History

Lyn is one of the oldest football clubs in Norway and has won two league championships and eight cup championships. Lyn was the initiator of the establishment of the Norwegian Football Association in 1902 and a driving force behind Ullevål Stadium, which has been Norway's national stadium since 1927 and Lyn's home ground from 1926 to 2009. Today the mens team are playing their matches at Bislett Stadium and the women's team on Kringsjå Kunstgress.

Ski- og Fotballklubben Lyn managed to include girls on the football field just before the turn of the millennium, and Lyn Fotball fielded its first youth team five years later. A neighboring club with a rich tradition of girls' and women's football became a natural partner when the focus on women's football started in the following years. With combined efforts, Koll and Lyn were able to field teams in the Girls 13, 14, 15, and 19 leagues from 2008.

The Beginning
Starting from the 2009 season, the teams played as pure Lyn teams, with a separate senior team registered in the women's 4th division. In a year when Lyn's 16-year-old team won the Norway Cup and made history as the first national champions in that age group, the promotion battle against Linderud-Greis' reserve team proved to be tough. Lyn ended up nine points behind the Grorud team, but they defeated another reserve team that would become their main competitor in the following season. Stabæk 2 and Lyn only dropped points against each other throughout the 2010 season. Fortunately, it was the red and white team that secured the best goal difference (216-20[!]) and finally qualified for promotion to the 3rd division. Victories over Ås and Eidsvoll ensured promotion, and the 2011 season became Lyn's only one in the 3rd division, with a new league championship four points ahead of Bækkelaget.

When Lyn started the 2012 season in the 2nd division, the goal was to secure a third promotion in as many years. The battle for promotion spots was expected to be fierce, with competition from teams like Raufoss and neighboring Øvrevoll/Hosle. Lyn secured one of the promotion places early in the fall, and in the last round of the season, they defeated Røa's reserve team 7-2, clinching another league championship before the promotion playoff. A straightforward series against Tynset and the Narvik-based team Hardhaus resulted in two narrow victories, and Lyn was ready for 1st division play and top-level football in the shortest possible time.

1st Division
The 2013 season marked the first of a total of five seasons in the 1st division for the women's team. They finished fifth in their debut season, followed by a sixth-place finish and another fifth-place finish in the subsequent seasons. During these years, Lyn was 15 to 33 points behind the first-place team, which secures direct promotion. The gap to the challenging promotion spot ranged from nine to twelve points. In 2016, Lyn took the first step towards promotion by engaging in a season-long promotion battle with Grand Bodø, but despite finishing second, they had to face qualification matches against Medkila, who finished 11th in the Toppserien. After a 0-2 loss at home, a early Lyn goal in Harstad rekindled hope, but a 3-4 and 3-6 total defeat sent Lyn back to the 1st division, with full mobilization ahead of the 2017 season.

Lyn to Toppserien
Finally, the point collection was consistent throughout the 2017 season. Lyn secured the top spot in the table during the summer and never relinquished it. On October 29, 2017, Lyn achieved a historic promotion with a 1-0 victory over Åsane in Bergen, defying all expectations and securing a place in Toppserien for 2018!

The debut season in Toppserien was challenging as expected, but the team secured a qualification place ahead of Grand Bodø. In the qualification matches, Lyn won 5-0 on aggregate against Grei, earning them another year in Toppserien.

In 2019, a decision was made to reduce the number of teams in Toppserien from 12 to 10. Therefore, two teams were set to be relegated that year, with the 10th place team having to go through qualification. Lyn exceeded their point total from the previous year and finished in 10th place with 20 points. Lyn dominated the qualification as well, winning 7-1 on aggregate against Fløya.

With two fewer teams in 2020, the Lyn team performed impressively, securing a strong 6th place, and once again, they increased their point total from the previous year.

The 2021 season turned out to be very nerve-wracking, and Lyn had to go through another qualification round after Avaldsnes narrowly edged them in goal difference for the safe spot. Over two matches against Åsane, Lyn won 3-1 on aggregate against the Bergen team.

The future is bright
In the 2022 season, things went much smoother for Lyn. This season introduced a new league structure with playoff rounds, where teams faced each other twice before the table was divided into championship playoffs and relegation playoffs.

In the regular season, Lyn broke their own points record with 26 points after 18 matches, securing a new 6th place finish. However, when the points were reset for the playoffs, they didn't hold much significance. Lyn earned enough points in the playoffs to win the relegation playoffs and therefore secured a 5th place finish in Toppserien in 2022, their highest position so far. In the same year, the team also reached the quarterfinals of the Norwegian Cup, their farthest ever run in the competition.