Norwegian reserve football teams compete at all levels of league football within the
Norwegian football league system The Norwegian football league system, or pyramid, is a series of League system, interconnected leagues for club Association football, football in Norway.
2017 system in men's football
, the current national league system administered by the Norwegi ...
apart from the top two divisions,
Eliteserien
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 ...
and
1. divisjon
The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon and OBOS-ligaen (named sponsor is property developer OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are p ...
. The highest league these teams can currently enter is the
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 ...
, set at the third tier of the league system. The reserve teams are attached to their first teams with a "2" suffix and must play in a lower league than the first team. Furthermore, if a club's first team plays in the 1. divisjon, the reserves team cannot play in the 2. divisjon either.
If a reserve team ends up at a promotion spot when it is not allowed to be promoted, the promotion is awarded to best following team in the league standings which is allowed to be promoted. Also, a reserve team is forcefully relegated, regardless of the final league position, if it is no longer qualified for playing at that level - i.e. if the first team is relegated to a league level where the reserve team's level is no longer allowed. For example, if an Eliteserien team is relegated while its reserve team in 2. divisjon ends up at a secure place (or even a promotion spot), the reserve team is forcefully relegated to 3. divisjon. In such a situation, the best placed qualified team at a relegation position in the league that the reserve team is relegated from will keep its place. If there are no qualified teams at relegation positions (e.g. only reserve teams no longer qualified for the level), one extra team from the division below (the best placed qualified one) is promoted.
Controversy
Reserve teams have in general been criticized for fielding uneven teams from week to week, with many first-team players one week and more youth players the next. They have also been criticized for keeping smaller clubs out of the Second Division, meaning a more centralized football culture. In 2009 manager
Ivar Morten Normark
Ivar Morten Normark (born 27 May 1963, in Narvik) is a Norwegian football coach and former player. His most recent head coaching job was at FK Mjølner in the 2. divisjon. Normark resigned from this position at the end of the 2013 season.
Normark ...
proposed to throw the reserve teams out of the ordinary league pyramid,
and other managers like
Dag Eilev Fagermo
Dag-Eilev Akerhaugen Fagermo (born 28 January 1967) is a Norwegian football coach. He is currently head coach of the Norwegian Eliteserien club VÃ¥lerenga.
Coaching career Early career
Fagermo was born in Bærum, and grew up in
Raufoss, Norwa ...
agreed. In a survey, 19 of 31 responding Second Division clubs wanted the reserve teams out, as did 30 of the 49 responding Third Division clubs.
[
At the 2010 congress of the Football Association of Norway, new rules were agreed to. From 2010, reserve teams in the Second Division can only field three players over the age of 21 at any time. More "overage" players can sit on the bench, but cannot enter the field unless substituted with another overage player.
]
Sporting success
From time to time, a reserves team wins its group in the third tier 2. divisjon. This is the highest sporting position a reserves team can achieve, since promotion is impossible. In the 1991 2. divisjon
The 1991 2. divisjon, the third highest association football league for men in Norway.
22 games were played in 6 groups, with 3 points given for wins and 1 for draws. Odd, Bærum, Vard, Os, Stjørdals-Blink and Bodø/Glimt were promoted to the ...
, Brann's reserve team won group 4—ahead of Fyllingen's reserve team. Also in the 1991 2. divisjon, Rosenborg's reserve team won group 5. Rosenborg 2 won again in the 1996 2. divisjon The 1996 2. divisjon, the third highest association football league for men in Norway.
22 games were played in 6 groups, with 3 points given for wins and 1 for draws. Sarpsborg and Runar were promoted to the First Division through playoffs agains ...
, and the same team won group 7 in the 1998 2. divisjon. In the 1992 2. divisjon, Lillestrøm
Lillestrøm is a municipality in Viken county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger be ...
's reserve team won group 1. In the 2005 2. divisjon The 2005 2. divisjon season was the third highest association football league for men in Norway.
