A-Liga

Not to be confused with Danish Superliga or A-League Women.

For Lithuanian football league, see A Lyga.

A-Liga is a semi-professional association football league in Denmark and the highest division of the Danish football league system. Contested by 8 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the Danish Women's Football League. The league is overseen by the Danish Football Association (DBU).^[2] Clubs in the league must meet certain criteria concerning appropriate facilities and finances.^[3] All 8 clubs in the league qualify for the Danish Women's Cup (DBU KvindePokalen). Each season's winners and runners-up qualify for the UEFA Women's Champions League qualification, while the bronze medallists qualify for the UEFA Women's Europa Cup qualification.^[4][5]

A-Liga

Organising body	DBU
Founded	1974; 51 years ago (1974)
First season	1975
Country	Denmark
Confederation	UEFA
Divisions	2 (1975–1980) 1 (1981–present)
Number of clubs	20 (1975–1980) 12 (1981–1992) 8 (1993–present)
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	B-Liga
Domestic cup(s)	Danish Women's Cup (1992–present)
International cup(s)	Champions League Europa Cup
Current champions	Fortuna Hjørring (12th title) (2024–25)
Most championships	Brøndby IF Fortuna Hjørring (12 titles)
Broadcaster(s)	TV 2[1] (2025–)
Website	www.a-liga.dk
Current: 2025–26 A-Liga

According to FIFA's 2023 Women's Benchmarking Report, the 2021-22 league season drew an average of 388 fans per game, 57% of players had signed compensated player contracts (with an average annual salary of $10-15k USD), and 29% of players enjoyed football as their primary income.^[6] A rise in interest and participation in women's football has driven increased investment into the league in recent years, although the best players in Denmark still often depart for fully professional clubs abroad.^[7]

In March 2025, TV 2 announced that they had secured the broadcasting rights to the league, running until 2031.^[1]

Format

The main round of the league is played in autumn as a double round-robin tournament between the 8 participating teams, where each team plays against each other both at home and away. The six best placed teams qualify for the spring championship play-offs, another double round-robin tournament among the six participating teams. The scores from the main league round carry over into the championship play-offs.

The two bottom ranked teams instead play in qualification play-offs, a double round-robin tournament with the top four teams of 2025–26 B-Liga for two spots in 2026–27 A-Liga. The scores from the main league round are not carried over into the qualification play-offs.^[8]

Scope

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-to-last team facing the second team of the 1st Division in play-offs. 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 league, the seventh and the eight placed teams play in a qualification league determining whether they keep their spots or get relegated.

In August 2025, it was announced that the 2026–2027 season would be expanded to include 10 teams.^[9][10]

History

The league's status as semi-professional presented challenges for its return-to-play from the 2019–2020 COVID-19 pandemic, as initially only fully professional sports were allowed to resume in Denmark following the pandemic.^[11]

Name

The division has gone through multiple iterations over the course of its history. It began as The Danish Ladies Tournament (Danmarksturneringen i damefodbold, 1975 to 1980), then Danish Ladies 1st Division (Dame 1. division, 1981 to 1992), The Danish Elite Division (Elitedivisionen, 1993 to 2015–16) and The Danish Women's League (Kvindeligaen, 2016–17 to 2024–25).^[12][13] For sponsorship reasons, it was known as 3F Ligaen for fourteen seasons (2005–06 until 2018–19) and from 2019–2025 as Gjensidige Kvindeligaen.^[14][15]

In 2025, the pyramid was renamed, with the top flight now called A-Liga, and the corresponding lower levels B-Liga and C-Liga, respectively.

Clubs

Champions

Main article: List of Danish women's football champions

The list also includes the national champions of 1973 and 1974 that were crowned before the official establishment of a nationwide top-flight division in 1975.^[16][17] Italics indicate former champions that are currently outside the A-Liga.

