Danish Superliga



Country	Denmark
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	1991
First season	1991
Number of teams	14
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Danish 1st Division
Domestic cup(s)	Danish Cup
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League
Current champions	Copenhagen (11 titles) (2015–16)
Most championships	Copenhagen (11 titles)
TV partners	Viasat (TV3+, TV3 Sport 1, TV3 Sport 2) C-More (Canal 9, Eurosport 2) Others (see section)
Website	Superliga.dk dbu.dk
2016–17 Danish Superliga

The Danish Superliga (Danish: Superligaen, pronounced [ˈsuːˀb̥ɐliːɡ̊æːˀn̩]) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 14 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated.

History

Founded in 1991, the Danish Superliga replaced the Danish 1st Division as the highest league of football in Denmark. From the start in 1991, 10 teams were participating. The opening Superliga season was played during the spring of 1991, with the ten teams playing each other twice for the championship title. From the summer of 1991, the tournament structure would stretch over two years. The 10 teams would play each other twice in the first half of the tournament. In the following spring, the bottom two teams would be cut off, the points of the teams would be cut in half, and the remaining eight teams would once more play each other twice, for a total of 32 games in a season.

Old logo of Faxe Kondi Ligaen

Old logo of SAS Ligaen

This practice was abandoned before the 1995–96 season, when the number of teams competing were increased to 12, playing each other thrice for 33 games per Superliga season. For the first season of this new structure, Coca-Cola became the name sponsor of the league, which was then named Coca-Cola Ligaen. After a single season under that name, Faxe Brewery became sponsors and the league changed its name to Faxe Kondi Ligaen. Before the 2001–02 season, Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) became the head sponsor, and the name of the tournament changed to SAS Ligaen. From January 2015 the Danish Superliga is known as Alka Superliga, as the Danish insurance company Alka became name sponsor.^[1]

Structure

From 1996 through 2016, the league included 12 clubs which played each other three times. The two teams with the fewest points at the end of the season were relegated to the Danish 1st Division and replaced by the top two teams of that division. During this era, each team played every other team at least once at home and once away plus once more either at home or away. The top six teams of the previous season played 17 matches at home and 16 away while the teams in 7th to 10th place plus the two newly promoted teams played 16 matches at home and 17 away.

Following the 2015–16 season, the league was expanded to 14 teams, accomplished by relegating only the last-place finisher in that season and promoting the top three teams from the 1st division. The 2016–17 season is the first for a new league structure. It begins with the teams playing a full home-and-away schedule, resulting in 26 matches for each team. At that time, the league splits into a six-team championship playoff and an eight-team qualifying playoff. All teams' table points and goals carry over fully into the playoffs.

In the championship playoff, each team plays the others home and away again. The top team at the end of the playoff is Superliga champion and enters the UEFA Champions League in the second qualifying round. The second-place team enters the UEFA Europa League in the first qualifying round. The third-place team advances to a one-off playoff match for another Europa League place (if the winner of the Danish Cup finishes in the top three, the match will instead involve the fourth-place team).

The qualifying playoff is split into two groups, with the teams that finished the regular season in 7th, 10th, 11th, and 14th in one group and those finishing 8th, 9th, 12th, and 13th in the other. Each group plays home-and-away within its group.

The top two teams from each group then enter a knockout tournament, with each match over two legs. If the Danish Cup winner is among the top two finishers in either playoff group, it is withdrawn from the knockout playoff and its opponent automatically advances to the tournament final. The winner of that tournament faces the third-place (or fourth-place) team from the championship playoff in a one-off match, with the winner entering the Europa League in the first qualifying round.

The bottom two teams from each group then contest a relegation playoff with several steps, centered on a separate four-team knockout playoff, also consisting totally of two-legged matches:

The winners of the semifinals advance to the final.
The losers of the semifinals then play over two legs, with the winner remaining in the Superliga and the loser dropping to the 1st Division.
The winner of the final plays the 1st Division runner-up, and the loser of the final plays the third-place team from the 1st Division, also over two legs. In each case, the winner plays in the next season's Superliga.

