# Norwegian Second Division

The Norwegian Second Division, also called 2. divisjon and often referred to as PostNord-ligaen for sponsorship reasons, is the third-highest level of the Norwegian football league system.
There are 28 teams divided into two groups, and at the end of the season the winner of each group earns promotion to the second-highest division, 1. divisjon. The teams finishing in second place in their respective group will qualify for the promotion play-offs, where they will face each other. The winner will play against the 14th placed team in 1. divisjon for promotion. The bottom three teams in each group are relegated to 3. divisjon.
2. divisjon is the highest league a reserve team can participate in, and only reserve teams from the Eliteserien clubs (first tier) are allowed to enter. The participation of reserve teams stirs debate from time to time.

## History

Between 1963 and 1990, 2. divisjon was the second highest level of the Norwegian football league system, therefore the name of the third highest level was 3. divisjon. When the highest level was rebranded in 1991, this level changed its name to 2. divisjon. From 2009 to 2011, the official name of the league was Fair Play ligaen, and from 2012 to 2015 the name was Oddsen-ligaen (after the main sponsor Norsk Tipping's betting-game called Oddsen). The league is currently branded as PostNord-ligaen, sponsored by PostNord.

## Current members

The following 28 clubs are competing in the 2025 Norwegian Second Division.

## Winners
### 1991–1995

All group winners, excluding second teams of top division teams, were promoted to 1. divisjon.
| Season | Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 | Group 5 | Group 6 |
| 1991 | Odd | Bærum | Vard Haugesund | Brann 2 | Rosenborg 2 | Bodø/Glimt |
| 1992 | Lillestrøm 2 | Skeid | Åssiden | Åsane | Nardo | Mjølner |
| 1993 | Jevnaker | Åndalsnes | Stabæk | Vidar | Stjørdals-Blink | Alta |
| 1994 | Sarpsborg FK | Odd Grenland | Sandefjord BK | Haugesund | Aalesund | Stålkameratene |
| 1995 | Elverum | Ullern | Mjøndalen | Vidar | Byåsen | Harstad |
* ↑ Os were promoted
* ↑ Stjørdals/Blink were promoted
* ↑ Ski were promoted

### 1996–2000

Each group winner played qualification play-offs to decide which teams promote to 1. divisjon. Teams in bold promoted to 1. divisjon through qualification play-offs.
| Season | Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 | Group 5 | Group 6 | Group 7 | Group 8 |
| 1996 | Sarpsborg FK | Skjetten | Runar | Vigør | Rosenborg 2 | Finnsnes | — | — |
| 1997 | Kjelsås | Raufoss | Ullern | Vidar | Fana | Kolstad | Strindheim | Lofoten |
| 1998 | Liv/Fossekallen | Skjetten | Ørn-Horten | Vidar | Fyllingen | Clausenengen | Rosenborg 2 | Lofoten |
| 1999 | HamKam | Asker | Sandefjord | Vidar | Fyllingen | Aalesund | Strindheim | Tromsdalen |
| 2000 | Skjetten | FF Lillehammer | Ørn-Horten | Mandalskameratene | Hødd | Aalesund | Stålkameratene | Lofoten |
* ↑ Byåsen and Harstad from 1. divisjon played qualification games against group winners from 2. divisjon
* ↑ Verdal finished second in Group 5 and qualified for promotion play-offs, but was not promoted.
* ↑ Mo finished second in Group 7 and qualified for promotion play-offs, but was not promoted.

### 2001–2016

All group winners, excluding second teams of top division teams, were promoted to 1. divisjon.
| Season | Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 |
| 2001 | Skeid | Åsane | Oslo Øst | Lørenskog |
| 2002 | Fredrikstad | Bærum | Mandalskameratene | Alta |
| 2003 | Pors Grenland | Kongsvinger | Vard Haugesund | Tromsdalen |
| 2004 | FK Tønsberg | Follo | Løv-Ham | Alta |
| 2005 | Sparta Sarpsborg | Oslo Øst | Viking 2 | Tromsdalen |
| 2006 | Notodden | Skeid | Mandalskameratene | Raufoss |
| 2007 | Nybergsund | Hødd | Sandnes Ulf | Alta |
| 2008 | Mjøndalen | Skeid | Stavanger | Tromsdalen |
| 2009 | Strømmen | Follo | Sandnes Ulf | Ranheim |
| 2010 | Asker | Hødd | Randaberg | HamKam |
| 2011 | Ullensaker/Kisa | Bærum | Notodden | Tromsdalen |
| 2012 | Elverum | Kristiansund | Vard Haugesund | Follo |
| 2013 | Bærum | Alta | Nest-Sotra | Tromsdalen |
| 2014 | Jerv | Levanger | Åsane | Follo |
| 2015 | KFUM | Raufoss | Ullensaker/Kisa | Kongsvinger |
| 2016 | Tromsdalen | Elverum | Florø | Arendal |
* ↑ Haugesund finished second in Group 3 and was promoted

