1.
Ullevaal Stadion
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Ullevaal Stadion is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the ground of Vålerenga IF and the Norway national football team. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the ground of FK Lyn. With a capacity of approximately 28,000, it is the largest football stadium in Norway, the national stadium is fully owned by the Football Association of Norway. The stadium opened on 26 September 1926 as the ground for Lyn. The first international match was played in 1927, and NFF started gradually purchasing part of the stadium company, the peak attendance dates from 1935, when 35,495 people saw Norway play Sweden. Since 1948, Ullevaal has hosted the finals of the Norwegian Football Cup, a new renovation started with the completion of the single-tier West Stand in 1985, and continued with the two-tier North and East Stands in 1990 and the South Stand in 1998. Ullevaal hosted the finals of the UEFA Womens Euro in 1987 and 1997, in conjunction with the stadium is the head office of many sports federations, a bandy field, and commercial property including a conference center, hotel and shopping mall. The stadium is located adjacent to Ullevål Stadion Station of the Oslo Metro, plans call to replace the West Stand to increase capacity to 30,000 and perhaps add a retractable roof and artificial turf. The first suggestions for a stadium at Ullevaal were launched by members of Lyn in 1917, Lyn had also considered building their stadium at Holmenkollåsen, Hoff, Tåsen, Frogner, Berg and Marienlyst. The club made an agreement with the tram operator Akersbanerne to purchase land they had acquired as part of the construction of the Sognsvann Line and it was decided that a limited company was to be established, with a share capital of NOK100,000. Aker Municipality agreed to purchase 30% and partially pay via access roads, all sports clubs in Aker were given the right to purchase up to 10% of the shares, while the rest was to be bought by Lyn. Any costs exceeding the capital was to be paid for through loans and donations, at the same time, Lyn acquired land to build a training field which they would own themselves and was estimated to cost NOK20,000. Both plans were passed by the annual meeting on 23 May 1924. A/S Ullevaal Stadion was founded on 27 January 1925, the company was owned 73. 5% by Lyn, 24% Aker Municipality and 5. 1% by the clubs Ullevaal, Tåsen, Nydalen and Heming. The stadium was built with a track, allowing the stadium to also be used for track and field. The grand opening was held on 26 September 1926 by Crown Prince Olav and it was followed by a friendly match between a reinforced Lyn and Örgryte IS of Sweden, where Lyn won 5–1. In the opening game, tickets cost NOK3 for seats, NOK2 for standing places, the stadium became both the home ground for Lyn and hosted track and field events
2.
Norwegian Football Cup
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The Norwegian Football Cup is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has contested since 1902. The tournament is known as Cupen or NM, an acronym formed from Norgesmesterskap. These terms are used to both the mens and womens competitions. The equivalent competition for womens teams is the Norwegian Womens Football Cup and this differs from, for example, English football, where the winners of the FA Premier League are the ones who become English champions. The current Norwegian champions and holders of the cup are Rosenborg, the first rounds of the cup are played in April, around the same time as the Norwegian Premier League starts. Early upsets, where a team knocks a professional team out of the tournament do happen occasionally. For example, in 2012 the Tippeliga teams Sandnes Ulf and Sogndal IL were knocked out in the first round by the division teams Staal Jørpeland IL. Even if the team loses, squaring off against a professional team may well be the highlight of their season. Later matchups are drawn at random, the face off once. The final match is played at Ullevaal Stadium in November, 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 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, the first cup was played in 1902, but was open for county champions only. This continued until 1933, when the cup was opened for all clubs of a certain standing, the competition was not nationwide until 1963. Before the 2004 cup final, NRK awarded the 1986 final between Tromsø and Lillestrøm with the title Tidenes Cupfinale, and ex-Rosenborg striker Gøran Sørloth with Tidenes Cuphelt, since 1978, an official cup for womens clubs has also been played. The womens cup final is played on a Saturday, the day before the mens cup final. The 1978 cup final between BUL and Trondheims-Ørn was the only Norwegian cup final to be decided on penalties, before the 2006 final, the Norwegian Football Association decided that the Womens final would be played at Bislett Stadium instead of Ullevaal Stadion, which caused some debate. When the semi-finals of the 2006 cup were drawn, all 4 clubs boycotted the draw in a protest against the move, soccerway RSSSF archive List of Norwegian Football Cup finals
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