Seasons

Current teams (2016–17)

Locations of teams in the 2016–17 Danish Superliga

Club	Finishing position last season	First season in top division	First season of current spell in top division
AaB	05 !5th	1928–29	1987
AC Horsens	14 !3rd in 1st Division	2005–06	2016–17
AGF	10 !10th	1918-19	2015-16
Brøndby IF	04 !4th	1982	1982
Esbjerg fB	11 !11th	1929–30	2010–11
F.C. Copenhagen	01 !1st	1992–93	1992–93
FC Midtjylland	03 !3rd	2000–01	2000–01
FC Nordsjælland	09 !9th	2002–03	2002–03
Lyngby BK	12 !1st in 1st Division	1980	2016–17
OB	07 !7th	1927–28	1999–00
Randers FC	06 !6th	1988	2009–10
Silkeborg IF	13 !2nd in 1st Division	1987	2016–17
SønderjyskE	02 !2nd	2000–01	2008–09
Viborg FF	08 !8th	1981	2015-16

Winners

Season	Champions	Performance
Season	Champions	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1991	Brøndby IF	26	18	10	6	2	26	15	+11
1991–92	Lyngby BK	32^[2]	14	9	2	3	22	7	+15
1992–93	F.C. Copenhagen	32^[2]	14	8	3	3	31	23	+8
1993–94	Silkeborg IF	31^[2]	14	8	2	4	23	15	+8
1994–95	AaB	31^[2]	14	7	4	3	30	13	+17
1995–96	Brøndby IF	67	33	20	7	6	71	32	+39
1996–97	Brøndby IF	68	33	20	8	5	64	39	+25
1997–98	Brøndby IF	76	33	24	4	5	81	33	+48
1998–99	AaB	64	33	17	13	3	65	37	+28
1999-00	Herfølge BK	56	33	16	8	9	52	49	+3
2000–01	F.C. Copenhagen	63	33	17	12	4	55	27	+28
2001–02	Brøndby IF	69	33	20	9	4	74	28	+46
2002–03	F.C. Copenhagen	61	33	17	10	6	51	32	+19
2003–04	F.C. Copenhagen	68	33	20	8	5	56	27	+29
2004–05	Brøndby IF	69	33	20	9	4	61	23	+38
2005–06	F.C. Copenhagen	73	33	22	7	4	62	27	+35
2006–07	F.C. Copenhagen	76	33	23	7	3	60	23	+37
2007–08	AaB	71	33	22	5	6	60	38	+22
2008–09	F.C. Copenhagen	74	33	23	5	5	67	26	+41
2009–10	F.C. Copenhagen	68	33	21	5	7	61	22	+39
2010–11	F.C. Copenhagen	81	33	25	6	2	77	29	+48
2011–12	FC Nordsjælland	68	33	21	5	7	49	22	+27
2012–13	F.C. Copenhagen	65	33	18	11	4	62	32	+30
2013–14	AaB	62	33	18	8	7	60	38	+22
2014–15	FC Midtjylland	71	33	22	5	6	64	34	+30
2015–16	F.C. Copenhagen	71	33	21	8	4	62	28	+34

Relegations

Season	Relegated team(s)
1991	Ikast FS
1991–92	Vejle Boldklub
1992–93	Boldklubben Frem, Boldklubben 1909
1993–94	Viborg FF, B93
1994–95	Fremad Amager
1995–96	Ikast FS, Næstved BK
1996–97	Viborg FF, Hvidovre IF
1997–98	Ikast FS, Odense Boldklub
1998–99	Aarhus Fremad, B93
1999–00	Vejle Boldklub, Esbjerg fB
2000–01	Herfølge Boldklub, SønderjyskE
2001–02	Vejle Boldklub, Lyngby Boldklub
2002–03	Silkeborg IF, Køge BK
2003–04	Boldklubben Frem, AB
2004–05	Herfølge Boldklub, Randers FC
2005–06	SønderjyskE, Aarhus Gymnastikforening
2006–07	Vejle Boldklub, Silkeborg IF
2007–08	Viborg FF, Lyngby Boldklub
2008–09	AC Horsens, Vejle Boldklub
2009–10	AGF, HB Køge
2010–11	Randers FC, Esbjerg fB
2011–12	Lyngby Boldklub, HB Køge
2012–13	AC Horsens, Silkeborg IF
2013–14	AGF, Viborg FF
2014–15	FC Vestsjælland, Silkeborg IF
2015–16	Hobro IK

