Første Liga (Olmeria)
The Første Liga (English: Top League) is the topmost division of the Olmerian League Football (OLF) system. It is contested by 15 clubs from across the country, and runs on a system of promotion and relegation with the rest of the Olmerian football leagues. The league is held over annual seasons, with a season typically running from the start of March through to late October, with a 3-4 month break over Olmeria's extreme winters. The dates of seasons vary each year based on when conditions become favourable enough to permit outdoor football. The leagues size is also adjusted for the reduced playing time available, as each team plays every other team twice during a season, once at home and once away. As such 28 game week seasons is more viable than the standard 34/38 week season of a more traditional 18/20 club division. The reduced games also allows for flexibility to break for international competitions during the summer. Clubs in the Første Liga compete to win the league each season, qualify for international football tournaments, and to avoid relegation to the below Lëiga Lige. Most games are played at weekends (Saturday and Sunday), although the occasional game will be held midweek, especially in international competition years or if there is an especially harsh winter.
 | |
| Founded | 5 July 1934 |
|---|---|
| Country | Olmeria |
| Confederation | WAFF |
| Number of teams | 15 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Lëiga Lige |
| Domestic cup(s) | |
| League cup(s) | OLF Cup |
| Current champions | Høkston Spurs FK (4th title) (March - November) |
| Most championships | Avonemore FK (23 titles) |
| Most appearances | Leo Sörenstam (615) |
| Top goalscorer | Olle Aberg (317) |
| TV partners |
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| Website | https://FørsteLiga.com |
The competition was created as part of the OLF in 1934 by the Olmerian Football Confederation (OFF), in response to a surge in footballs popularity, which had led to the creation of several fractured leagues across the country. The league has been it's own organisation since 1986, although it remains under the ultimate jurisdiction of the OFF, along with the rest of the OLF. It has seen 95 seasons over 101 years since it's founding, with 6 missed seasons due to conflicts, date adjustments and natural conditions.
A total of 63 teams have competed in the Første Liga since it's founding, of which 26 have won the title and 2 have never been relegated to the Lëiga Lige. The most successful club in the competition's history are Avonemor Idrettslag FK, having won a total of 17 titles, while the current champions are Høkston Stovlar FK, who won the 2034 season in a shock victory, their first since 1993. Recently prominent clubs in the league include Avonemor Idrettslag FK, as well as Askved FKA, Nordstjerna FK, KA Havsnäs, Strond FK, and IKA Strond. For the 2035 season, Bjørkeby FKA and Ondra Förenad FK were promoted to the league, while Lotvall Vandrere FK and Fjellstrand FK were relegated, and Skanderbeg Skov FK retained their slot by winning the playoffs.
History
Origin
Prior to 1934, football in Olmeria was mostly regional, with the few professional clubs there were competing in unconnected local competitions and self organised friendlies. With popularity of the sport surging as it spread across grassroots communities of all classes, this quickly became an issue both in regards to the availability of high quality football and the safety of football matches attracting large crowds without due regulation. The OLF was created to solve this problem in 1924, introducing preliminary regulations on local competitions and matches a year later in 1925. In 1929 they went a step further, attempting to tie regional competitions together into what was known briefly as the "Great Web" of football. After a few years, however, it was clear this was not going to be effective going forwards, as it was almost impossible to organise the scattered and disjointed group of competitions that had sprung up in the years previously. As such, in 1933 the OLF was commissioned formally by the government's Sport and Welfare Office to create a unified league system to foster the growth of professional clubs in the country.
Inaugural Season
At the point the new league was announced, only 6 professional clubs existed, all of whom were partners in the organising of the league and were given places in the first Første Liga season. These 6 clubs remain known as the founding clubs for their part in setting up the league. Over the next year, 35 further clubs that had previously been semi- or non-professional reworked themselves to gain professional status and competed in a short cup competition, known as the Inauguration Cup for the remaining 12 places in the league. While those successful had the claim of competing in the inaugural Første Liga season, many of the 12 suffered in the long term due to hasty modification of the club structures, created chaotic and ineffective behind the scenes setups. Of the 12 winners, only 1 is in the Første Liga today, and a further 4 in the OLF, making 7 inaugural teams who no longer have a place in the professional pyramid. Founding clubs, on the other hand, have typically been very successful in the league, boasting amongst their numbers the top two league winning clubs (Avonemor Idrettslag FK and Strond FK), and with all 6 founding teams still in the OLF pyramid.
