Comment: Funniest season in a long time!

The end of the season was very cold, but there is plenty of warmth in this year’s edition of Eliteserien.

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Naturally, there were plenty of crisis headlines when the football year ended with big club Vålerenga bidding farewell to the big company. The story of Inga’s collapse will forever be the talk of the town in the 2023 season.

Also, Rosenborg’s VAR problems and season – with ninth place and 13 losses – will be remembered by many with a negative sign.

But if one were to conclude the Elite Series year with a very brief recap, there is a fundamental reason to talk about much of what has happened in the arenas in recent months. It has simply been one of the most enjoyable seasons in a long time, with many positive developments to point to.

One of the most important things is that the attendance figures are satisfactory as they are. In an age of intense competition for time and attention, it’s not normal for people to choose to pay to go to war. That’s why it’s pleasing that the number of spectators has increased by 27 percent from 2022 to this year.

It is linked to the fact that Brann has come back strongly, but according to the figures from the Norwegian magazine Top Football, there is also growth if we look at the top two divisions as a team. In total, approximately 2.2 million tickets were sold in the Eliteserien League and the OBOS League. Unfortunately, we never get to put the full picture in place, because it’s not mentioned how many people actually attend, but in any case, it’s great to see progress in difficult times. Not all behavior in the stands is perfect, but the support on the pitch means a lot to clubs.

Here, rights holder TV 2 must also be commended for the way they carried out the task after Norwegian football returned to the portfolio.

On the sporting side, Bodo/Glimt’s restoration of dominance was nothing short of a bombshell. Ketil Knutsen’s men were back to being the beacon of Norwegian football, although of course they would have liked to cap the season with a cup championship in the cold.

Brann’s journey from nachspielskandale to the silver party is also worth dwelling on, and naturally Erik Hornlund is coach of the year after restoring Vestlandet pride.

Once we get to the national divisions, there will be unexpectedly a lot to smile about in the far north of the country – interestingly two out of every three medals ended up in northern Norway. In Rogaland, it seemed for a long time that something big might happen. But it was a slightly bitter fourth place, after the ability to carry the distance was not there.

At the bottom of the table, HamKam should have the confidence to save themselves well, while Haugesund escaped that fear. Meanwhile, there is reason to praise Hans-Erik Odegaard for managing Sandefjord away from the bottom three, despite initially low expectations.

As we soon begin the countdown to 2024, the absence of Valerenga will have a negative impact on spectator numbers and interest. At the same time, we are bringing Fredrikstad back to the big stage after years in the Valley of Shadows, and here we will anyway be adding a fair amount of punch to the stands next year.

Overall, this is just a thank you for a season that ended up being a lot of fun. Hence we can hope that VAR will provide a stable and higher level next season, after a year of valuable learning.