Toppserien


The Toppserien is the top level of women's association football in Norway. It was founded in 1984.

History

Women's league football was introduced on a county basis in 1977. These leagues acted as qualification for the regional league in 1979. Regional leagues were in operation until the formation of the First Division 1984, when the league was divided into three regions, Group Eastern-Norway, Group Western-Norway, and Group Mid-Norway. No teams from Northern-Norway played, however. The winners of the three groups met each other for a play-off. Regional leagues for women had been played before 1984, and a championship play-off had been done between the winners of Mid-Norway and Eastern-Norway in 1983, but this championship was considered unofficial by the Football Association of Norway. In 1986, a group for Northern-Norway was added, and in 1987, the groups and play-off matches were dropped, and one single league with teams from all over the country was played.
The league was known as 1. divisjon from 1984 to 1995, the Eliteserien from 1996 to 1999, and the Toppserien from 2000.
Traditionally, Trondheims-Ørn and Asker was the two power-houses of Toppserien, with 7 and 6 championship wins respectively. Trondheims-Ørn finished in the top three 16 out of 23 times from the beginning in 1984 to their current last medal in 2006. In 1998, Asker managed the almost unthinkable, winning every single one of their 18 league games that season. However Asker FK, the women's team within Asker Fotball, became bankrupt at the end of 2008 and most of the players were transferred to a new team within the nearby Stabæk IF, named Stabæk FK. Asker finished among the top three 18 out of the 25 seasons the club existed. The new Stabæk team began playing in the Toppserien from the 2009 season and won the league in 2010 and 2013. Røa won Toppserien five times from 2004 to 2011. Lillestrøm SK Kvinner won six consecutive titles from 2014 to 2019.

The league

The league currently consists of 12 teams, which play each other 2 times, for a total of 22 matches. The season lasts from April to October. Teams are ranked by:
TeamHome cityHome groundSeasons
Arna-BjørnarIndre Arna Arna Idrettspark2006200119
AvaldsnesAvaldsnesAvaldsnes Idrettssenter201320138
KleppKleppeKlepp Stadion1987198734
KolbotnKolbotnSofiemyr1995199526
LSK KvinnerLillestrømLSK-Hallen1987198734
LynOsloKringsjå kunstgress201820183
RøaOsloRøa kunstgress2000200021
RosenborgTrondheimKoteng Arena1987198734
SandvikenBergenStemmemyren2015198727
VålerengaOsloIntility Arena201220129

;Notes

List of champions

Below is a list of the gold, silver and bronze medalists in the Toppserien since its beginning in 1984. The Norwegian Women's Cup has been played since 1978. From 1984 to 1995 the name of the league was 1. divisjon, and between 1996 and 1999 the name was Eliteserien before getting its current name, Toppserien in 2000.
From 1984 to 1985, the league was divided into three sections, and after the inclusion of teams from Northern Norway there was four sections in 1986, with the championship decided through a play-off. Since then it has been a round-robin decided through a league table.

Winner by year

The following medals have been awarded:
YearChampionsRunners-upThird placeName of league
1984Sprint-Jeløy Trondheims-ØrnNymark1. divisjon
1985Nymark AskerTrondheims-Ørn1. divisjon
1986Sprint-Jeløy TrollKlepp
Grand		1. divisjon
1987Klepp Sprint-JeløyAsker1. divisjon
1988Asker KleppTrondheims-Ørn1. divisjon
1989Asker Sprint-JeløyKlepp1. divisjon
1990Sprint-Jeløy AskerKlepp1. divisjon
1991Asker Sprint-JeløySandviken1. divisjon
1992Asker Setskog/HølandSprint-Jeløy1. divisjon
1993Sprint-Jeløy Trondheims-ØrnAsker1. divisjon
1994Trondheims-Ørn AskerSprint-Jeløy1. divisjon
1995Trondheims-Ørn Setskog/HølandSandviken1. divisjon
1996Trondheims-Ørn SandvikenAskerEliteserien
1997Trondheims-Ørn AskerKleppEliteserien
1998Asker Trondheims-ØrnAthene MossEliteserien
1999Asker Trondheims-ØrnKleppEliteserien
2000Trondheims-Ørn AskerKolbotnToppserien
2001Trondheims-Ørn KolbotnArna-BjørnarToppserien
2002Kolbotn AskerTrondheims-ØrnToppserien
2003Trondheims-Ørn KolbotnAskerToppserien
2004Røa Trondheims-ØrnFløyaToppserien
2005Kolbotn Team StrømmenFløyaToppserien
2006Kolbotn Trondheims-ØrnRøaToppserien
2007Røa KolbotnAskerToppserien
2008Røa Team StrømmenAskerToppserien
2009Røa StabækKolbotnToppserien
2010Stabæk RøaKolbotnToppserien
2011Røa StabækKolbotnToppserien
2012Lillestrøm SK StabækArna-BjørnarToppserien
2013Stabæk LSK KvinnerArna-BjørnarToppserien
2014LSK Kvinner StabækArna-BjørnarToppserien
2015LSK Kvinner AvaldsnesRøaToppserien
2016LSK Kvinner AvaldsnesStabækToppserien
2017LSK Kvinner AvaldsnesStabækToppserien
2018LSK Kvinner KleppArna-BjørnarToppserien
2019LSK Kvinner VålerengaKleppToppserien

Winners by club

The following clubs have won the top division in Norwegian football since 1984.
ClubWinnerRunner-upThird
Trondheims-Ørn4763
LSK Kvinner3750
Asker1666
Røa512
Sprint/Jeløy2433
Kolbotn334
Stabæk1242
Klepp126
Nymark101
Avaldsnes030
Sandviken012
Troll010
Vålerenga010
Arna-Bjørnar005
Fløya002
Grand Bodø001

1 = In 2008 Stabæk was handed the license to play in the top league, and also took over the best players from Asker, because of financial problems in the latter. But the rest of Asker remains, and they still have their top female team - in league three. Therefore, Stabæk is not to be considered the successor of Asker.
2 = Athene Moss was Sprint/Jeløy successor, so one bronze as Athene Moss in 1998 is included.
3 = LSK Kvinner is the successor of Setskog/Høland and Team Strømmen.
4 = Rosenborg is the successor of Trondheims-Ørn.