26 games were played in 4 groups, with 3 points given for wins and 1 for draws. Sarpsborg Sparta, Manglerud Star, Haugesund and Tromsdalen were ...
, Viking
Vikings ; non, vÃkingr is the modern name given to 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 se ...
's reserve team won group 3.
Today
This is a list of where the reserve teams of Eliteserien
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 ...
and 1. divisjon
The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon and OBOS-ligaen (named sponsor is property developer OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are p ...
clubs play, as of the 2023 season.[NIFS]
/ref>
;Reserve teams of Eliteserien clubs:
* Aalesund – 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 ...
* Bodø/Glimt – 3. divisjon
The Norwegian Third Division, also called 3. divisjon, is the fourth highest division of the men's football league in Norway. Like the rest of the Norwegian football league system, the season runs from spring to autumn, running approximately from ...
* Brann – 2. divisjon
* HamKam – 3. divisjon
*Haugesund
Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...
– 4. divisjon
The Norwegian Fourth Division, also called 4. divisjon, is the fifth highest division of the men's football league in Norway. Like the rest of the Norwegian football league system, the season runs from spring to autumn, running approximately from ...
*Lillestrøm
Lillestrøm is a municipality in Viken county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger be ...
– 3. divisjon
*Molde
Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord.
The administrative centre of the m ...
– 3. divisjon
*Odd
Odd means unpaired, occasional, strange or unusual, or a person who is viewed as eccentric.
Odd may also refer to:
Acronym
* ODD (Text Encoding Initiative) ("One Document Does it all"), an abstracted literate-programming format for describing X ...
– 3. divisjon
* Rosenborg – 3. divisjon
*Sandefjord
Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...
– 3. divisjon
*Sarpsborg 08
Sarpsborg 08 Fotballforening, commonly known as Sarpsborg 08 or simply Sarpsborg (), is a Norwegian football club based in Sarpsborg, playing in Eliteserien. Sarpsborg 08 and its predecessors played in 1. divisjon from 2005 to 2010. In 2010, the ...
– 3. divisjon
* Stabæk – 3. divisjon
*Strømsgodset
Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county), Norway, today a part of the city of Drammen. History
Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). But since th ...
– 2. divisjon
*Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies ...
– 3. divisjon
*VÃ¥lerenga
Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...
– 2. divisjon
*Viking
Vikings ; non, vÃkingr is the modern name given to 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 se ...
– 3. divisjon
;Reserve teams of 1. divisjon clubs:
* Åsane – 4. divisjon
* Bryne – 4. divisjon
*Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad.
The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 15 ...
– 3. divisjon
* Hødd – 3. divisjon
* Jerv – 4. divisjon
*KFUM Oslo
KFUM-Kameratene Oslo is the sports branch of the local YMCA in Oslo, Norway. It has sections for association football, futsal, volleyball and track and field. The football team currently plays in 1. divisjon, the second tier of the Norwegian foot ...
– 3. divisjon
*Kongsvinger
Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...
– 4. divisjon
* Kristiansund – 3. divisjon
*Mjøndalen
Mjøndalen is a built up area in Drammen municipality in Viken county (formerly Buskerud county), Norway. It is situated south of the Drammenselva River opposite of Krokstadelva.
History
Mjøndalen has traditionally been a railway site most k ...
– 3. divisjon
*Moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
– 4. divisjon
* Ranheim – 4. divisjon
* Raufoss – 3. divisjon
* Sandnes Ulf – 3. divisjon
*Skeid
Skeid is a Norwegian alliance sports club from Nordre Ã…sen, Oslo. It has sections for association football (one for elite and one for grassroots football), Nordic skiing and bandy.
General history
The club was founded as ''IK Skeid'' on 5 De ...
– 3. divisjon
*Sogndal
Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...
– 3. divisjon
*Start
Start can refer to multiple topics:
*Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air
* Starting lineup in sports
*Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race
Acronyms
*St ...
– 3. divisjon
References
{{Football in Norway
Norwegian Second Division
Norwegian Third Division
Norwegian Fourth Division