Notable players

Top goalscorers

Season	Tally	Top scorer(s)
1991	11	Bent Christensen (Brøndby IF)
1991–92	17	Peter Møller (AaB)
1992–93	22	Peter Møller (AaB)
1993–94	18	Søren Frederiksen (Viborg FF)
1994–95	24	Erik Bo Andersen (AaB)
1995–96	20	Thomas Thorninger (AGF)
1996–97	26	Miklos Molnar (Lyngby FC)
1997–98	28	Ebbe Sand (Brøndby IF)
1998–99	23	Heine Fernandez (Viborg FF)
1999–00	16	Peter Lassen (Silkeborg IF)
2000–01	21	Peter Graulund (Brøndby IF)
2001–02	22	Peter Madsen (Brøndby IF) and Kaspar Dalgas (OB)
2002–03	18	Søren Frederiksen (Viborg FF) and Jan Kristiansen (Esbjerg fB)
2003–04	19	Steffen Højer and Mwape Miti (both OB), Mohamed Zidan (FC Midtjylland) and Tommy Bechmann (Esbjerg fB)
2004–05	20	Steffen Højer (OB)
2005–06	16	Steffen Højer (Viborg FF)
2006–07	19	Rade Prica (AaB)
2007–08	17	Jeppe Curth (AaB)
2008–09	16	Morten Nordstrand (F.C. Copenhagen) and Marc Nygaard (Randers FC)
2009–10	18	Peter Utaka (OB)
2010–11	25	Dame N'Doye (F.C. Copenhagen)
2011–12	18	Dame N'Doye (F.C. Copenhagen)
2012–13	18	Andreas Cornelius (F.C. Copenhagen)
2013–14	18	Thomas Dalgaard (Viborg FF)
2014–15	17	Martin Pusic (Esbjerg FB/ FC Midtjylland)
2015–16	18	Lukas Spalvis (AaB)

Most capped players

**Twenty players with most Superliga appearances**
Rank	Player	Appearances	Club(s)
1	Rasmus Würtz	400	AaB, FC København, Vejle BK
2	Hans Henrik Andreasen	397	OB, Esbjerg fB, Hobro IK
3	Per Nielsen	394	Brøndby IF
4	Jimmy Nielsen	375	AaB, Vejle BK
5	Michael Hansen	371	Silkeborg IF, OB, Esbjerg fB, FC Midtjylland
5	Mogens Krogh	371	Ikast FS, Brøndby IF
7	Nicolai Stokholm	370	AB, OB, FC Nordsjælland
8	Arek Onyszko	362	Viborg FF, OB, FC Midtjylland
9	Michael Nonbo	355	Næstved IF, AGF, Viborg FF, SønderjyskE
10	Anders Møller Christensen	3351	OB, Esbjerg fB
11	Thomas Augustinussen	342	AaB
12	Jens Jessen	341	AaB, FC Midtjylland
12	Jakob Glerup	341	Viborg FF
14	Steffen Højer	339	Viborg FF, AaB, OB
15	Jan Kristiansen	338	Esbjerg fB, Brøndby IF, FC Vestsjælland
16	Kim Daugaard	336	Brøndby IF
17	Søren Frederiksen	335	Viborg FF, Silkeborg IF, AaB
18	Jerry Lucena	334	Esbjerg fB, AGF
19	Søren Berg	332	OB, Randers FC, AGF, FC Vestsjælland
20	Heine Fernandez	326	Silkeborg IF, Viborg FF, FCK, AB
As of 06/11/2016^[3]