The first season of the F
Early Years and Introduction of Relegation
The very first years of the league were somewhat uneventful, with no relegation or international competitions meaning they were little stakes in the competition for those no in contention for the title. The 6 founding clubs unsurprisingly dominated, winning each of the
1950's - 70's
Competition Format
Competition
There are 15 clubs in the Første Liga, who play each other twice over the course of a season (March - November), in a double round robin system. This makes a total of 28 games for each team, 14 at their home stadium and a further 14 at the stadiums of their opponents. A team is awarded 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and nothing for a loss. The league is ordered first by a teams total points over a season to date, followed by their goal difference (goals scored - goals conceded). If a there is still a tie, teams are placed according to head to head points (whichever team won the most points from the two games between the affected teams), and then head to head aggregate (total score from both head to head games). After this, if still equal, the teams are considered to be equal in position, with the exception of at the end of the season where if relegation, continental tournament qualification, or the champion are affected, teams must play a tiebreak game with extra-time and penalties at a neutral venue to decide who occupies the higher slot.
Seasons
When it was founded in July 1934, the Første Liga was played in seasons from August - July, with a 1.5 month winter break in the middle, in addition to a 1 month season break. However, as Olmerian football grew internationally, it became difficult to fit this calendar with that of international competitions, and in 1952 the system was changed to a single winter break. The first season to be held under the new season was the 1953 season, after a 7 month break following the 51-52 season to reset the calendar. Since then, all Første Liga seasons have taken place within a calendar year, although the length of the season was later adjusted again when the size of the league was reduced between 1990 and 1993. Additionally, short summer breaks are regularly added to allow for players to compete in international competitions.
Relegation/Promotion
The Første Liga operates within the OLF pyramid. As it is the top division of the pyramid, the promotion and relegation system works only in one direction with the below Lëiga Lige, rather than in both as with the rest of the pyramid. Each season, 2 or 3 teams are demoted to the Lëiga Lige, with those occupying the bottom two positions in the table automatically relegated, and the third from last team competing against teams from the below league to keep their place in the league. This team is granted a place in the semi-finals of the Lëiga Lige Playoffs, where the winner will gain/retain a place in the Første Liga for the next season. Although Første Liga teams have the upper hand in these competitions, often with superior squads and a more favourable fixtures (they play the 5th placed team in the Lëiga Lige, while the 3rd and 4th play each other in the other semi-final), it's not uncommon for underdog teams to come out on top, especially in the single-leg final.
The relegation system for the Første Liga has varied over time, as has the size of the league. When it was created in 1934 the league was designed to have 18 teams and a standard 3 automatic relegation slots, with no playoffs. In practice, because of the phased introduction of the OLF, there were no relegations from the Første Liga until 1937 when the Lëiga Lige was formed. After this the system was implemented as designed, with three teams now able to be promoted from the below league, adn three demoted from the top league.
In 1989, plans to adjust the league's size ware confirmed, to allow season scheduling to better fit international competitions and harsh winters. Because the entire OLF was being adjusted, the plans meant the size of the league would fall incrementally by one team a year, until it reached 15 teams, to soften the impact of the change. This meant that for three seasons, starting in the 1990 season, the Første Liga relegated 4 teams and only 3 were promoted. 23 years later, in the 2013 season, the current playoff system was implemented, and has remained unchanged since.
Cup Competitions
The Første Liga doesn't have any of it's own cup competitions, but teams in the league participate in the two Olmerian league domestic cups. Teams compete in the national Fotbollsförbund[1] Cup (FF Cup) from the third round proper, and in the Olmeria Ligas av Fotbolls[2] Cup (OLF Cup) from the 2nd or 3rd round. Additionally, the winner of the Første Liga plays the winner of the FF Cup in the FF Arver[3] Trophy in a single match at the start of each season.
Traditionally, clubs from the league dominate both Cup competitions, with only 12 FF Cups and 3 OLF Cups having been won by non Første Liga clubs since the founding of competitions in 1946 and 1981 respectively. However, so called "giant killings" are not uncommon in the earlier rounds of the cup, and there are often lower league, and even non-league (in the case of the FF cup), success stories.
Clubs
A total of 62 clubs have competed in the Første Liga since it's inaugural season in 1934.
