1885
The first Norwegian club is formed in Oslo - Christiania Footballclub. The new club met a team of English sailors in their first match in 1886. Christiania won in front of 2000 spectators.
1902
The Football Association of Norway (NFF) is founded. The cup competition is established, and Grane (Nordstrand) defeat Odd 1-0.
1908
NFF become member of FIFA. The Norwegian men’s team play their first friendly match versus Sweden. The match takes place in Gothenburg, Sweden. Norway sensationally score the first goal after only 45 seconds, but Sweden win 11-3.
1911
The first friendly international match ever to be played in Norway, takes place in Oslo on the 11th of September. Norway lose 4-0 to Sweden.
1912
Norway participate in the Olympic Games in Sweden. They lose matches vs. Denmark (0-7) and Austria (0-1). 1914 NFF host the FIFA Congress in Oslo. The first league is established. Six teams compete for the title: Drafn, Frigg, Kvik/Halden, Larvik Turn, Mercantile and Odd (first league winners).
1918
The Norwegian men’s team win their first international match by beating Denmark 3-1 on the 16th of June in Oslo.
1920
Norway participate in the Olympic Games in Antwerp. They sensationally beat England 3-1, but losses vs. Czechoslovakia (0-4) and Italy (1-2) send them out of the tournament.
1936
The Norwegian men’s team win their only medal in an international championship. The team is for ever after known as Bronselaget (the Bronze team) after the successful Olympic Games in Germany. Norway beat Turkey (4-0) and Germany (2-0), but lost to Italy in the semi-final. Norway beat Polen (3-2) in the bronze final.
1937
In the 1936/1937 season the first extensive football series takes place. Fredrikstad FK win and become the first Norwegian league champions.
1938
The Norwegian men’s team manage to qualify for the World Championship finals in France by beating Ireland 3-2 and drawing 3-3 in the qualifying round. In the first round Norway lose 2-1 to Italy and is out of the championship. Italy later go on to become champions.
1940-1945
The Football Association of Norway's office close due to a nationwide strike amongst athletes and athletic associations in Norway. The league championships are cancelled from 1939 to 1947.
1945
158 000 send written applications to get tickets for the cup final Fredrikstad FK vs. Lyn. 35 000 got to see the first game. After two draws, Lyn won the third final 4-0 at Bislett, Oslo. This picture was taken when the teams met again in the 1946 cup final. Fredrikstad (white) lost by 3-2.
1946
The Norwegian men’s team play their first postwar game vs. the British Royal Air Force (RAF).
1950
The newly established Norwegian youth team draw 1-1 against Denmark.
1952
The Football Association of Norway (NFF) celebrate its 50th anniversary by passing 100 000 memberships.
1954
NFF become member of UEFA.
1960
Fredrikstad FK is the first Norwegian club to compete in the UEFA Cup. Ajax is beaten in the first round, but AGF from Århus, Denmark, are too strong for FFK in the next round.
1963
Norway sensationally defeat Scotland 4-3 in Bergen, Norway. 1967 Rosenborg BK become league champions for the first time.
1968
Lyn from Oslo amaze the European football elite by advancing to the quarter finals of the Cupwinner's Cup. After defeating Izmir of Turkey and Norrköping in the first rounds, Lyn are clos to beating FC Barcelona. Due to the Norwegian winter, both games of the quarter final are played in Spain, and Barcelona advance by 5-4 (3-2, 2-2).
1969
Professionals are allowed to play for the Norwegian men’s team.
1971
Unni Hole becomes the first woman to participate on NFF's Congress (Forbundsting).
1972
The famous Norway Cup, the world's largest football tournament for children and youths, is held in Oslo for the first time.
1973
Women's football establish their own rules.
1975
Bodø/Glimt win the cup as first team from Nord-Norge (the Northern part of Norway).
1977
From this year also the northernmost county in Norway can compete for reaching the top divisions of the league system.
1978
The Norwegian women’s team play their first friendly international matches in a Nordic tournament, in Denmark. Sweden is the first opponent, and won 2-1. 22 years later Norway became Olympic champions in Sydney.
