Danish Women's League

The Danish Women's League (Danish: Danmarksturneringens Kvindeliga, Kvinde-DM Liga or Kvindeligaen) is a professional top-flight league for women's football in Denmark. It is organised by the Danish Football Association (DBU) as part of the nation-wide Danmarksturneringen i kvindefodbold (Kvinde-DM) and is placed as the first division of the Danish football league system.[3] Clubs in the league must meet certain criteria concerning appropriate facilities and finances.[4] All of the league's clubs qualify for the proper rounds of the DBU KvindePokalen. The top teams of each season qualify for the UEFA Women's Champions League.

Not to be confused with Danish Women's Handball League or KvindeLigaen (ice hockey).
Danmarksturneringens Kvindeliga
Organising bodyDanish FA (DBU)
Founded1974 (1974)
First season1975
CountryDenmark
ConfederationUEFA
Divisions2 (1975–1980)
1 (1981–present)
Number of teams20 (1975–1980)
12 (1981–1992)
8 (1993–present)
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toKvinde 1. division
Domestic cup(s)DBU KvindePokalen
(1992–present)
International cup(s)UEFA Women's Champions League
Current championsHB Køge (3rd title)
(2022–23)
Most championshipsBrøndby IF (12 titles)
TV partnersEurosport 2, Sport Live and Dplay (2020–2021)[1]
Viaplay/TV3 Sport
(2021–2024)[2]
Websitekvindeliga.dk

The division has changed its name on several occasions. It began as Danmarksturneringen i damefodbold (1975 until 1980), then Dame 1. division (1981 until 1992), Elitedivisionen (1993 until 2015–16) and the current name, Kvindeligaen, beginning with the 2016–17 season.[5][6] Due to sponsorship arrangements, it was known as 3F Ligaen for fourteen seasons (2005–06 until 2018–19) and since the 2019–20 season as Gjensidige Kvindeligaen.[7][8]

Format

From 1994 to 2005/06 the league consisted of 8 teams playing each other 3 times and the best team then was awarded the championship. The last team was relegated with the second last team playing a playoff, against the second team of the Kvinde 1. division. 2006/07 was a transition year, because the league was extended to 10 teams. The last team after the season played a relegation match against the third placed team of the 1. division, for a place in Elitedivisionen. The top two teams of the 1. division were automatically promoted.

From 2007/08 to 2012/13 the league consisted of 10 teams. Those 10 teams played a double round robin as a regular season. After that there are 2 Playoff Groups. Place 1 to 4 of the regular season play the Championship Playoff. Place 5 to 10 play the Relegation Playoff. In the Playoffs, the points accumulated over the regular season are divided by 2 (rounding up if necessary). Those points are the starting points for the playoffs. The Championship group plays another round robin (6 matches each) with the winner being awarded the championship title. The Relegation Group plays a single round robin (5 matches each) after which, the bottom two clubs are relegated.

The 2013/14 season again was played only with eight teams. The top six after the regular season play a championship group, the seventh plays a relegation play-off and the eight placed team gets relegated.

Clubs

National champions
Main article: List of Danish women's football champions
RankClubChampionsRunners-upWinning seasons
1 Brøndby IF 12 9 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2018–19
2 Fortuna Hjørring 11 22 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2019–20
3 IK Skovbakken[lower-alpha 1] 10 6 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996–97, 1997–98
4 B 1909 5 5 1981, 1983, 1985, 1992, 1993
5 Ribe BK[lower-alpha 2] 5 1 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1979
6 BK Femina 3 4 1975, 1977, 1980
7 HB Køge 3 0 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
8 Odense BK Q[lower-alpha 3] 2 0 1999–2000, 2000–01
— BK Stjernen Svendborg 0 2
— Kolding IF[lower-alpha 4] 0 1
— BK Rødovre 0 1

The list also includes the national champions of 1973 and 1974 that were crowned before the establishment of a nationwide first division.[9][10]

