The 2008 Norwegian First Division season (known as Adeccoligaen for sponsorship reasons) began on 5 April 2008 and ended on 1 November 2008.
In 2009, the number of teams in the Norwegian Premier League will expand from fourteen to sixteen. Therefore, 2008 was a transitional season, in which more teams were promoted to the top flight, and less teams relegated to the Second Division, than usual. Automatic promotion was awarded to the teams finishing in the top three places in the standings. Only the two teams at the bottom of the standings were relegated to the Second Division, as opposed to the regular four.
The three clubs relegated from the Premier League in 2007 were Odd Grenland, Start and Sandefjord. At the conclusion of the season, all three had managed to secure promotion, with Odd Grenland being confirmed as champions of the First Division after defeating Start 3–2 in the penultimate round.
Sandnes Ulf and Hødd were relegated to the Second Division after finishing in fifteenth and sixteenth place respectively. It was Sandnes Ulf's first season at the second level since 1972. Nybergsund, who had never previously played at the second level, retained their spot, finishing in eighth place.
As in previous years, there was a two-legged promotion playoff at the end of the season, this time between the fourth-placed team in the First Division (Sogndal) and the thirteenth-placed team in the Premier League (Aalesund). Aalesund kept their spot in the Premier League, beating Sogndal 4-1 away, 3-1 at home, and 7-2 on aggregate.
Read more about 2008 Norwegian First Division: Final League Table, Results, Top Goal Scorers, Relegated Teams, Promoted Teams
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