The Norwegian football cup is usually just referred to as "the cup" or "NM" in Norway (its official name, though, is the NM SAS Braathens Cup, because it is sponsored by airline company SAS Braathens). NM is an acronym for norgesmesterskap, which means "Norwegian championship". The first cup was played in 1902, but the competition was not nationwide until 1963. 1963 was the first year clubs from Northern Norway were 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 Association, 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 at Ullevaal Stadium (national stadium) in November, 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 hold of, 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.
Since 1978, an official cup for women's clubs has also been played. The women's cup final is usually played on a Saturday, the day before the men's cup final. The 1978 cup final between BUL and Trondheims-Ørn was the first and only Norwegian cup final to be decided on penalties.
