Norwegian reserve football teams compete at all levels of league football within theNorwegian football league system apart from the top two divisions,Eliteserien and theFirst Division. The highest league these teams can currently enter is theSecond Division, 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.
For men's clubs whose main teams are in the highest 3 tiers, there must be a gap of 2 or more divisions between the main team and the reserve team. For instance, reserve teams ofEliteserien teams cannot be promoted to higher than tier 3 (PostNord-ligaen); and reserve teams of tier 2 (OBOS-ligaen) teams cannot be promoted to higher than tier 4 (Norwegian Third Division). For clubs whose main teams play in tier 4 or below, there must be a gap of 1 or more divisions.
If a reserve team ends up at a promotion spot when it is not allowed to be promoted, the promotion is awarded to the next team in the league standings which is allowed to be promoted.
If a main team gets relegated, then the reserve team is relegated regardless of the latter's league season placement if it played at their previously highest allowed division. In this case, the highest-placed team among those who would normally be relegated will remain in the division.
Rosenborg BK fielded a third team (Rosenborg 3) between circa 2005 and 2013, during which time additional rules for divisional eligibilities were in place. Third teams (of which Rosenborg 3 was the only one) could not be promoted higher than tier 4 (Third Division). If the "2" team was relegated to Third Division, then the "3" team would be automatically relegated to tier 5 (Fourth Division).
Reserve teams are not eligible to enter theNorwegian Football Cup. Separate under-20 junior teams play in theNorwegian Youth Cup, the winner of which qualifies for theUEFA Youth League, but they do not play in the Norwegian league system.
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 managerIvar Morten Normark proposed to throw the reserve teams out of the ordinary league pyramid,[1] and other managers likeDag-Eilev Fagermo agreed.[2] 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.[1]
At the 2010 congress of theFootball Association of Norway, new rules for reserve teams were agreed to.[3] Since then the rules have been changed several times, most recently in 2023.[4] As of 2023 the rules prohibit reserve teams for clubs in Eliteserien and the First Division to simultaneously field more than three players who were older than 22 years old at the start of the year, as well as requiring reserve team players to not have started the last competitive fixture for the senior team.[5]
From time to time, a reserve team has won its group in the Second Division. This is the highest sporting position a reserves team can achieve, since promotion is impossible. In the1991 Second Division, the reserve teams of bothBrann andRosenborg won their respective groups.[6] Rosenborg 2 also won their groups in1996[7] and1998.[8] In the1992 Second Division,Lillestrøm's reserve team won group 1.[9] In the2005 Second Division,Viking's reserve team won group 3.[10] Over the years the Second Division has been reduced to just two groups of 14 teams each, and as of 2025 there is only one reserve team playing in the Second Division.
This is a list of where the reserve teams ofEliteserien andFirst Division clubs play, as of the 2025 season.[11]
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| League competitions |
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| Cup competitions |
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| Defunct cup competitions |
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| Playoff competitions |
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| Youth competitions |
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| National teams | |||||
| Others | |||||
| Lists and categories | |||||
