Eliteserien

The Eliteserien is the top-tier football category in Norway. The competition was played for the first time in 1937, and after many changes, it became known as Eliteserien in 2017. The league earned notoriety in the 1990s thanks to Rosenborg’s dominance in the competition when it was known as Tippeligaen. This league is run by the Norwegian Football Federation.

Due to the harsh weather conditions in this country, the competition is usually held between March and November of each calendar year. As most European leagues, the Eliteserien works under a promotion-relegation system, with the two teams with the worst records being automatically relegated to Norway’s First Division. A third relegation spot is decided in a playoff between the 14th place of the Eliteserien and the runner up of the Norwegian First Division.

The championship of the Eliteserien is awarded to the team with the most points after the 30 regular-season games have been played. The winner of the competition earns a spot in the preliminary rounds of the UEFA Champions League, joined by the runners-up who make it to the tournament but on an earlier round. Additional European spots are allocated to those teams who finish in third and fourth place, while the Cup winners earn a spot in the UEFA Europa League.

There have been some big names and teams in Norway’s Eliteserien, but none as big as Rosenborg, the top winner in Eliteserien’s history with over 20 titles and more than 35 top three finishes.