The Norwegian Third Division, also called 3. divisjon, is the fourth highest division of the men's football league in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. Like the rest 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 E ...

, the season runs from spring to autumn, running approximately from April to October. After the 2010 season, the league was reorganised, reducing the number of teams to 164 and halving the number of parallel sections from 24 to 12. After the 2016 season, the league was again reorganised, reducing the number of teams from 164 to 84, and halved the number of groups from twelve to six. All six group winners promote to

2. divisjon 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. There are 28 teams divided into two groups, and at the ...

, while the bottom four in all groups are relegated to 4. divisjon.

History

1963–2010

The 3. divisjon was known as the 4. divisjon from 1963 until 1990, when the top-tier league changed its name to

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

, the 2. divisjon became the 1. divisjon and the names of all the lower divisions were adjusted accordingly. Until 2010, there were 24 parallel sections of the 3. divisjon, each consisting of between 10 and 16 teams. The winners paired up and played each other in one home match and one away match in a

playoff 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 eithe ...

. Thus, 12 teams were promoted to the 2. divisjon. This system was in place from 2001. The number of teams that were relegated from each section to the 4. divisjon, varied from two to four, depending on the number of teams in each section.

2011–2016

From 2011 to 2016, 3. divisjon consisted of 12 parallel sections of 12 or 14 teams, and the winners of each group was promoted to the

. Ten sections consisted of 14 teams each, from the South of Norway, the last two sections consisted of 12 teams each, from the Northern Norway. In the sections with 14 teams, the bottom three teams were relegated to the 4. divisjon, and in the two sections with 12 teams each, the bottom two teams were relegated.

2017–

After changes in the Norwegian football pyramid, no teams were promoted from the 3. divisjon after the 2016 season. The fourth tier was split into six groups which for the 2017 season consisted of the teams finishing from 7th to 14th in the 2016

groups and the top 4 teams from the 3. divisjon groups along with the 8th best 5th placed teams in the 3. divisjon. The rest of the teams in the 2016 3. divisjon was relegated. As of the 2018 season, the 3. divisjon consist of 6 groups of 14 teams Like in the rest of the Norwegian Football league system, all the teams play each other twice, once at home and once away. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and if two teams are equal on points, the one with the best goal difference is above the other on the table. The teams are placed in the 12 sections according to geographic considerations.

Current members

The following 84 clubs are competing in the 2023 Norwegian Third Division. Group 1 *

Fana Fana is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the southeastern part of the municipality of Bergen. The borough was once part of the historic municipality of Fana which was incorporated into Bergen ...

Frigg Frigg (; Old Norse: ) is a goddess, one of the Æsir, in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about her, she is associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance and motherhood, and dwells in the wet ...

* Gjelleråsen * Gneist * Grorud 2 * Lillestrøm 2 *

Lokomotiv Oslo Lokomotiv Oslo Fotballklubb is a Norwegian football club based in Oslo. It currently plays in the Norwegian Third Division, the fourth tier of Norwegian football. History The club was founded on 26 September 1998. It has played in the Norwegian ...

* Lysekloster * Os *

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Skedsmo Skedsmo was a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality was the town of Lillestrøm. About one third of the municipal population lived in Lillestrøm. ...

* Skjetten * Stabæk 2 * Ullern 2 Group 2 * Brumunddal * Eidsvold Turn *

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Førde Førde is a former municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative center was the town of Førde which in 2016 had 10,255 inhabitants. Other villages in Førd ...

* Fu/Vo * Ham-Kam 2 * Hødd 2 *

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2008 ...

* Molde 2 * Raufoss 2 * Sogndal 2 *

Spjelkavik Spjelkavik is a borough in the town of Ålesund in Ålesund Municipality, Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is also called ''"Vika"'' by many locals. Spjelkavik is located on the western end of the island of Uksenøya, at the intersection of ...

Volda Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. Other villages in the municipality include Dravlaus, Fyrde, Straumshamn, Leira, Bjørke, and ...

Group 3 *

Bjarg Idrettslaget Bjarg is a sports club in Stavollen, Bergen, Norway, Bergen not far from Bergen Flesland Airport. It supports football (soccer), football, team handball, handball, sport of athletics, athletics, and gymnastics. The football team play ...

* Bremnes * Brodd * Djerv 1919 * Eiger * Frøya *

Fyllingsdalen Fyllingsdalen () is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough is located southwest of the city centre in the Fyllingsdalen valley, west of the mountain Løvstakken. The neighbourhoods of Fyllingsdalen mainly consis ...

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* Sandnes Ulf 2 * Staal Jørpeland *

Stord Stord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural ...

* Vidar *

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Group 4 *

Donn In Irish mythology, Donn ("the dark one", from cel-x-proto, Dhuosnos) is an ancestor of the Gaels and is believed to have been a god of the dead. Donn is said to dwell in Tech Duinn (the "house of Donn" or "house of the dark one"), where the ...

* Eik Tønsberg 871 * Fredrikstad 2 * Halsen * Mandalskameratene * Mjøndalen 2 * Odd 2 * Pors *

Randesund Randesund is a village and district within the city of Kristiansand in Agder county, Norway. The district is located within the borough of Oddernes along the southern coastline between the two fjords Kvåsefjorden and Topdalsfjorden and south of ...

* Sandefjord 2 * Sprint-Jeløy * Start 2 * Vinbjart * Åskollen Group 5 * Bodø/Glimt 2 *

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* Kolstad * Kristiansund 2 *

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* Nardo *

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* Rosenborg 2 *

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* Strindheim *

Tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

* Trønder-Lyn *

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Group 6 *

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* Fløya * Follo * HIF/Stein * KFUM 2 *

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* Mjølner *

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* Oppsal * Sarpsborg 08 2 *

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* Skeid 2 *

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* Tromsø 2

Reserve teams

Reserve teams of clubs from the two top divisions can participate in the 3. divisjon. Reserve teams of clubs from the 1. divisjon can not play in the 2. divisjon, and can therefore not be promoted from the 3. divisjon.Norwegian Football Association website

Sponsorship

From 2017, 3. divisjon has its

title sponsor Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

ship rights sold to

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 Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture ...

Winners

2011–2016

*¹ Start 2 were not eligible for promotion, runners-up

Egersund Egersund is a town in Eigersund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is located along the southwestern coast of Norway, about south of the city of Stavanger. The town is situated along a strait which separates the mainland from the ...

promoted.

2017–

References

External links

*
3.division summary
SOCCERWAY) {{UEFA fourth leagues 4 Year of establishment missing Nor Professional sports leagues in Norway