Most capped foreign players

Main article: List of foreign Danish Superliga players

**Thirty foreign players with most Superliga appearances**
Rank	Player	Nationality	Appearances	Club(s)
1	Arek Onyszko	Poland	362	Viborg FF, OB, FC Midtjylland
2	Jerry Lucena	Philippines	354	Esbjerg fB, AGF Aarhus
3	Karim Zaza	Morocco	322	FC København, OB, Brøndby IF, AaB
4	Todi Jónsson	Faroe Islands	243	Lyngby BK, FC København
5	Andrew Tembo	Zambia	218	Odense BK
6	Kolja Afriyie	Germany	203	Esbjerg fB, FC Midtjylland
7	Mwape Miti	Zambia	178	OB
8	Rawez Lawan	Sweden	168	AC Horsens, FC Nordsjælland
9	Dan Eggen	Norway	167	BK Frem, Brøndby IF
10	Andreas Johansson	Sweden	162	AaB Aalborg, OB Odense
11	Abdul Sule	Nigeria	160	AB, AC Horsens
12	Espen Ruud	Norway	158	Odense BK
12	Sibusiso Zuma	South Africa	158	FC København, FC Nordsjælland
14	Fernando Derveld	Netherlands	156	Odense BK, Esbjerg fB
15	Aurelijus Skarbalius	Lithuania	150	Brøndby IF, Herfølge BK
16	César Santin	Brazil	149	FC København
17	Christian Holst	Faroe Islands	147	Silkeborg IF, Lyngby BK
18	Martin Ericsson	Sweden	146	AaB, Brøndby IF
19	Razak Pimpong	Ghana	145	FC Midtjylland, FC København
20	Gilberto Macena	Brazil	141	AC Horsens
21	Atiba Hutchinson	Canada	139	FC København
22	Oscar Wendt	Sweden	138	FC København
23	Jakup Mikkelsen	Faroe Islands	136	Herfølge BK
24	Mattias Jonson	Sweden	131	Brøndby IF
25	Rúrik Gíslason	Iceland	127	Viborg FF, Odense BK, FC København
25	Andreas Klarström	Sweden	127	Esbjerg fB
27	Njogu Demba-Nyrén	Gambia	126	Esbjerg fB, OB Odense
28	Atle Roar Håland	Norway	124	OB Odense, AGF Aarhus
29	Tidiane Sane	Senegal	121	Randers FC
30	Tobias Grahn	Sweden	117	Lyngby BK, AGF, OB, Randers FC
30	Andres Oper	Estonia	117	AaB Aalborg
31	Johan Wiland	Sweden	111	FC København
As at the end of season 2014–15^[4]

Attendances

Season	Average	Total	Max	Min
1991	3,937	354,348	13,935	712
1991–92	4,428	646,510	16,500	1,014
1992–93	5,023	733,299	22,862	484
1993–94	4,739	691,855	26,679	475
1994–95	5,930	865,755	36,623	487
1995–96	5,689	1,126,414	39,640	704
1996–97	5,318	1,052,922	28,491	585
1997–98	5,519	1,092,688	33,124	939
1998–99	4,974	984,874	37,940	180
1999–2000	5,838	1,155,917	28,818	1,493
2000–01	5,837	1,155,662	40,281	1,003
2001–02	5,727	1,133,920	40,186	314
2002–03	7,307	1,446,752	40,254	800
2003–04	7,980	1,580,011	41,005	1,011
2004–05	8,589	1,700,532	40,654	843
2005–06	7,957	1,575,399	41,201	1,307
2006–07	8,108	1,605,367	40,463	1,799
2007–08	8,499	1,682,791	32,153	1,035
2008–09	8,815	1,745,308	32,856	1,609
2009–10	8,315	1,646,405	30,191	707
2010–11	7,049	1,395,616	28,387	1,017
2011–12	7,103	1,406,462	25,651	1,059
2012–13	6,760	1,338,465	33,215	0^[5]
2013–14	7,929	1,570,027	32,846	1,656

According to soccerlens.com the Danish Superliga was number 11 in Europe in 2009, ahead of strong leagues such as Greece, Austria and Ukraine: http://soccerlens.com/the-top-15-leagues-in-europe/39185/

Broadcasting rights

As of 2008, Modern Times Group owns the rights to broadcast all of the matches from the league, and uses them to broadcast matches on channels TV3+ and TV 2 Sport (through sub licensing). However, the current deal was found by the Danish Competition Authority (Konkurrencestyrelsen) not to comply with the Danish competition legislation. Therefore, a new deal was made on 21 December 2008, dividing the Superliga TV-rights between three parties.^[6] The deal amounted to DKK 1,062,300,000^[7] (USD 210 million, EUR 140 million),^[8] effective from the 2009–10 season.

