1981 Norwegian First Division

37th season of top-tier football league in Norway

Football league season

1. divisjon
Season	1981
Dates	24 April – 18 October
Champions	Vålerengen 2nd title
Relegated	Brann Haugar Lyn
European Cup	Vålerengen
Cup Winners' Cup	Lillestrøm
UEFA Cup	Viking
Matches played	132
Goals scored	367 (2.78 per match)
Top goalscorer	Pål Jacobsen (16 goals)
Biggest home win	Fredrikstad 6–0 Brann (23 August 1981)
Biggest away win	Haugar 0–6 Fredrikstad (17 August 1981)
Highest scoring	Viking 5–3 Start (18 October 1981)
Longest winning run	Brann Fredrikstad Rosenborg Viking Vålerengen (3 games)
Longest unbeaten run	Fredrikstad Moss Rosenborg (9 games)
Longest winless run	Haugar (9 games)
Longest losing run	Brann HamKam Lyn (6 games)
Highest attendance	21,377 Rosenborg 2–2 Vålerengen (29 June 1981)
Lowest attendance	1,085 Lyn 1–2 Bryne (27 September 1981)
Average attendance	5,880 15.6%
← 1980 1982 →

The 1981 1. divisjon was the 37th completed season of top division football in Norway.

Overview

22 games were played with 2 points given for wins and 1 for draws. Number eleven and twelve were relegated. The winners of the two groups of the Second Division were promoted, as well as the winner of a series of play-off matches between number ten in the 1. divisjon and the two second-placed teams in the two groups of the 2. divisjon.

Vålerengen won the championship, their second league title.

Teams and locations

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

Team	Ap.	Location	Stadium
Brann	28	Bergen	Brann Stadion
Bryne	6	Bryne	Bryne Stadion
Fredrikstad	32	Fredrikstad	Fredrikstad Stadion
Hamarkameratene	10	Hamar	Briskeby
Haugar	1	Haugesund	Sakkestadbanen
Lillestrøm	18	Lillestrøm	Åråsen Stadion
Lyn	23	Oslo	Ullevaal Stadion
Moss	8	Moss	Melløs Stadion
Rosenborg	18	Trondheim	Lerkendal Stadion
Start	14	Kristiansand	Kristiansand Stadion
Vålerengen	26	Oslo	Bislett Stadion
Viking	34	Stavanger	Stavanger Stadion

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Vålerengen (C)	22	9	11	2	44	27	+17	29	Qualification for the European Cup preliminary round
2	Viking	22	11	6	5	32	30	+2	28	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3	Rosenborg	22	9	8	5	35	24	+11	26
4	Fredrikstad	22	9	7	6	45	26	+19	25
5	Moss	22	8	8	6	27	27	0	24
6	Hamarkameratene	22	8	6	8	25	21	+4	22
7	Lillestrøm	22	6	10	6	26	25	+1	22	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
8	Start	22	8	5	9	36	38	−2	21
9	Bryne	22	6	9	7	29	34	−5	21
10	Brann (R)	22	5	7	10	26	40	−14	17	Qualification for the relegation play-offs
11	Haugar (R)	22	2	12	8	20	38	−18	16	Relegation to Second Division
12	Lyn (R)	22	4	5	13	22	37	−15	13	Relegation to Second Division

Source: NIFS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away	BRA	BRY	FRE	HAM	HAU	LIL	LYN	MOS	ROS	IKS	VIK	VÅL
Brann	—	2–2	1–1	2–0	6–0	3–0	1–0	0–2	0–3	2–2	1–2	0–1
Bryne	1–2	—	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–4	0–0	0–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2
Fredrikstad	6–0	1–1	—	0–1	1–1	2–2	3–2	4–1	0–0	2–2	3–0	2–1
Hamarkameratene	1–1	5–2	2–1	—	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–1	3–0	0–1	0–0	1–2
Haugar	0–0	1–1	0–6	0–2	—	2–3	2–2	0–0	1–1	0–1	1–3	1–1
Lillestrøm	0–0	0–1	0–1	1–0	2–2	—	1–0	0–0	1–1	0–0	6–0	0–2
Lyn	3–2	1–2	0–5	0–0	1–0	1–2	—	5–0	1–1	2–3	2–0	2–4
Moss	3–1	0–1	2–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	0–1	1–1	2–2
Rosenborg	5–0	3–1	4–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–0	3–1	—	4–2	0–1	2–2
Start	4–0	3–4	3–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	0–0	1–3	0–1	—	4–0	0–4
Viking	2–0	2–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–0	3–0	2–1	2–0	5–3	—	1–1
Vålerengen	2–2	2–2	1–1	0–1	2–2	1–1	3–0	2–2	2–1	5–2	2–2	—

Source: nifs.no (in Norwegian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation play-offs

