The Danish women's football champions (Danish: Danmarksmester i kvindefodbold, plural: Danske mestre i kvindefodbold) are the annual winners of the highest national league that is part of the Danmarksturneringen i kvindefodbold (Kvinde-DM), the nationwide women's association football league tournament in Denmark.[1] Since February 1972, women's football in Denmark has been governed by the Danish Football Association (DBU), sanctioned by UEFA, with the national title being contested in varying forms of competitions.[2][3] The first official national women's football tournament was held in the 1973-season, where the winners of the regional leagues progressed to a knockout tournament, with the play-off winners being crowned champions. A nation league system was established in 1975 with the formation of a west and east division, where the best team at the top of each group qualified for a spot in the grand final. A single nation-wide first division was introduced in 1981 and the championship was now awarded to the team at the top of the league by the end of the season. Since the 2016–17 season, the winners have been found through the rebranded Kvindeligaen.[4]
Brøndby IF Women are the most successful team with twelve titles. Hjortshøj-Egaa IF had the longest winning streak with six league championships in a row (1986–1992) until Brøndby IF matched it by winning all seasons between 2002–03 and 2007–08.[5] Brøndby IF has claimed the Danish version of the double the most times, by winning the league and the cup in the same year a total of eight times, four more occasions than Fortuna Hjørring's four. The defending champions are FC Nordsjælland, who won the 2023–24 title for the first time in the club's history. Lis Westberg Pedersen became the first women's head coach in 1980, winning the 8th edition of the championship with BK Femina in her first season.[6][7]Henriette Jensen of Hjortshøj-Egaa IF became the first woman to win a championship title as both a football player and head coach[a] in 1990.[8][5][9] With four national championships each, Peer Lisdorf (3x Brøndby IF, 1x HB Køge) and Peer Danefeld (2x B 1909, 1x Odense BK, 1x Brøndby IF) have won the most titles as head coach.[10][11][12]
The weekly magazineFemina organized Denmark's first outdoor association football tournament for women's teams in the spring of 1960, which featured thirty teams from across the country, playing under a modified set of laws created and revised by the magazine.[2][13][14] Due to the larger number of expected participants, the original tournament format of an initial group stage followed by a knockout phase was changed to become a knockout football competition with an initial qualifying phase of three rounds and a championship play-off consisting of four teams, which was played on 17 July 1960 at Valby Idrætspark.[2]BK Femina won the final against a team from Køge[b] by a score of 4–1.[2][15] Additional indoor and outdoor football tournaments were held in the followings years, but women's football experienced a decreasing interest in the mid-1960s before a small and slow growth of new teams, primarily affiliated to firms, occurred in the late 1960s, not warranting for a league to be formed — until 1970 the number of clubs with women's football teams did not exceed ten.[13][14] BK Femina were the leading Danish women's team of the era, winning more or less every indoor and outdoor championship organized by the Dansk Kvinde Fodbold Union (DKFU).[14][16] In the spring of 1971, the DKFU organized one last national outdoor football tournament with over 200 teams, where Skovlunde IF faced Billum IF in the championship final, securing a 3–0 victory.[2][17][18][13]
Encouraged by both FIFA and UEFA, a successful vote at the meeting of the Board of Representatives of the Danish Football Association (DBU) on 27 February 1972 meant that women's football would now officially be acknowledged and competitions coordinated under the auspices of the national association.[13][2][9] The first year was considered an adaptation year in which the regional football associations were to set up various committees to plan the tournaments.[9] The qualifying regional tournaments could not meet the deadline of 1 November for having the regional champions ready for the national playoffs, and the national championship was not concluded in 1972.[9]
Anation league system with the Danmarksturneringen i damefodbold at the top was incepted in 1975, consisting of a nationwide first division evenly divided geographically into two groups, clubs situated east and west of the Great Belt, establishing a promotion and relegation system with the regional top-flight leagues.[2][9] The two winners of each group at the end of the regular season qualified for a spot in the two-legged championship final. The winners of the third edition were BK Femina, the then oldest existing pure women's association football club, who entered the final match by finishing at the top of the east group. BK Femina defeated Ribe BK&GF 1–0 away at Ribe Stadium and 4–0 at home at Gladsaxe Idrætspark.[2] For six seasons (1973–1980), BK Femina was a regular at each final, securing the national title on three occasions, while Ribe BK&GF won three other championship finals.[2] For economic reasons, the Danish FA wanted to postpone the implementation of a single nation-wide top-flight league, because the traveling expenses would double. After winning their fifth championship in 1979, the tournament rules declared that Ribe BK&GF could keep the original trophy permanently.[9] In a profession dominated by male coaches, Lis Westberg Pedersen became the female head coach to manage a top-flight league team, guiding BK Femina to a championship title in the 1980-season.[6][7]
