Norwegian football cup
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The Norwegian football cup is usually just referred to as "the cup" or "NM" in Norway (its official name, though, is the If-Cup, because it is sponsored by the insurance company If). NM is an acronym for norgesmesterskap, which means "Norwegian championship". The first cup was played in 1902, but the competition was not national wide until 1963. In 1963 was the first year clubs from Northern Norway was allowed to participate in the cup, this was due to a poor communication system in the nortern parts of Norway and to the belief that the clubs in the three northern counties could not compete at the same level as the southern clubs (Bodø/Glimt - one of the two northern newcomers - did stay in the cup to the fourth round that year).
The first rounds of the cup are played in April, around the same time as the Norwegian Premier League starts. The first few rounds are set up by the Norwegian football federation, and the top premier league teams are usually pitted against fairly weak amateur teams, often in rural areas, on the amateur team's home pitch. Early upsets, where an amateur team knocks a professional team out of the tournament do happen occasionally. Even if the amateur team loses, squaring off against a professional team may well be the highlight of their season.
Later matchups are drawn at random, the teams face off once, and the winner goes on to the next round. The final match is played in October, on the national stadium of Ullevaal, and marks the end of the Norwegian football season.
The cup is very popular in Norway, and tickets for the final match are hard to get, as the game usually sells out quickly. The supporters of the two teams 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.
Before the 2004 cup final, NRK awarded the 1986 final between Tromsø I.L. and Lillestrøm S.K. with the title Tidenes Cupfinale (Best cup final ever), and ex-Rosenborg B.K. striker Gøran Sørloth with Tidenes Cuphelt (Best cup hero ever).