The qualification play-off matches were contested between Brann (10th in the 1. divisjon), Pors (2nd in the Second Division – Group A), and Molde (2nd in the 2. divisjon – Group B). Molde won on goal difference and were promoted to the 1. divisjon.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Molde (O, P)	2	1	1	3	2	+1	2	Promotion to First Division
2	Brann (R)	2	1	1	2	2	0	2	Relegation to Second Division
3	Pors	2	1	1	3	4	−1	2	Remained in Second Division

Source: rsssf.no
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

Molde 3–1 Pors
Pors 2–1 Brann
Brann 1–0 Molde

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Pål Jacobsen	Vålerengen	16
2	Svein Mathisen	Start	12
3	Bernt Mæland	Bryne	9
	Odd Iversen	Rosenborg
	Vidar Hansen	Fredrikstad
	Per Egil Ahlsen	Fredrikstad
	Geir Henæs	Moss
8	Morten Haugen	Vålerengen	7
	Ingvar Dalhaug	Brann
	Peter Osborne	Haugar
	Tor Arne Granerud	Ham-Kam
	Kjell Ødegaard	Lyn

Attendances

Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	Rosenborg	143,752	21,377	8,000	13,068	+36.9%
2	Vålerengen	112,739	16,589	4,958	10,249	+56.7%
3	Viking	85,013	12,855	5,482	7,728	−9.2%
4	Brann	84,528	11,734	4,990	7,684	n/a
5	Moss	55,397	8,961	3,423	5,036	−2.3%
6	Fredrikstad	52,460	7,093	3,041	4,769	−5.6%
7	Bryne	46,860	9,601	1,943	4,260	−18.1%
8	Lillestrøm	45,736	10,230	1,904	4,158	−3.4%
9	Start	45,621	7,571	1,182	4,147	−25.8%
10	HamKam	39,533	6,300	2,111	3,594	n/a
11	Haugar	33,670	5,112	1,570	3,061	n/a
12	Lyn	30,882	9,699	1,085	2,807	+62.4%
	League total	776,191	21,377	1,085	5,880	+15.6%

Source: nifs.no
Notes:
2: Team played last season in 2. divisjon.

References

Eliteserien

Seasons

League of Norway	1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48
Main League	1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62
First Division	1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Tippeligaen	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Eliteserien	2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Clubs

2025	Bodø/Glimt Brann Bryne Fredrikstad HamKam Haugesund KFUM Oslo Kristiansund Molde Rosenborg Sandefjord Sarpsborg 08 Strømsgodset Tromsø Vålerenga Viking
Former	Aalesund Djerv 1919 Eik-Tønsberg Frigg Fyllingen (defunct) Gjøvik-Lyn Haugar Hødd Hønefoss Jerv Kongsvinger Lillestrøm Lisleby Lyn Mjølner Mjøndalen Moss Odd Os Pors Ranheim Raufoss Sandefjord BK Sandnes Ulf Sarpsborg Skeid Sogndal Start Stabæk Steinkjer Strindheim Strømmen Vard Haugesund

Competition

Statistics and awards

Associated competitions

Other

Category

1981 in Norwegian football

« 1980 1982 »

League competitions

Cup competitions

Men	Norwegian Football Cup Final
Women	Norwegian Women's Cup

European competitions

Club seasons
First Division	Brann Bryne Fredrikstad Hamarkameratene Haugar Lillestrøm Lyn Moss Rosenborg Start Vålerengen Viking
Second Division	Molde

v t e 1980–81 in European football (UEFA)
« 1979–80 1981–82 »
Domestic leagues	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark '80 '81 England Faroe Islands '80 '81 Finland '80 '81 France East Germany West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '80 '81 Israel Italy Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '80 '81 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Scotland Soviet Union '80 '81 Spain Sweden '80 '81 Switzerland Turkey Yugoslavia
Domestic cups	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark England Faroe Islands '80 '81 Finland '80 '81 France East Germany West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '80 '81 Israel Italy Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '80 '81 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania San Marino Scotland Soviet Union '81 Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Wales Yugoslavia
League cups	England Republic of Ireland Scotland
Super cups	Soviet Union '81
UEFA competitions	European Cup (Final) Cup Winners' Cup (Final) UEFA Cup (Final) Super Cup
Non-UEFA competitions	Intertoto Cup Balkans Cup

v t e 1981–82 in European football (UEFA)
« 1980–81 1982–83 »
Domestic leagues	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark '81 '82 England Faroe Islands '81 '82 Finland '81 '82 France East Germany West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '81 '82 Israel Italy Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '81 '82 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Scotland Soviet Union '81 '82 Spain Sweden '81 '82 Switzerland Turkey Yugoslavia
Domestic cups	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark England Faroe Islands '81 '82 Finland '81 '82 France East Germany West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '81 '82 Israel Italy Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '81 '82 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania San Marino Scotland Soviet Union '81 '82 Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Wales Yugoslavia
League cups	England Republic of Ireland Scotland
Super cups	Soviet Union '81
UEFA competitions	European Cup (Final) Cup Winners' Cup (Final) UEFA Cup (Final)
Non-UEFA competitions	Intertoto Cup Balkans Cup '80–'81 '81–'83

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