In1981, the first single national women's tier-one league, named Dame 1. division, began to play using a double round-robin system with no playoffs, where the top team at the end of the season determined the annual national champions of Danish women's football.[2]B 1909 won the ninth edition as the first team based at Funen, with five points more than BK Femina.[2] Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the women's football championship was dominated by Hjortshøj-Egaa IF and B 1909, who shared the national titles (1981–1993) of which Hjortshøj-Egaa IF managed a run of six consecutive championships between 1986 and 1991. The format changed to a two-staged season in the 1990-season, hence predating the two-stage format introduced to the Danish Superliga in the 1991–92 season.[23][9] Teams played a single round-robin tournament in the first stage after which points were given based on positions and goal scores were reset to zero, with the top six placed and bottom six placed teams playing another single round-robin for a total of 21 games determining the champions and relegated clubs respectively.[23]Henriette Jensen became the first woman to win the championship title as a football player (defender) and as a head coach, having already won five league titles (1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1988) and one title as an assistant coach (1989) with the top-flight club Hjortshøj-Egaa IF, when she in January 1990 shifted to a coaching position together with Ove Sass Hansen,[a] securing the league title in her first and second year.[8][5][9]
In1993 a nationwide second division was formed, with the existing top-flight league being rebranded Elitedivisionen, the number of teams was reduced from twelve to eight and the two-stage format had its first of several revisions. The first double was claimed by Fortuna Hjørring by winning the 1994–95 cup and 1995 league. The 1996-season lasted just six months when the tournament schedule was changed from spring-fall to fall-spring.[23] Initially formed as an amateur tournament, professionalism was legalized and restricted to the Danmarksturneringen in July 1997, with the first semi-professional player contracts in Danish women's football being signed by Fortuna Hjørring and Frederiksberg BK.[24][25][26] The first season (1997–98) as a semi-professional top-flight league was won by Hjortshøj-Egaa IF, whose roster consisted solely of players with amateur status. Fortuna Hjørring secured the 1998–99 title as the first semi-professional club. Two seasons around the turn of the millennium were won by Odense BK in close competition with Hjortshøj-Egaa IF and Fortuna Hjørring, who finished in the top three for ten seasons.[27][28]
The seasons between 2001 and 2020 featured an uninterrupted power duopoly in Danish women's football between Fortuna Hjørring and Brøndby IF, resulting in twelve league titles and runners-up seven times for Brøndby IF and the opposite for Fortuna Hjørring, including six consecutive championships to Brøndby IF from 2002 to 2008.[29]HB Køge broke the nineteen-year dominance in the 2020–21 season by securing the championship in the last round of play in their first season at the highest level, just three and a half years after experiencing continuous promotion from the fifth level.[29] Ahead of the 2016–17 season, the top-flight league formally changed its name to Kvindeligaen.[30][31][32] The present challenge trophy and the ninth design in history for the women's championship made its debut in the 2023–24 season after the previous trophy became the permanent property of HB Køge following the club's three consecutive championships (2020–2023).[1][33][34]
Nine clubs have won the Danish national title.[4][120] Among these, half of the championships have gone to Jutlandic clubs, more than one-third of teams within Zealand, and one-seventh to Funen-based squads – no teams from the regional football associations of DBU Copenhagen, DBU Lolland-Falster, and DBU Bornholm have finished in the top spot. Copenhagen-based BK Rødovre became runners-up in 1991, managed to reach third place on five occasions and qualified for the championship playoffs in the two first editions, Funen-based B 1921 finished in 8th place in the 2002–03 season, while Bornholm-based Svaneke BK ended the 1980 season in 7th place (east group).[121][9][122][23]
Since the 2002–03 season, the Danish FA have officially allowed clubs to wear a symbolic five-pointed gold star, designed by the national association, on their jersey above the club's logo for every fifth championship that the club has won.[123][124][125]Fortuna Hjørring added a star above the previous wordmark logo on their shirts shortly thereafter. When Fortuna Hjørring introduced a new logo design in March/April 2008, a yellow star became an integral part of the new design. When the club won their 10th title in 2018, a second star was added to the logo design. Brøndby IF Women made use of that option for the first time during the 2011–12 season by including a single yellow star on the jersey designs, and a second star was added in 2015. On the right sleeve, the reigning champions get to wear a black-and-white version of the Danish FA logo with the text "Danmarksmester" on top and the year of the championship at the bottom, for the entirety of the next season.
Clubs participating in the 2024–25 Kvindeligaen are designated in bold type. Clubs no longer with an active women's football department, not fielding a senior 11-a-side squad (as of June 2024) or have become defunct are denoted in italics.
