Overview

Before the proper rounds take place, two qualifying rounds are played in March and April. 176 clubs from tier 4 and 5 enter the first qualifying round and 44 of these advance to the first round where they are joined by 84 teams from tiers 1, 2 and 3.

The first round of the cup are played in April, around the same time as the Eliteserien season starts. The first two rounds are set up by the Norwegian Football Association, and the top flight teams are usually pitted against fairly weak amateur teams, often in rural areas, on the amateur team's home pitch. Early upsets, where an amateur team knocks a professional team out of the tournament do happen occasionally. For example, in 2012 the Eliteserien teams Sandnes Ulf and Sogndal were knocked out in the first round by the third division (fourth tier) teams Staal Jørpeland IL and Florø SK respectively.^[2] Even if the amateur team loses, squaring off against a professional team may well be the highlight of their season.

From the third round to the semi-final, matchups are drawn at random, the teams face off once, and the winner goes on to the next round. The final match is played at Ullevaal Stadium (national stadium) in November or December, and takes place near the end of the Norwegian football season.

The cup is very popular in Norway, and tickets for the final match are hard to get hold of, as the game usually sells out quickly. The supporters of the two teams playing in the final match are seated at the two short-ends of the pitch, while the more neutral supporters are seated by the long-ends. The match is also televised on national television.

Schedule

Most entrants from level 4 and all entrants from level 5 have to play to qualifying rounds to join the competition proper.^[3] Reserve teams of Eliteserien clubs, who are eligible to play in 2. divisjon (level 3) cannot enter. Depending on the number of reserve teams, the first round proper will be filled with the best clubs from level 4 until the number of teams from levels 1–4 is 84. Clubs from higher levels are then added in the first round, as per the table below. The months in which rounds are played are traditional, with exact dates subject to each year's calendar.

Tiebreaking

In all rounds, if a fixture result in a draw after normal time, the winner is settled by a period of extra time, and if still necessary, a penalty shootout. Earlier, fixtures resulting in a draw (after normal time) would go to a replay, played at the venue of the away team.

The first Cup Final to go to a replay was the 1945 final, between Lyn and Fredrikstad. The initial tie finished 1–1 and the first replay also finished 1–1. Lyn won the second replay 4–0. The only other time the final has taken three matches to settle was the 1965 final between Oslo rivals Skeid and Frigg (2–2, 1–1, 2–1). The last replayed final was the 1995 final, when Rosenborg and Brann fought a 1–1 draw. The replay saw Rosenborg win the Cup, with the score 3–1. The first final to be decided by a penalty shootout was the 2009 final between Molde and Aalesund. The score ended 1–1 after normal time and 2–2 after extra time. Aalesund won the final 5–4 on penalties.

European football

Prior to 2020, the Cup winners qualified for the following season's UEFA Europa League (formerly named the UEFA Cup; from its launch in 1960 until 1998, they entered the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup instead). Effecting from the 2020 Norwegian Cup, winners qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League. This European place applies even if the team is relegated or is not in the Norwegian top flight. In the past, if the Cup winning team also qualified for the following season's Champions League or Europa League through their league position, then the losing Cup finalist were given this European berth instead. Norwegian Cup winners enter the Europa League at the second qualifying round. Losing finalists, if they haven't qualified for Europe via the league, began earlier, at the first qualifying round. From the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League season, however, UEFA does not allow the runners-up to qualify for the Europa League through the competition.^[4] If the winner – and until 2015, the runner-up – has already qualified for Europe through their league position (with the exception of the UEFA Cup until 1998), the Cup berth was then given to the highest-place team in the league who has not yet qualified.

Mesterfinalen

The Cup winners also qualify for the following season's single-match Mesterfinalen, a season opener played against the previous season's Eliteserien champions (or the Eliteserien runners-up if the Cup winners also won the league – the double).

Key

Results by team

Since its establishment, the Norwegian Cup has been won by 27 different teams. Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence.

Final

All rounds

• Highest attendance at Ullevaal Stadion: 36,000 at the 1949 final (Sarpsborg v. Skeid, 23 October 1949)