| Competition: | Tippeligaen |
| Season: | 2008 |
| Winners: | Stabæk 1st title |
| Relegated: | HamKam |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Stabæk |
| Continentalcup2: | Europa League |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Vålerenga Fredrikstad Tromsø Rosenborg |
| Matches: | 182 |
| Total Goals: | 505 |
| League Topscorer: | Daniel Nannskog (16 goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | Stabæk 6–0 Strømsgodset (14 September 2009) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Aalesund 0–4 Lyn (4 May 2008) |
| Highest Scoring: | Tromsø 4–4 Molde (18 October 2008) Stabæk 6–2 Vålerenga (26 October 2008) |
| Longest Wins: | 6 games[1] Stabæk |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 10 games Stabæk |
| Longest Winless: | 9 games HamKam Vålerenga |
| Longest Losses: | 5 games Strømsgodset |
| Highest Attendance: | 24,302[2] Vålerenga 1–1 Rosenborg (20 April 2008) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 2,165 Lyn 2–1 Strømsgodset (20 July 2008) |
| Average Attendance: | 9,812 6.7% |
| Prevseason: | 2007 |
| Nextseason: | 2009 |
| Dates: | 29 March – 2 November |
The 2008 Tippeligaen was the 64th completed season of top division football in Norway. The season began on 29 March and ended 2 November.[3] Brann were the defending champions, having won their third Tippeligaen championship in 2007. The teams promoted from the 1. divisjon at the end of the previous season were champions Molde, automatic qualifiers HamKam, and play-off winners Bodø/Glimt.
Stabæk secured their first ever league championship by defeating Vålerenga 6–2 in the penultimate round. From the 2009 season onwards, the number of teams in the Tippeligaen was expanded from fourteen to sixteen.[4] To accommodate this expansion, only one team faced automatic relegation to the 1. divisjon, as opposed to the regular two, while the three best teams in the 1. divisjon were awarded automatic promotion. As in previous years, there was a two-legged playoff at the end of the season, this time between the thirteenth-placed team in the Tippeligaen and the fourth best team in the 1. divisjon.
Fourteen teams competed in the league – the top eleven teams from the previous season, and three teams promoted from 1. divisjon.
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Turf | Capacity | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aalesund | 7 | Ålesund | Color Line Stadion | Artificial | 10,778 | |
| Bodø/Glimt | 18 | Bodø | Aspmyra Stadion | Artificial | 8,800 | |
| Brann | 52 | Bergen | Brann Stadion | Natural | 17,967 | |
| Fredrikstad | 39 | Fredrikstad | Fredrikstad Stadion | Natural | 12,800 | |
| HamKam | 22 | Hamar | Briskeby | Natural | 7,500 | |
| Lillestrøm | 45 | Lillestrøm | Åråsen Stadion | Natural | 12,200 | |
| Lyn | 35 | Oslo | Ullevaal Stadion | Natural | 25,572 | |
| Molde | 32 | Molde | Aker Stadion | Artificial | 11,167 | |
| Rosenborg | 45 | Trondheim | Lerkendal Stadion | Natural | 21,166 | |
| Stabæk | 13 | Bærum | Nadderud Stadion | Natural | 6,950 | |
| Strømsgodset | 21 | Drammen | Marienlyst Stadion | Artificial | 8,500 | |
| Tromsø | 22 | Tromsø | Alfheim Stadion | Artificial | 8,300 | |
| Vålerenga | 48 | Oslo | Ullevaal Stadion | Natural | 25,572 | |
| Viking | 59 | Stavanger | Viking Stadion | Natural | 16,600 |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lillestrøm |  Tom Nordlie | Resigned | 29 May 2008[5] | Frode Grodås Erland Johnsen Erlend Slokvik Jan Åge Fjørtoft (caretakers) | 29 May 2008[6] | 13th | |
| Aalesund |  Sören Åkeby | Sacked | 31 August 2008[7] | Kjetil Rekdal | 4 September 2008[8] | 13th | |
| Lyn | Henning Berg | Mutual consent[9] | 9 September 2008[10] | Kent Bergersen | 9 September 2008[11] | 5th | |
| Lillestrøm | Frode Grodås Erland Johnsen Erlend Slokvik Jan Åge Fjørtoft | Released | 1 January 2009[12] | Henning Berg | 1 January 2009[13] | off-season |
By finishing 13th, Aalesund competed in a two-legged relegation play-off against Sogndal, who finished 4th in the 2008 1. divisjon, for the right to play in the 2009 Tippeligaen. Sogndal played at home first, decided in a draw held by the NFF.[14] Aalesund won 7–2 on aggregate, thereby securing a new season in the Tippeligaen. Sogndal remained in the 1. divisjon.
----
Sources: fotball.no, TV 2 Sporten
Vidar Riseth (Lillestrøm) Abgar Barsom (Fredrikstad)
Kristján Örn Sigurðsson (Brann)| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Turf | Total | Games | Average | % of Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyn | 25,572 | 86,359 | 13 | 6,643 | 25.97 | |||
| Vålerenga | 25,572 | 165,106 | 13 | 12,700 | 49.66 | |||
| Rosenborg | 21,850 | 246,443 | 13 | 18,957 | 86.76 | |||
| Brann | 17,967 | 220,407 | 13 | 16,954 | 94.36 | |||
| Viking | 16,600 | 199,927 | 13 | 15,379 | 92.64 | |||
| Fredrikstad | 12,800 | 149,798 | 13 | 11,523 | 90.02 | |||
| Lillestrøm | 11,637 | 114,242 | 13 | 8,788 | 75.51 | |||
| Molde | 11,167 | 106,645 | 13 | 8,203 | 73.45 | |||
| Aalesund | 10,778 | 134,725 | 13 | 10,363 | 96.14 | |||
| Strømsgodset | 8,500 | 76,890 | 13 | 5,915 | 69.58 | |||
| Tromsø | 8,159 | 71,261 | 13 | 5,482 | 67.18 | |||
| Bodø/Glimt | 7,659 | 71,533 | 13 | 5,503 | 71.85 | |||
| HamKam | 7,500[18] | 66,647 | 13 | 5,127 | 68.36 | |||
| Stabæk | 6,550 | 75,203[19] | 13 | 5,785 | 88.32 |
