Eliteserien

Eliteserien (Norwegian pronunciation: [ɛˈliːtəˌseːrɪən]) 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 relegation with the Norwegian First Division.

Seasons run from March to November with each team playing 30 matches (playing each other home and away). Most games are played on Sunday evenings.

Eliteserien was founded in 1937 as Norgesserien (English: The League of Norway), and the first season was the 1937–38 season. The structure and name of Eliteserien, along with Norway's other football leagues, has undergone frequent changes. The top level was renamed Hovedserien in 1948, 1. divisjon (now used by the second level league in Norway) in 1963, then Tippeligaen (named for the main sponsor) in 1990. Starting with the 2017 season the league adopted the current Eliteserien, after NFF decided to totally drop any sponsor's names from the name of the league. The broadcasting rights were in December 2015 secured by Discovery Networks who signed a six-year deal giving them rights to broadcast all the 240 games in Eliteserien from 2017 to 2023. The deal was worth NOK 2.4 billion. The league generates NOK 400 million per year in domestic television rights.

Seventeen clubs have won the title since the inception of the league in 1937: Rosenborg (26), Fredrikstad (9), Viking (8), Lillestrom (5), Valerenga (5), Molde (4), Brann (3), Larvik Turn (3), Bodo/Glimt (2), Lyn (2), Start (2), Stromsgodset (2), Fram Larvik (1), Freidig (1), Moss (1), Skeid (1) and Stabak (1). In 2010, Rosenborg became, and still remain, the only club to complete an Eliteserien campaign without losing a single game.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Элитсерия (russian)