### 2017–

Teams in bold were promoted to 1. divisjon. Teams in italics were relegated to 2. divisjon.
| Season | Group 1 | Group 2 | Play-off teams |
| 2017 | Ham-Kam | Nest-Sotra | Fredrikstad (1. div), Raufoss (2. div, gr. 1), Notodden (2. div, gr. 2) |
| 2018 | Raufoss | Skeid | Åsane (1. div), Fredrikstad (2. div, gr. 1), KFUM Oslo (2. div, gr. 2) |
| 2019 | Stjørdals-Blink | Grorud | Notodden (1. div), Kvik Halden (2. div, gr. 1), Åsane (2. div, gr. 2) |
| 2020 | Fredrikstad | Bryne | Stjørdals-Blink (1. div), Skeid (2. div, gr. 1), Asker (2. div, gr. 2) |
| 2021 | Kongsvinger | Skeid | Stjørdals-Blink (1. div), Hødd (2. div, gr. 1), Arendal (2. div, gr. 2) |
| 2022 | Moss | Hødd | Skeid (1. div), Arendal (2. div, gr. 1), Ull/Kisa (2. div, gr. 2) |
| 2023 | Egersund | Levanger | Hødd (1. div), Lyn (2. div, gr. 1), Tromsdalen (2. div, gr. 2) |
| 2024 | Hødd | Skeid | Mjøndalen (1. div), Jerv (2. div, gr. 1), Tromsdalen (2. div, gr. 2) |

## Reserve teams

Reserve teams of clubs from the two top divisions can participate in the 2. divisjon. Reserve teams of clubs from the 1. divisjon can not play in the 2. divisjon, so if a team is relegated from the 1. divisjon, the club's reserve team will be relegated to the 3. divisjon regardless of their final position in the league.

## Sponsorship

From 2016, 2. divisjon has its title sponsorship rights sold to PostNord.
| Period | Sponsor | Name |
| 1963–1990 | No sponsor | 3. divisjon |
| 1991–2008 | No sponsor | 2. divisjon |
| 2009–2011 | No sponsor | Fair Play ligaen |
| 2012–2015 | Norsk Tipping | Oddsen-ligaen |
| 2016– | PostNord | PostNord-ligaen |

## Records and statistics
### Team records

4 groups :
| 2001–2016 4 groups RecordTeamSeason Most points 70 (Kongsvinger) 2003 Fewest points 3 (Stord and Skjervøy) 2001 and 2003 Most goals in one season 105 (Tromsdalen) 2011 Fewest goals in one season 18 (Langevåg) 2003 Most goals conceded in one season 130 (Skjervøy) 2003 Fewest goals conceded in one season 13 (Elverum) 2016 Most goals in one game 15–0 (Strindheim – Salangen) 15–0 (Sparta Sarpsborg – Fram Larvik) 2004 2005 Biggest win 15–0 (Strindheim – Salangen) 15–0 (Sparta Sarpsborg – Fram Larvik) 2004 2005 | 2017– This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (December 2024) 2 groups RecordTeamSeason Most points 65 (HamKam) 2017 Fewest points 13 (Byåsen) 2017 Most goals in one season 66 (Åsane) 2019 Fewest goals in one season 21 (Brumunddal) 2017 Most goals conceded in one season 69 (Odd 2 and Stabæk 2) 2017 and 2018 Fewest goals conceded in one season 18 (HamKam) 2017 Most goals in one game 5–5 (Bærum – Oppsal) 2019 Biggest win 8–0 (Raufoss – Follo) 2017 |

### Average attendances

| Season | Average |
| 2014 | 258 |
| 2015 | 285 |
| 2016 | 262 |
| 2017 | 350 |
| 2018 | 493 |
| 2019 | 474 |

### Top ten most attended games

| No. | Season | Game | Attendance |
| 1 | 2018 | Fredrikstad–Moss | 10 413 |
| 2 | 2019 | Fredrikstad–Byåsen | 7 912 |
| 3 | 2002 | Fredrikstad–Kvik Halden | 7 013 |
| 4 | 2018 | Fredrikstad–Asker | 5 691 |
| 5 | 2002 | Fredrikstad–Eidsvold Turn | 5 370 |
| 6 | 2003 | Kongsvinger–Ullensaker/Kisa | 5 024 |
| 7 | 2010 | Hamarkameratene–Brumunddal | 4 565 |
| 8 | 2019 | Fredrikstad–Kvik Halden | 4 462 |
| 9 | 2018 | Fredrikstad–Raufoss | 4 291 |
| 10 | 2019 | Fredrikstad–Stjørdals-Blink | 4 245 |