ABSTRACT
Football, the largest organised sport in Norway (men since the 1930s/women since 1995), has over 370,000 participants, with majority of children and youth, and 29% of which are women/girls. Here, we aim to discuss the development of Norwegian football based on two main narratives: modernisation (international influences, the late development of professional football, the establishment of, and changes in, the league systems and the influence of commercial interests and the media) and inclusion and exclusion (football and social class, the growth of children's and youth football and the slow but gradual recognition of women's football). Both narratives are contextualised in terms of the broader social, political and cultural trends in Norway. The analysis divided into four main sections. The first section roughly covers the period from the 1880s to 1920s; the second, the spread and consolidation of football, 1920s to 1970s; while the third section concentrates on the last 50 years. A final part discusses possibilities for the future of Norwegian football. In the analysis, both narratives are included for all historical periods. Particular attention is, however, paid to various aspects of the professionalisation of football since the 1970s and to the introduction of women's football from the late 1970s.