2035 Season
| Club | 2034 Position | First Season
in Første Liga |
Seasons in
Første Liga[4] |
First Season of
Current Spell |
No. of Titles | Last Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avonemor Idrettslag | 3rd | 1933 | 93 | 1941 | 17 | 2030 |
| Høkston Stovlar | 1st | 1946 | 66 | 2004 | 7 | 2034 |
| Askved | 4th | 1942 | 77 | 1983 | 8 | 2001 |
| Nordstjerna | 9th | 1935 | 71 | 2021 | 2 | 1985 |
| Strond | 2nd | 1933 | 94 | 1933 | 15 | 2029 |
| Lundholm Förenad | 8th | 1947 | 80 | 1947 | 3 | 1999 |
| IKA Strond | 6th | 1963 | 52 | 2015 | 1 | 2005 |
| Aalberg | 11th | 1958 | 41 | 2032 | 1 | 1972 |
| Skanderbeg Skov | 13th* | 1996 | 24 | 2033 | 0 | - |
| Sølvtun | 10th | 1945 | 49 | 2030 | 1 | 1959 |
| Havsnäs | 5th | 1933 | 73 | 2010 | 11 | 2032 |
| Bjørkeby | -^ | 2035 | 0 | 2035 | 0 | - |
| Ondra Förenad | -^ | 2000 | 14 | 2035 | 0 | - |
| Njaholt Byen | 12th | 2016 | 8 | 2033 | 0 | - |
| Palpää | 7th | 1998 | 15 | 2014 | 3 | 2033 |
* playoff winner
^ promoted
Champions
21 teams have won the Første Liga during it's 95 seasons of existence, of which 11 are currently in the league. 7 of the other 21 winners are in other parts of the OLF, however 3 of the earlier winners have since been disbanded or relegated out of league football.
| Club | Current League | Winners | Runners-up | Winning Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avonemor Idrettslag | Første Liga | 17 | 1939-40, 1951-52, 1958, 1967, 1976, 1982, 1995, 1997, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2025, 2027, 2030 | |
| Høkston Stovlar | Første Liga | 7 | 1973, 1975, 1977, 1986, 1987, 1993, 2034 | |
| Askved | Første Liga | 8 | 1950-51, 1954, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 2001 | |
| Nordstjerna | Første Liga | 2 | 1941-42, 1985 | |
| Strond | Første Liga | 16 | 1934-35, 1949-50, 1965, 1990, 1991, 1994, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2017, 2020, 2026, 2029 | |
| Lundholm Förenad | Første Liga | 3 | 1968, 1992, 1999 | |
| IKA Strond | Første Liga | 1 | 2005 | |
| Aalberg | Første Liga | 1 | 1972 | |
| Sølvtun | Første Liga | 1 | 1959 | |
| Havsnäs | Første Liga | 11 | 1956, 1957, 1960, 1964, 1966, 1989, 1996, 2018, 2023, 2024, 2032 | |
| Palpää | Første Liga | 3 | 2028, 2031, 2033 | |
| Lundholm Byson | Lëiga Lige | 2 | 2008, 2015 | |
| Vadvall | Liga Olme | 3 | 1971, 1998, 2022 | |
| Jørpedal | Disbanded | 7 | 1935-36, 1936-37, 1937-38, 1940-41, 1945-46, 1946-47, 1984 | |
| Nyskov | Liga Gret | 2 | 1961, 1970 | |
| Osvik | Non-League | 3 | 1938-39, 1948-49, 1953 | |
| Fjell Rovdyr | Liga Gret | 2 | 1969, 1988 | |
| Kotsiä | Liga Olme | 3 | 1962, 1980, 2000 | |
| Rosenjerg | Lëiga Lige | 1 | 2006 | |
| Molvik Byen | Liga Olme | 1 | 2003 | |
| Siuksa | Non-League | 1 | 1955 |
Italics indicate club is currently outside of the Første Liga.
Records
Main Article: Første Liga Statistics and Records
- Most titles: 17, Avonemor Idrettslag
- Most consecutive titles: 3
- Jørpedal (1935-36, 1936-37, 1937-38)
- Avonemor Idrettslag (2011, 2012, 2013)
- Most points in a season (post-1993): 65, Strond (2017)
- Least points in a season (post-1993): 6, Rakvi Byen (2001)
- Most goals in a season: 79, Askved (2001)
- Fewest goals in a season: 10, Rakvi Byen (2001)
- Most yellow cards in a season: 96
- Havsnäs (2030)
- Fjell Rovdyr (1961)
- Most red cards in a season: 6, Fjell Rovdyr (1961)
Players
Transfer Fees
Top Goalscorers
Appearances
Wages
Other Records
Managers
Mangers in the Første Liga are responsible for the day to day running of team affairs, including overseeing coaching, tactic development, and . On matchdays they are responsible for team selection, matchday tactics, substitutions and general game management. They also head up player acquisitions and sales, leading the recruitment vision and usually negotiating deals within an assigned budget.
| Manager | Nationality | Club | Appointed | Career Titles* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julian Bloch | Olmerian | Avonemor Idrettslag | 3 May 2026 | |
*Første Liga titles only
Stadiums
Attendance Records
- Highest capacity:
- Lowest capacity:
- Highest attendance (single match):
- Lowest attendance (single match):
- Highest season average attendance:
- Lowest season average attendance: