Played at Ullevaal Stadion (Oslo) every year around the last trimester, concluding the season, the ‘Norwegian Football Cup’ (Norwegian: ‘Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer’) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country: the King of Norway Oscar II attended the inaugural tournament. Similarly to what happened with the 1st division, due to a big difference of levels of play between teams from several counties, at the beginning the Norwegian Cup was not nationwide: it only happened after 1963, with the inclusion of Northern Norway teams. The tournament is commonly known as Cupen (“The Cup”), NM or NM Cup (NM Cupen), an acronym formed from Norgesmesterskap (“Norwegian Championship”): these terms are used to describe both the men’s and women’s competitions. The equivalent competition for women’s teams is the ‘Norwegian Women’s Football Cup’, contested since 1978. The Norwegian Football Cup is a national championship, meaning that while the Eliteserien may be the most prestigious competition to win, it is the winners of the Cup who are awarded the title “Norwegian football champions”. This differs from, for example, English football, where the winners of the Premier League are the ones who become English champions. Winners receive the King’s trophy. Winners also qualify for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round and a place in the Mesterfinalen, the Norwegian super cup match.
