1.
Norway
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The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land, until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Isle of Man until 1266, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres and a population of 5,258,317. The country shares a long border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. King Harald V of the Dano-German House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway, erna Solberg became Prime Minister in 2013, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. A constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the Parliament, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, as determined by the 1814 Constitution, the kingdom is established as a merger of several petty kingdoms. By the traditional count from the year 872, the kingdom has existed continuously for 1,144 years, Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels, counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have an amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament. Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States, the country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system. Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the countrys gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the worlds largest producer of oil, the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIAs GDP per capita list which includes territories and some regions, from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 to 2017, Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world. It also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking, Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report, the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity and the Democracy Index. Norway has two names, Noreg in Nynorsk and Norge in Bokmål. The name Norway comes from the Old English word Norðrveg mentioned in 880, meaning way or way leading to the north. In contrasting with suðrvegar southern way for Germany, and austrvegr eastern way for the Baltic, the Anglo-Saxon of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. This was the area of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and because of him
2.
FK Haugesund
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Fotballklubben Haugesund is a Norwegian football club from the city of Haugesund. It was founded on October 28,1993, after a merger between the football clubs Djerv 1919 and SK Haugar, FK Haugesund played in Tippeligaen in 1997,1998,2000,2010,2011,2012 and in 2013. In 2007, FK Haugesund reached the Norwegian cup final, where they lost 0–2 to Lillestrøm and they got promoted back to Tippeligaen by winning Adeccoligaen 2009. As of 4 April 2017 Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Conny Karlsson Age Steen Kjell Inge Bråtveit Harald Aabrekk Rune Skarsfjord Jostein Grindhaug Mark Dempsey Andrea Loberto Eirik Horneland Official homepage
3.
Daniel Nannskog
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He is a pundit on Swedish TV channel SVT, as part of their football coverage. Nannskog was known for being a working, determined player who worked for the team by not only scoring goals. On 23 November 2010, he announced his retirement, Daniel started up at Högaborg, a small football club from his home city Helsingborg in Scania, the southernmost of Sweden, as a young boy. However, from the age 15 he quit football to concentrate on handball, after some persuasion, he started to play football again at the age of 19. After his comeback, he played two seasons for Högaborg, before switching to Allsvenskan side Malmö FF and his time at the club was not particular successful, but a goal he scored for them was very important as it sent Malmö to the UEFA Cup. The next seasons were spent in Swedish second tier, the Superettan, when he was 27, he was brought to Landskrona BoIS, by current Stabæk coach Janne Jönsson. His first season there they reached second place and got promoted and he followed Landskrona up to Allsvenskan and did very well, becoming the clubs top scorer with 11 goals, playing an important part in them finishing just above relegation play-off. In the middle of the Swedish 2003 season, he moved on to China, Nannskog played for Swedish Landskrona BoIS from 2001 when the club played in second tier Superettan. He was involved in the promotion of Landskrona BoIS to Swedish top tier league, and his success continued during the following year. After the eight first matches, Landskrona BoIS had won five matches, when forward colleague Milovanović got seriously injured against rivals Malmö FF, this surprising success ended for Nannskogs club, but Nannskog himself continued to score. Nannskog left Landskrona BoIS in summer of 2003 to join the Chinese club Sichuan Guancheng on a two-year deal and he went on to stay for a year-and a half, but terminated his contract in order to play for his old coach Janne Jönsson at Stabæk in the 2005 season. His first season at Stabæk was very successful, with his club being promoted in style, the Body Nannskog was also named top scorer with 27 goals in 29 games. Nannskogs debut in the Norwegian Premier Division was successful and they finished fifth, just outside an UEFA Cup spot. Nannskog was crowned top scorer with his 19 goals, one ahead of team-mate Veigar Páll Gunnarsson. Nannskog and Stabæk continued their progress, and for a time in a row, he managed to score 19 goals, but this time finishing behind Branns Torstein Helstad. However, Stabæk did better in the league, finishing second behind Brann and they were in front half way, but did not have the edge in the second part of the season. Stabæk have played well in the first part of the 2008 season with Nannskog an integral part, like when he scored two goals in the away match against Ham-Kam in round 5. The Norwegian media felt it was time the Swedish national team took a look at him again with an inclusion in the Euro 2008 squad
4.
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
5.
Football (soccer)
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
6.
Fredrikstad FK
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Fredrikstad Fotballklubb is a Norwegian football club from the town of Fredrikstad. With nine league championships and eleven Norwegian Cup wins, FFK is one of the most successful clubs in Norwegian football, the club was founded in 1903. After suffering relegation from the then first division in 1984, Fredrikstad spent 18 years outside the top flight, Fredrikstad stadion was FFKs home ground between 1914 and 2006. However, its facilities where outdated and the moved to a new stadium on the other side of river Glomma. Their new ground is located in a shipyard, incorporating parts of the old buildings in the two sidestands. FFK draw great support from their area and the official supporter clubs name is Plankehaugen, more than 100 coaches filled with fans followed FFK to the cup final of 2006. The clubs supporters also includes an Ultras section, Supras Fredrikstad, Fredrikstad Fotballklubb was founded on 7 April 1903. A lack of opposition meant this was in fact the third attempt at establishing a club in Fredrikstad. Finding someone in the vicinity to play against was still a problem when FFK was founded, upon his return to Sarpsborg it was suggested that he arrange for a new club to be established. The idea was received in Sarpsborg, and Sarpsborg F. C. was founded on 8 May 1903. The first match between the teams was played the year in Sarpsborg in front of 600 spectators. FFK won the historical match 4–0, Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad went on to establish the first regional series, and inspired the founding of many new clubs in the region in the years to come. FFK didnt have the red and white colours when the club was founded in 1903, in fact, they changed suits seven times from 1903 to 1927, when they finally found the one they are using now. FFK reached the Norwegian Cup final for the first time in 1932, the semifinal against Mjøndalen was played at home in front of a record 9,000 spectators, and FFK won the match 3–0. Fredrikstad met Ørn Horten in the final, winning 6–1, and were thus Norwegian Champions and this signalled the start of Fredrikstads first successful era, in which the club claimed four more cup titles before the start of World War II. FFK became the first club to win the new league, in 1937–38. During the German occupation no organised football took place, as a result of all athletes going on strike in support of the resistance, after the war football was more popular than ever, and Fredrikstad set another attendance record against Sarpsborg in the semifinal of the 1945 Norwegian Cup. There was, however, little success on the pitch, FFK reached three cup finals in four years, but lost all of them
7.
2007 Tippeligaen
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The 2007 Tippeligaen season began on 9 April 2007. Originally scheduled to end on 4 November, the last round was moved to Saturday 3 November 2007, Brann were confirmed as league champions after the 24th round of the season, after Stabæk lost away to Viking. The result left Brann with an unassailable seven-point lead over Viking, Brann thus claimed their first league title since 1963, and their third league title in all. Stabæk eventually finished as runners-up, their strongest performance ever, while Viking finished third, sandefjord and Start ended the season at the bottom of the table and were relegated. The play-off spot was occupied by Odd Grenland for the year in a row. They faced Bodø/Glimt over two games for the right to play in the 2008 Tippeligaen, but lost 4-2 on aggregate and were relegated and their spot in the Intertoto Cup goes to Rosenborg. = Champion, = Relegated, = Promoted, = Eliminated, = Play-off winner, to read this table, the home team is listed in the left-hand column
Norway
57', 90'