1979
Norway qualify for the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980. Due to political reasons, the Norwegian Sports Federation decides to boycott the Championship.
1981
England lose 2-1 to the Norwegian men's team in Oslo! The picture shows Hallvar Thoresen celebrating his 2-1 goal at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo. Thoresen later became captain of PSV Eindhoven, playing with world stars such as Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman, Hans van Breukelen and Gerald Vanenburg.
1984
Norway participate in the Olympic Games in USA. Norway is elimated early on after beating Qatar 2-0, a draw (0-0) vs. Chile and a 2-1 loss to France.
1987
The Football Association of Norway (NFF) host the European Championship for women in Oslo. The Norwegian women’s team win the championship after a 2-1 victory over Sweden in the final.
1988
The Norwegian women’s team win the first unofficial World Championship for women in China. Norway beat Sweden 1-0 in the final.
1989
The women's team win silver medal in the European Championship in Germany. The host nation, Germany win the final 4-1.
1990
Egil "Drillo" Olsen becomes coach of the Norwegian men’s team, leading Norway to international recognition. "Drillo"s debut is fantastic. The surprise team from the World Cup in Italy, Cameroon, get trashed 6-1 at Bislett, Oslo.
1991
The Norwegian women’s team win silver medal in the first official World Championship for women in China. USA defeated Norway 2-1 in the final. The women's team also reach the final of the European Championship in Denmark, losing the final 3-1 to Germany.
1992
Norway succeed in taking the first international medal in men’s football since 1936, as the Norwegian youth team win bronze medal in the European Championship in Germany.
1993
The Norwegian men’s team qualify for the World Championship finals (the World Cup USA 1994). The women's team win the European Championship for the second time, beating host nation Italy 1-0. Rosenborg and coach Nils Arne Eggen win their first of ten consecutive league titles.
1994
A 1-0 victory against Mexico, a 0-0 match vs. Ireland and losing 1-0 to Italy is not enough for the men's team to go through from the group games in the World Cup. Norway is out of the tournament, although all teams have the same number of points and an equal goal difference. The Norwegian team has the lowest number of goals. The women’s team once again prove their position by qualifying for both the European and the World Championships.
1995
The Norwegian women’s team win the World Championship in Sweden after defeating USA 1-0 in the semifinal and Germany 2-0 in the final. Hege Riise is elected best player of the world.
1996
The Norwegian women’s team win bronze medal in the first Olympic Football Tournament for women, after defeating Brazil 2-0. USA win the tournament. Rosenborg sensationally beat AC Milan on San Siro in Milano in a Champions League game.
1997
The Football Association of Norway (NFF) cooperate with Sweden to host the European Championships for women. The Norwegian men's team qualify for the World Cup in France in 1998.
1998
The men’s team participate in the World Cup. After 2-2 against Morocco, 1-1 vs. Scotland and victory (2-1) over Brazil, the team qualified for the second stage. Once again Italy eliminate the Norwegians by winning 1-0. Nils Johan Semb replaces Egil "Drillo" Olsen as national coach, as "Drillo" went on to train Vålerenga and Wimbledon. Four years after Norway's defeat of Brazil, the Norwegian people in an election decided this was the most glorious moment of Norwegian football ever. The picture shows Kjetil Rekdal's penalty in the 89th minute.
1999
The Norwegian women’s team is defeated by Brazil on penalties in the bronze final of the World Cup. Nils Johan Semb's men qualify for EURO 2000 by winning their qualifying group. Norway has never before been to the final round of the European Championship.
2000
The women's team become Olympic gold medal winners by defeating USA 3-2 on golden goal in the final. The men's team win over Spain (1-0), but then lost to Jugoslavia (1-0) and drew 0-0 against Slovenia, and did not qualify for the second stage in the European championship in the Netherlands and Belgium. Tippeligaen, the men's premier league, draw more than one million spectators for the first time. Average attendance is 5.722.
2001
Rosenborg (RBK) win their 10th consecutive league title and qualify for Champions League for the 7th consecutive year. No other European club can match their number of Champions League apperances. The Norwegian women’s team won bronze medal in the European Championship in Germany.
2002
The Football Association of Norway (NFF) was founded on the 30th of April in 1902, and celebrate the 100th anniversary throughout the year. The Norwegian men's team made an excellent start in the qualifying games for the European Championship in 2004, while the women's team secured a place in the 2003 World Cup in China. Rosenborg claim their 11th consecutive league title as legendary coach Nils Arne Eggen retired, and the spectator record for Tippeligaen from the 2000 season was broken.
2003
Rosenborg claim the double by defeating Bodø/Glimt in the cup and winning their 12th consecutive championship! Norway did not qualify for the European Championship in 2004 after two losses versus Spain i the play-offs, and Åge Hareide took over as head coach from 2004. The women's team was defeated by USA in the quarterfinal round of the World Cup, and did not qualify for the upcoming Olympic games.
2004
Sondre Kåfjord replace Per Ravn Omdal as president of The Football Association of Norway (NFF). Ravn Omdal served 12 years as president (1988-1992, 1996-2004). Rosenborg secured their 13th consecutive league title by scoring in the 89th minute of the season's last game! A record attendance of 1 458 258 saw the 182 Tippeligaen games this season. Røa from Oslo won both the women's league (Toppserien) and cup - the club's first gold medals ever.
Åge Steen quit as head coach of the women's national team, who qualified for the European Championship in England in 2005 after defeating Iceland in two play-off matches. Åge Hareide made an excellent debut as national coach, and finished the 2004 season with only one defeat and eight wins in 13 matches. The new Nordic club tournament, Royal League, kicked off in november.
2005
For the first time in 13 seasons, Rosenborg did not win Tippeligaen. Vålerenga - lead by the former national team player Kjetil Rekdal as coach - won their first league title since 1984. Once again the top league for men was a close race to the end, and together with improved stadium facilities in many top clubs, this contributed to a record attendance in Tippeligaen. 1 722 560 saw the 182 games in Tippeligaen last season.
Kolbotn won Toppserien for women after a close race between them and Team Strømmen. The Football Association of Norway is convinced that the top league for women will continue the positive development in 2006 through the introduction of club licence for women.
The national team for women - lead by coach Bjarne Berntsen - won silver medals in The European Championship in England after a defeat against Germany in the final.
The national team for men - lead by coach Åge Hareide - made it to the play-off against The Czech Republic in the qualifier for The World Cup in Germany in 2006, but the Czech team - at that time ranked as the third best team in the world - was too strong.
2006
Lillestrøm play in Royal League, but is defeated 1-0 by FC Copenhagen in the final. Norway’s biggest football school for children (TINE Fotballskoler) starts in June, with an attendance of 72 600 children. The women’s national team qualify for the World Cup in their second last qualification match by playing a draw to Ukraine.
2007
The Football Association of Norway (NFF) arrange Colourful football nation wide to show it’s refuse against violence and racism. Thousands of children and youths are participating. Norway’s Y23-girls team win bronze in the Open Nordic Championship in Finland, while Norway’s women’s team loose their bronze medal to USA in the women’s World Cup. Brann win Tippeligaen (the top league) for the first in 44 years.
2008
The Football Association of Norway (NFF) introduce ”the Dragon” as the new badge on Norway’s football kit. However, the reactions from the supporters and the organisation are so negative, that NFF pulls back the suggestion. After this episode the FA Congress makes a decision that the Norwegian flag will still stays as the badge on Norway’s football kits. All the youth national teams got through from the first round in Euro Cup and are doing well in the championship.
2009
Egil “Drillo” Olsen does comeback as coach for the national men’s team. “Drillo” brings back his great spirit and statistics from the 90’s with 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses throughout the season. Norway’s women’s team makes a great contribution as well by bringing a bronze medal home after the Euro Cup in Finland. After the championship Eli Landsem steps up as new and first female coach for Norway’s women’s team ever.
Aalesund and Molde (from the top league) meet in a derby in the Cup-final where Aalesund win after penalty shoot out.
NFF works hard and seriously in cooperation with the Swedish FA to host the Euro Cup in 2016. Unfortunately will neither Norwegian nor Swedish government support the championship due to financial issues.