Norwegian Football Cup

The Norwegian Football Cup (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 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. 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. The current Norwegian champions and holders of the cup are Molde, who defeated Bodø/Glimt 1–0 in the 2022 final. Odd and Rosenborg are the most successful clubs with 12 titles each. The first cup was played in 1902, and Oscar II presented the King's Cup to the inaugural tournament. This was an invitation tournament organised by Kristiania IF and the Norwegian Football Association, which was later given official status. Five teams joined the competition, and Odd reached the final without playing a match. Grane won the first Norwegian Cup after they defeated Odd 2–0 at Gamle Frogner Stadion, Kristiania. The first tournament who had official status at the time of the events was the 1904 Norwegian Cup and was won by Odd. In the beginning, the cup was open for county champions only. This continued until 1917, when the cup was opened for all clubs of a certain standing.