^ abcdefThe coaching duo of Hjortshøj-Egaa IF, Henriette Jensen and Ove Sass Hansen, shared the role and responsibilities of head and assistant coach evenly during the two winning seasons (1990 and 1991).[8]
^Weber (2004) mentions Køge BK as a participant in Femina's 1960 outdoor cup tournament, but the club does not recognize this. The women's application for admission to the club was denied, and a women's football department was not established until 1972.[2][15]
^The 1996 season in the top-flight league was only played during the spring, but a national champion was still crowned. It was a transitional season due to the schedule shifting from spring-falltofall-spring.
^ abcJan Knudsen joined Hjortshøj-Egaa IF on 1 January 1996. On 22 October 1996, the present assistant coach Henriette K. Jensen was appointed as caretaker coach, replaced Knudsen. On 6 December 1996, Troels Bech was announced as the top-flight club's new head coach, effective immediately.
^ abErling Thomsen left Odense BK on 31 October 1999. Jan Knudsen was appointed as the new head coach.
^ abIn 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.[87][126][127]
^ abOn 1 January 2002, Steen Refsgaard replaced Jens Overgaard as the new head coach for Fortuna Hjørring.
^Jacob Nørgaard only acted as interim coach during the 2002 cup final, as Steen Refsgaard was unable to attend the match, and did not coach any league games.[73]
^ abPeder Siggaard was signed as head coach during the fall part of the 2003–04 season, until Peer Danefeld was hired as the replacement starting from 1 January 2004.
^ abPeer Danefeld announced his resignation in mid-October 2004 and was officially replaced by Kenneth Heiner-Møller (previously Heiner Christiansen) on 1 January 2005.
^ abHenrik Jensen was appointed as the new head coach beginning 1 January 2005, replacing Kenneth Heiner-Møller (before his marriage, he used the last name at birth, Heiner Christiansen).
^ abPeer Lisdorf announced his resignation on 21 December 2014, effective 31 December, and Per Nielsen was assigned as the new head coach starting from 1 January 2015.
^ abBrian Sørensen announced his resignation on 14 January 2018 and Carrie Kveton was assigned as the new head coach on 15 January 2018.
^In February 2020, the administration of the senior women's squad of Farum BK was handed over to the club's professional branch and the team renamed FC Nordsjælland.[110]
^ abCarrie Kveton resigned effective immediately on 24 November 2019, while Niclas Hougaard Hansen on 17 December 2019 was announced as the new head coach beginning 1 January 2020.
^Ribe BK&GF changed their name to Ribe BK in October 1993 due to Nørremarkens BK being merged into the club.[20]
^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.[128][129]
^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.[130][131][132][133][134][135][136]
^ abcdFredberg, Peter (21 October 1991). "Guld for 6. år i træk". Sektion 2 (in Danish). B.T. p. 1. Trænerne bag HEIs triumf er Ove Sass Hansen og Henriette Jensen
^ abOlsen, Søren; Balling, Mads Ole (September 2002). "En annonce i avisen var starten". Op og ned med Køge Boldklub i 75 år (in Danish). Køge: Køge Boldklub. pp. 75–76.
^"Velkommen: Først lidt historie". www.bsfodbold.dk (in Danish). Ballerup-Skovlunde Fodbold. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021. Kvinderne blev samme år tilmeldt DKFU's (Dansk Kvindefoldboldunion) turnering, og i 1971 vandt førsteholdet det uofficielle DM ved at besejre Billum fra Jylland med 3-0.
^Oxgren, Dorthe (30 July 2018). "50 år med kvindefodbold" (in Danish). Ballerup Bladet. Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021. I 1971 vandt de således danmarksmesterskabet i DKFU (Dansk Kvinde Fodbold Union)
^ abcdefghijklAhlstrøm, Frits (1983). "DameFodbold: Danmarks-Mesterskabet for Kvinder". Guinness Fodboldbog 1983 (in Danish). Forlaget Komma. pp. 90–91.
^ abcJakobsen, Kurt (2017). "Navneændring; De gyldne dameår; Ny epoke i boldklubben; 1990'ernes - ambitions år; Den blå tråd og drejebogen for Ribe BK; RBK anno 2016". Ribe Boldklub 1917-2017 (in Danish). Ribe Boldklub. pp. 5, 7–9, 11.
^ ab"Sports-Aktuelt: Dame-Fodbold". Sport (in Danish). Aktuelt. 12 November 1973. p. 25.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrHansen, Mogens (November 2009). "B 1909's slutplaceringer 1911-2009; Damer (1972-2008/09)". B1909: Historien gennem 100 år - Frem til FC Fyn (in Danish) (1 ed.). Odense: Mogens Hansen. pp. 5, 631–648.