2023–24 season
See also: List of Danmarksturneringen i kvindefodbold clubs

Footnotes
  1. In January 2002 – halfway through the 2001–02 season – Hjortshøj-Egaa IF's two elite women's squads, playing in the national and regional top-flight leagues, merged with IK Skovbakken's women's youth department for economic reasons, transferring the league licenses from Hjortshøj-Egaa IF to IK Skovbakken Kvindefodbold. In July 2017, the women's football department of IK Skovbakken Fodbold merged with the women's football departments of Vejlby IK, becoming part of VSK Aarhus. The founding clubs' association football departments ceased to exist.
  2. Ribe BK&GF changed their name to Ribe BK in October 1993 due to Nørremarkens BK being merged into the club.
  3. The women's football department at Odense BK was detached from the club at the end of the 2015–16 season. In March 2016, the women's elite department, OB Kvinde Elite, was refounded as a separate association football club named Odense Q, assuming the league license of Odense BK beginning from the 2016–17 season. Odense Sport & Event bought Odense Q in June 2023. From the 2023/24 season, the team was integrated in the OS&E setup under the name Odense Boldklub Q.
  4. In mid-1996, Kolding BK's women's department was closed following a merger with Kolding IF. In 2000, Kolding BK once again fielded a senior 11-a-side, under the banner of Kolding IF. In the summer of 2006, Kolding BK took over the administration of Kolding IF's senior women's team, which continued to play under the Kolding BK banner. The then youth superstructure, known as KoldingQ, embraced Kolding BK's first senior women's team in August 2009, while the senior reserve teams continued playing under the Kolding BK banner. In July 2019, KoldingQ became a separate entity encompassing teams for seniors, under-18 and under-16. In September 2021, it was revealed that KoldingQ would merge and become part of Kolding IF, which occurred at the end of October 2021 – the first match under the Kolding IF Women banner was played on 1 November 2021.

References
  1. Muminovic, Arnela (29 May 2020). "Kvindernes bedste fodboldrække lander ny tv-aftale: Kampe vises på Eurosport" (in Danish). DR.dk. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  2. "Stor 3-årig TV-aftale for Gjensidige Kvindeliga" (in Danish). Kvindedivisionsforeningen. 3 March 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  3. "Propositioner for Danmarksturneringen i kvindefodbold (Kvinde-DM) (2020–21)". www.dbu.dk (in Danish). Dansk Boldspil-Union (DBU). June 2021. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  4. "DBUs Klublicenssystem : Licensmanual for Kvindeligaen 2021/2022" (PDF). www.dbu.dk (in Danish). Danish Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  5. Pedersen, Christine Møller (6 February 2016). "Kvindeligaen: DBU ændrer slutspillet i den bedste række" (in Danish). DR.dk. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022. Udover ændringen af slutspillet skifter den bedste danske liga, Elitedivisionen, nu navn til Kvindeligaen.
  6. "Ny turneringsstruktur for pige- og kvindefodbold" (in Danish). Dansk Boldspil-Union (DBU). 4 February 2016. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022. Fakta: Ændringerne i strukturen for kvinde- og pigehold,- hvis ikke andet nævnt, gældende fra sæson 16/17. 3F-ligaen: Formel ændring af navnet "Elitedivision" til "Kvindeliga"
  7. Import (30 June 2005). "Elitedivisionen bliver til 3F Ligaen" (in Danish). Tipsbladet.dk. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  8. Sønnichsen, Thomas; Ipsen, Christian (30 July 2019). "Den danske kvindeliga indgår historisk aftale med ny sponsor" (in Danish). TV2 Sport. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  9. Bernd Timmermann (4 January 2006). "Denmark (Women) 1999". RSSSF. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  10. "Gjensidige Kvindeligaen". www.dbu.dk (in Danish). Dansk Boldspil-Union (DBU). 2021. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
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