Nordic Football Championship

Nordic Football Championship
Sport Association football
Founded 1924
Ceased 2001
No. of teams 3-6
Country Nordic countries
Last
champion(s)
 Sweden (9)
 Denmark (3)
 Norway (1)
 Finland (1)

The Nordic Football Championship (Danish: Nordisk Mesterskab, Norwegian: Nordisk Mesterskap, Swedish: Nordiska Mästerskapet, Finnish: Pohjoismaiden-mestaruusturnaus, commonly abbreviated NM or PM) was an international football competition contested by the men's national football teams of the Nordic countries. In the first tournament played 19241928, only Denmark, Norway and Sweden competed, but Finland joined for the second tournament, and at the last tournament played in 20002001, Iceland and the Faroe Islands also competed.

History

The tournament was created on Danish initiative to replace a contract, ended in 1919, between the Danish (DBU), Norwegian (NFF) and Swedish Football Association (SvFF) that stated that the national teams of the three associations should play two annual matches against each other. However the idea was not realised until four years later, when the Danish association celebrated its 35th anniversary, and the first tournament was started. It was arranged by the DBU and was played as a single group where the three teams met each other five times for a total of ten matches each. DBU also provided the trophy of the first edition, a trophy that Denmark won when the tournament ended in 1928.

The second tournament was arranged by SvFF that celebrated its 25th anniversary, and this time the Football Association of Finland (SPF) was invited. It was also decided to play the tournaments over four years, with each team playing 12 matches, four against each other team, two at home and two away. The tournament was won by Norway, but the following nine tournaments, played between 1933 and 1977, were completely dominated by Sweden which won all of them. The fourth tournament was interrupted by the Second World War, and thus was played over eleven years, from 1937 to 1947.

The tournament gained popularity after the war and the matches were important for the Nordic national teams as preparation for larger tournaments such as the World Cup and the Olympics. But the tournament lost significance in the 1970s, partially due to the increased number of matches played against other international opponents, and thus the last three tournaments played in the 1970s and 1980s varied in length and format. The last match of the 19811983 tournament, between Sweden and Norway, was not even played as Denmark had already won. But the match was then played in 1985 after all.

A non-recurrent edition of the tournament was played in 200001, to which the Football Association of Iceland and the Faroe Islands Football Association were invited. Some of the matches were played during a joint training camp in La Manga, Spain, and the rest were played at home, some in indoor arenas. One match, between Norway and the Faroe Islands, was never played.

Results

Year Trophy Winner Runner-up 3rd Place 4th Place
192428
Details
Jubilæumspokal  Denmark  Sweden  Norway Only three participants
192932
Details
Guldkrus  Norway  Sweden  Denmark  Finland
193336
Details
Nordiske Pokal  Sweden  Denmark  Norway  Finland
193747
Details
Suomen Karhut  Sweden  Denmark  Norway  Finland
194851
Details
DBU's Vase  Sweden  Denmark  Norway  Finland
195255
Details
SvFF:s pokal  Sweden  Norway  Denmark  Finland
195659
Details
Eventyr og Lek  Sweden  Norway  Denmark  Finland
196063
Details
SPL's Pokal  Sweden  Denmark  Norway  Finland
196467
Details
Fodboldspillere  Sweden  Denmark  Finland  Norway
196871
Details
SvFF:s pokal  Sweden  Denmark  Norway  Finland
197277
Details
 Sweden  Denmark  Norway  Finland
197880
Details
 Denmark  Sweden  Norway  Finland
198185
Details
 Denmark  Sweden  Norway  Finland
200001
Details
 Finland  Iceland  Denmark  Norway

See also

References

  • Alsiö, Martin (ed.); Frantz, Alf (ed.), Lindahl, Jimmy (ed.) & Persson, Gunnar (ed.) (2004). 100 år: Svenska fotbollförbundets jubileumsbok 1904-2004, del 2: statistiken. Vällingby: Stroemberg Media Group. ISBN 91-86184-59-8.  Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
  • Aarhus, Lars; Elbech, Søren; Pietarinen, Heikki (2001-02-06). "Nordic Championships". RSSSF. Retrieved 2007-02-23. 
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