Brattvåg
*
Eik Tønsberg
*
Fløy
*
Jerv
*
Lysekloster
*
Notodden
is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Aust-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Notodden. Other population centres include the villages of Bolkesjø, G ...
*
Pors
*
Sandnes Ulf
*
Sandviken
*
Sotra
*
Træff
*
Vard Haugesund
;Group 2
*
Alta
*
Asker
Asker (), also called Asker proper (''Askerbygda'' or ''gamle Asker'' in Norwegian), is a district and former Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus, Norway, located approximately 20km southwest of Oslo. From 2020 it is part of the ...
*
Eidsvold Turn
*
Follo
*
Grorud
*
Hønefoss
*
Kjelsås
*
Levanger
*
Rana
*
Stjørdals-Blink
*
Strindheim
*
Strømmen
*
Tromsdalen
*
Ull/Kisa
Winners
1991–1995
All group winners, excluding second teams of top division teams, were promoted to 1. divisjon.
1996–2000
Each group winner played qualification play-offs to decide which teams promote to
1. divisjon. Teams in bold promoted to 1. divisjon through qualification play-offs.
2001–2016
All group winners, excluding second teams of top division teams, were promoted to 1. divisjon.
2017–
Teams in bold were promoted to
1. divisjon.
Teams in ''italics'' were relegated to 2. divisjon.
Reserve teams
Reserve teams of clubs from the two top divisions can participate in the 2. divisjon. Reserve teams of clubs from the
1. divisjon can not play in the 2. divisjon, so if a team is relegated from the 1. divisjon, the club's reserve team will be relegated to the 3. divisjon regardless of their final position in the league.
Norwegian Football Association website
Sponsorship
From 2016, 2. divisjon has its title sponsorship rights sold to PostNord.
Records and statistics
Team records
Average attendances
Top ten most attended games
References
External links
Current 2. divisjon table, results and fixtures at Soccerway2. divisjon stats at Fotballen.euDF-02 (divisjonsforeningen av 2002)
an interest group for the 2. divisjon
{{UEFA third leagues
3
Year of establishment missing
Norw
Professional sports leagues in Norway