Danish football rights from 2009–10 – overview
Rights package	Buyer	Channels¹	Details
TV, I	Modern Times Group	TV3+, TV3+ HD	Grants exclusive rights to broadcast the game played Sunday 18.00 (1st choice)
TV, II	Bonnier Group²	Canal 9, Canal 8 Sport	Grants exclusive rights to broadcast the games played Sunday 14.00 and 16.00 on live television (2nd and 5th choice)
TV, III	Modern Times Group	TV3 Sport 1, TV3 Sport 2	Grants exclusive rights to broadcast the games played Saturday 17.00, Sunday 16.00 and Monday 19.00 on live television (3rd, 4th³ and 6th choice)
TV, Cup	SBS Broadcasting Group	Kanal 5, Kanal 5 HD, 6'eren	Grants exclusive rights to broadcast the games in the Danish Cup on live television
TV, 1st Division	TV 2 Sport	TV 2 Sport, TV 2 Sport HD	Grants exclusive rights to broadcast the games in the Danish 1st Division on live television
Radio	DR	DR P3	Grants exclusive rights to broadcast all the games on live radio
Highlights	DR, TV 2	DR1, TV 2	Grants rights to show highlights in sports news broadcasts
^1 Channels that are likely to broadcast the matches. ^2 Original buyers were DR and Telenor in a consortium, but they sold the rights to Bonnier Group. ^3 The fourth choice was originally at Modern Times Group, but they have chosen to give it to TV 2 Sport.

Foreign rights

Outside of Scandinavia, IMG holds the rights to the Superliga until the 2011–2012 season,^[9] and they have reportedly sold the rights to networks in Greece, Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates, as well as several betting sites.^[10] It airs on Terra TV in Brazil.

Notes

↑ http://www.dr.dk/Sporten/Fodbold/Superliga/2014/10/28/1028115131.htm
1 2 3 4 Tally includes points carried over from the first half of the season.
↑ "FLEST KAMPE, ALLTIME". superstats.dk. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
↑ "UDLÆNDINGE MED FLEST SPILLEDE KAMPE, ALL TIME". superstats.dk. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
↑ "DIF slår fast: Brøndby uden tilskuere i to kampe". Tipsbladet. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
↑ Ritzau (21 December 2007). "Fakta om fodboldaftalen (lit. Facts about the football agreement)". TV 2 Sporten. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
↑ Ritzau (21 December 2007). "Dansk fodbold solgt for 1 mia. (lit. Danish football sold for 1 billion)". TV 2 Denmark. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
↑ Calculated using Google Calculator's currency converting feature
↑ "IMG to represent Danish Superliga for three seasons" (Press release). IMG. 17 June 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
↑ Olsen, Theis L. (19 February 2010). "Superliga-bold på skærmen i Dubai og Grækenland". business.dk. Berlingske Tidende. Retrieved 20 February 2010.

External links

Official website (Danish)

2016–17 Danish Superliga teams

AaB AGF Brøndby Copenhagen Esbjerg Horsens Lyngby Midtjylland Nordsjælland OB Randers Silkeborg SønderjyskE Viborg

Danish Superliga seasons

← 1991 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

Danish football champions Clubs All players Foreign players

Football in Denmark

Danish Football Association (DBU)

National teams	Denmark League XI M U-21 M U-19 M U-17 Women F U-19

League system	Superliga 1st Division 2nd Divisions East West Denmark Series women: Elitedivisionen

Domestic cups	Danish Cup Danish Supercup Danish League Cup Danish Women's Cup

List of clubs List of venues by capacity List of competitions List of Players of the Year Football records in Denmark

Danish Superliga venues · 2016–17

AutoC Park Randers Blue Water Arena Brøndby Stadium CASA Arena Horsens Ceres Park Energi Viborg Arena Haderslev Football Stadium Lyngby Stadion Mascot Park MCH Arena Nordjyske Arena Parken Stadium Right to Dream Park EWII Park

Top-level football leagues in Europe (UEFA)

Active	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia Faroe Islands Finland France Georgia Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland Israel Italy Kazakhstan Kosovo Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales

Non-recognized	Crimea Isle of Man Northern Cyprus Vatican City

Defunct	Czechoslovakia East Germany Serbia and Montenegro Soviet Union Yugoslavia

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