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning seasons
Fortuna Hjørring	12	22	1994, 1995, 1996, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2024–25
Brøndby IF	12	10	2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2018–19
AGF[a]	10	6	1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996–97, 1997–98
B 1909	5	5	1981, 1983, 1985, 1992, 1993
Ribe BK	5	1	1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1979
BK Femina	3	4	1975, 1977, 1980
HB Køge	3	0	2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
OB Q	2	0	1999–2000, 2000–01
FC Nordsjælland	1	1	2023–24

1. The collective wins of the respective previous incarnations of the club, Hjortshøj-Egå IK and IK Skovbakken

2025–26 season

See also: List of Danmarksturneringen i kvindefodbold clubs

Club	2024–25	First	Total	Recent	#	Titles	Latest title
Brøndby IF	4th	1996	30	2000–2001	26	12	2018–2019
Fortuna Hjørring	1st	1975	52	—	—	12	2024–2025
HB Køge	3rd	2019–2020	7	—	—	3	2022–2023
Kolding IF	8th	1975	30	2008–2009	18	0	—
FC Midtjylland	1st (B-Liga)	2025–2026	1	—	—	0	—
FC Nordsjælland	2nd	2019–2020	7	2019–2020	—	1	2023–2024
Odense Boldklub Q	5th	1990	29	2024–2025	2	2	2000–2001
Aarhus GF[a]	6th	1976	TBA	TBA	TBA	10	1997–1998

1. AGF encompasses the history of former A-Liga clubs Hjortshøj-Egå (HEI), IK Skovbakken, and VSK Aarhus.

Top flight seasons

As of the 2025–26 season

74 teams have played in the top flight since its inaugural season in 1975. However, several teams have merged over the years to form the current clubs, the combined results of which will be displayed where noted. The teams in bold compete in the A-Liga currently, while the teams in italics are now defunct.

Incomplete

#	Club	Total	Latest
1	Fortuna Hjørring	52	2026
2	AGF Fodbold[a]	51	2026
3	BSF[b]	36	2020
4	Brøndby IF	30	2026
5	Kolding IF[c]		2026
6	OB Q[d]	29	2026
7	Vejle BK	28	2018
8	Rødovre BK	26	1999
9	B 1909	20	1994
10	Hillerød Fodbold	15	2002
11	BK Femina	14	2000
12	Ringsted IF	13
13	BK Stjernen	11
14	B52/Aalborg FC	10	2001
15	Sydmors IF		1993
16	Sundby BK	9	2023
17	Varde IF		2018
18	Vorup BK		2000
19	Team Viborg	8	2015
20	FC Nordsjælland[e]	7	2026
21	Næstved HG[f]
22	AaB		2024
23	Frederiksberg BK[g]	6	2004
24	HB Køge		2026
25	Herning IK
26	Ribe BK		1980
27	FC Thy-Thisted Q		2024
28	G&IF Orient	5	1979
29	Herrested IF		1981
30	Uhre G&IF		1984
31	Virum-Sorgenfri BK		1984
32	B.93[h]	4	2025
33	Horsens SIK		2005
34	FC Midtjylland	1	2026

• Sources: Danish Football Association (in Danish), Denmark A-Liga - Statistics | Tipsbladet.dk (in Danish)

Notes

1. Represented by VSK Aarhus from 2016-2020 (a merger between IK Skovbakken and Vejlby IK); IK Skovbakken from 2002–2016; and from the '70s to 2001 by Hjortshøj-Egå Aarhus (HEI).
2. 26 seasons in the top-flight as Skovlunde IF.
3. Includes seasons as Kolding BK and Kolding Q.
4. This is the combined total of OB, Odense Q, and the current OB Q constellation, the two latter derived from the original OB team.
5. From 1994–2020, the club competed as Farum BK.
6. A merger of Herlufsholm GF (HG) and Næstved IF, the club previously competed in the top flight as Næstved IF.
7. Frederiksberg Boldklub competed from 2001–2004 as FV Copenhagen, a merger with Vanløse IF.^[18]
8. B.93 competed in the top flight from 2012–2014 as part of a merger with Hellerup IK and BK Skjold.

Hall of Fame members

The Danish Football Association Hall of Fame was created in 2006 to celebrate the achievements and contributions of outstanding Danish players and staff.^[19] Four players who have played in the Danish top tier A-Liga, as well as one former A-Liga coach, have been inducted into the Danish Football Hall of Fame thus far.^{[20][21][22][23][24]}

Recipient	Year	Club(s)
Lone Smidt Nielsen	2016	B1909 (1978–85; 1987–1990), Kolding IF (1976–1978)
Katrine Pedersen	2022	Hjortshøj-Egå (HEI)/IK Skovbakken (1994–2002)
Helle Jensen	2024	B52/Aalborg FC, B1909 (1989–1994), Fortuna Hjørring (1994–2000)
Merete Pedersen		Vejle BK, OB
Poul Højmose	2025	Hjortshøj-Egå (HEI)

See also

• B-Liga
• C-Liga
• Danish Women's Cup

Notes