^ ab"Kontraktfodboldudvalget; Stillinger Dame DM; Danmarksserien for damer 1997". DBU Årsberetning 1997 (in Danish). Dansk Boldspil-Union. January 1998. pp. 37, 76–77.
^Monty, Michael (20 December 1996).『DBU vil holde på damerne』(in Danish). Det fri Aktuelt. p. 15.
^Hansen, Mette Marie (29 June 1997). "Selvfølgelig kan vi vinde". Sektion 1 (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. p. 31.
^"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"
^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.
^"Fortunas guldfest". Sporten (in Danish). TV2/Nord Nyhederne. Salto. 15 June 2014. Archived from the original(news broadcast) on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
^Idorn, John (1979). "Danmarksmesterskab for damer". Fodbold Hvem Hvad Hvor 1979/80 (in Danish) (2 ed.). Copenhagen: Politikens Forlag. p. 145. ISBN87-567-3223-6.
^"Og så går dansen i Ribe". Sport (in Danish). Lands-avisen Aktuelt. 5 November 1979. p. 26.
^Idorn, John (1980). "Danmarksmesterskab for damer". Fodbold Hvem Hvad Hvor 1980/81 (in Danish) (3 ed.). Copenhagen: Politikens Forlag. pp. 154–155. ISBN87-567-34344.
^Idorn, John (1981). "DM for damer; Fyns første DM". Fodbold Hvem Hvad Hvor 1981/82 (in Danish) (4 ed.). Copenhagen: Politikens Forlag. pp. 178–179. ISBN87-567-3489-1.
^Idorn, John (1982). "DM for damer; »HEI er guld værd«". Fodbold Hvem Hvad Hvor 1982/83 (in Danish) (5 ed.). Copenhagen: Politikens Forlag. pp. 180–181. ISBN87-567-3644-4.
^Idorn, John (1983). "DM for damer; DM nr. 2 til B 1909". Fodbold Hvem Hvad Hvor 1983/84 (in Danish) (6 ed.). Copenhagen: Politikens Forlag. pp. 182–183. ISBN87-567-3829-3.
^Idorn, John (1983). "DM for damer; Hjortshøj-Egå har igen de bedste". Politikens Fodbold årbog Hvem Hvad Hvor 1985 (in Danish) (7 ed.). Copenhagen: Politikens Forlag. pp. 164–165. ISBN87-567-3968-0.
^Nielsen, Allan; Nielsen, Rickard A. (1984). "Årets fodbold i tal: Kvinder: 1. division". Fodbold 84 - Danske kampe - Fodbold Årbogen 1984 (in Danish) (17 ed.). Carlsen if. pp. 78–79. ISBN87-562-2833-3.
^Ankerdal, Steen (1 July 1999). "FB-direktør ny træner i Fortuna". Tillæg (in Danish). Berlingske Tidende. p. 3.
^Ankerdal, Steen (1 May 1999). "OB vinder af den glemte cup". Sport (in Danish). Berlingske Tidende. p. 20.
^"Extra: Erling Thomsen". Sektion 1 (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. 5 October 1999. p. 34.
^"Fodbold: Nyt job til eks-Fremad-træner". Sektion 6 (JP Århus) (in Danish). Jyllands-Posten. 14 July 2000. p. 4.
^ abOlsen, Søren (7 August 2000). "Kvindefodbold: Til tops for første gang for at blive der". Sektion 3 (SommerMagasinet) (in Danish). Politiken. p. 17.
^"Hørt under EM: Brøndby satser på kvinderne". Sektion 4 (SommerMagasinet) (in Danish). Politiken. 26 June 2001. p. 5.
^Skyum-Nielsen, Rune (29 November 2003). "Kvindelig intuition: Let til tårer og triumfer". Sektion 8 (JP København) (in Danish). Jyllands-Posten. p. 13.
^Christiansen, Hans; Grubach, Carsten B.; Klinge, Erik; Nielsen, Steen Friis (1979). "Dameafdelingens historie". Kolding Boldklub - gennem tres år (in Danish). Kolding Boldklub. pp. 23–24.
^Jorsal, Anette (13 March 2002). "KB har en ny plan for damefodbold" (in Danish). JydskeVestkysten. www.jv.dk.
^"Samarbejde om kvindefodbolden". Kolding, Sektion 3 (in Danish). JydskeVestkysten. 9 January 2005. p. 4.
^Juncher, Michael (13 October 2006). "Kolding Boldklub er Jyllands tredjestørste pigeklub". Kolding-Trekanten Sektion 2 (Tæt på) (in Danish). JydskeVestkysten. p. 6.
^"Nyt samarbejde og navneskift: Kvinder klar til kamp om fodbolden i Kolding". Sektion 1 (in Danish). Lokal-Bladet Budstikken Kolding. 29 July 2009. p. 6.