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The Norwegian Premier League, until 1991 known as the First Division, has employed a system of play-off qualification to determine promotion and relegation with the First Division (until 1991 the Second Division). Various varieties have been in place since the system was introduced at the end of the 1972 season, but only one team has been promoted per year. The play-offs have always supplemented a system of direct promotion and relegation of two teams. The play-offs have been wavered twice, in the 1994 and 2011 seasons, when the top league was expanded to fourteen and sixteen teams, respectively.
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HamKam and Bryne have both participated seven times, more than any other team. Start is the only team to have participated more than once and never not won. The least successful teams are Pors and Sandefjord, who have participated four and three times, respectively, and never won the tournament. Twenty-eight teams from the top league have participated, and have succeeded at retaining their place fourteen times.
Format
Play-offs were introduced in the 1972, when the First Division was expanded from ten to twelve teams. The Second Division consisted of two conferences, and the winners of each conference were promoted directly. The runners-up met the winner of a conference from Northern Norway, with the three teams playing a single round-robin to determine the third and final promotion spot. Three teams were relegated from the First Division. This system remained for seven years, before the separate conferences for Northern Norway were abolished. From 1979 the play-offs were played as a two-tier match between the two conference runners-up, a system which was used for two seasons.
From 1981 the system returned to a three-team single round robin, although this time the two Second Division runners-up met the team finishing tenth in the First Division. The format remained for thirteen years, with six top level teams succeeding in retaining their place. No play-off was played in 1994, as the Premier League was increased to fourteen teams and both the winners and runners-up of both First Division conferences were promoted, while only two Premier League teams were relegated.
From 1995 the play-off solely involved a two-tier match between the runners-up of the First Division conferences, with three teams from the Premier League meeting relegation. This system remained for two years, before 1997, when the First Division was merged to a single conference. For twelve years the play-off was played as a two-tier game between the team finishing twelfth in the Premier League and the team finishing third in the First Division. In this period the top level teams defended their positions nine times, including every year from 2001 through 2006.
From 2009 the play-off has been played as a knock-out tournament. The first two years saw the teams ranked three through five in the First Division meet the team ranked twelfth in the Premier League in a two-round knock-out, with a single match in the first round and double match in the second round. In 2011 the Premier League was extended to sixteen teams: three teams were promoted and only one relegated, and no play-off was carried out. From 2012 the play-offs returned as a three-round cup. The teams ranked three to six in the First Division played each other in a two-round, single-match knock-out tournament, with the winner facing the fourteenth-placed Premier League team in a two-round decisive match.
By season
The following is a list of seasons, listing the winning team, the relegated team should the top level contestant fail to win, and teams failing to be promoted.
By club
The following is a list of clubs which have participated, stating the municipality they are from and the number of seasons they have participated in the play-off. It further states the number of times and years the teams have won the play-off, been relegated and not been promoted.