The Perfect Partnership: How TicketCo and Norsk Toppfotball Revolutionised Norwegian Football

Supporters from Viking FC, Matchday optimisation

Executive Summary

Since 2019, Norsk Toppfotball (NTF), the governing body for Norway's top two men's football leagues, has partnered with TicketCo to create a unified, future-proof ticketing ecosystem. This strategic alliance has transformed the fan experience, empowered clubs with data-driven insights, and driven significant commercial growth.

By replacing a fragmented landscape of multiple providers with a single, agile platform, NTF and TicketCo have built a model for league-wide success. This case study explores how the partnership has delivered a seamless 360-degree customer view, enabled targeted marketing, and fostered a collaborative environment that has elevated Norwegian football to new heights.

The Client: Norsk Toppfotball (NTF) represents the 32 clubs in Eliteserien and OBOS-ligaen, Norway's top professional football leagues.

The Challenge: NTF faced a disjointed ticketing environment with multiple providers, limiting their ability to gather unified fan data, streamline operations, and leverage the collective power of the league. Clubs, especially smaller ones, lacked the buying power and technological tools to compete effectively and maximise revenue.

The Solution: NTF initiated a comprehensive procurement process to find a single, strategic partner. They chose TicketCo for its agile, API-first platform, its commitment to a true partnership model, and its deep understanding of the sports industry. The solution involved migrating all clubs to a unified ticketing system integrated with a central CRM, providing a holistic view of the fan journey.

The Results:

Established a league-wide, unified ticketing platform for all 32 professional clubs.
Achieved seamless integration with NTF's CRM system, creating a 360-degree view of 1.7 million fans.
Enabled data-driven, one-to-one marketing, increasing ticket sales and upsell opportunities.
Successfully extended and expanded the partnership in 2024, reinforcing a long-term strategic commitment.
Passed the milestone of 1 million tickets sold before the halfway point of the 2025 season.

Brann - photo Tom R

The Challenge: Uniting a Fragmented League

For years, Thomas Torjusen, Head of Media, Technology, and Chief Digital Officer at NTF, envisioned a unified future for Norwegian football. With over a decade of experience in sports technology and management, including leading digital transformation projects for the league, he understood the limitations of the existing landscape. Clubs operated in silos with various ticketing providers, making league-wide initiatives difficult and hindering the ability to understand the modern fan.

The bigger clubs believed they had the best deals, but an internal review revealed the opposite. Smaller clubs often had better terms, but lacked the advanced tools to grow. This fragmentation created inefficiencies, missed revenue opportunities, and an inconsistent fan experience.

“It’s been a dream for me throughout my years in ticketing to have one joint ticketing system for all the clubs," says Thomas Torjusen. "By being several clubs together, we felt we had much better buying power.”

NTF needed more than just a supplier; they needed a strategic partner capable of delivering a robust, flexible, and scalable platform for the entire football ecosystem, from the top leagues to women's football and beyond.

→ To explore more practical ways clubs can streamline their matchday operations, take a look at our Matchday Optimisation framework.

The Solution: A Strategic Partnership for a 360-Degree View

In 2019, after a rigorous selection process that included major international players, NTF chose TicketCo. The decision was based on TicketCo's future-proof technology, its collaborative approach, and its strong existing foothold in Norwegian football.

“During the process, we quickly pinpointed TicketCo as being quite agile, future-proof, and having a different approach," Torjusen explains. "Everyone agreed that TicketCo was the best solution. That was the start of the partnership back in 2019.”

The core of the solution was to create a "360-degree view of the customer." This involved integrating TicketCo's API-based platform with NTF's other centralised systems, including their CRM. This seamless connection provides real-time data and insights.

“As soon as a ticket is bought, we have it in our CRM. As soon as the ticket is used, we have it in our CRM," Torjusen notes. "That enables our clubs to do more targeted marketing campaigns and much more upselling.”

This unified ecosystem empowers clubs of all sizes. Technology becomes an enabler, not a barrier. Success is determined by a club's ability to leverage the tools, leveling the playing field and fostering growth across the league.

“That's the beauty of it. It can be the same regardless of the size of the club," says Torjusen. "If you use the available tools, you will be successful.”

→ If you’d like a broader view of how our platform supports clubs on and off the pitch, visit our Why Choose TicketCo page.

The Results: A New Era of Growth and Collaboration

The partnership has delivered tangible results, and the success led to a multi-year extension and expansion of the partnership in 2024. In 2025, the league celebrated selling over one million tickets before the season was even half over, a testament to the platform's efficiency and the clubs' enhanced marketing capabilities.

A key factor in this success has been TicketCo's Customer Success model. In addition to a traditional support desk serving both the clubs and the ticket buyers, clubs have dedicated partners who proactively work with them to achieve their goals.

“The way we work with the clubs is like a partnership, especially around development and where TicketCo is going. They have a very big, direct impact on it because we have those conversations a lot with the clubs directly.”

This proactive, hands-on approach ensures clubs feel heard and supported, transforming the typical client-supplier dynamic into a true partnership.

"I think if you don't have customer success, it's difficult to achieve customer success," states Torjusen. "You have the standardised support system, and then you have customer success who are proactive and know the clubs very well. We only have positive feedback from the clubs."

This sentiment is echoed by Moberg, who sees the direct impact of this collaboration.

"What's nice about the way NTF does it is that it allows a lot of the smaller clubs with fewer resources to have the same opportunities as the bigger clubs," says Moberg. "This allows for a more holistic view."

→ To dive deeper into why unified platforms give clubs stronger insights, take a look at our article on the importance of owning your fan data.

TicketCo’s Mindset: Understanding Clubs Inside and Out

At the heart of the partnership is TicketCo’s distinctive mindset, one rooted in a deep understanding of Norwegian football clubs, their internal structures, and the practical realities facing ticketing managers every day. TicketCo actively listens to its partners, recognising that the daily challenges in club operations require more than just robust technology. They demand empathy, insight, and shared ambition.

“As Thomas Torjusen puts it: “We have contacts with all the ticketing managers, of course, but we also talk directly to the CEOs and the commercial directors. Sometimes we need to do the right storytelling, because they misunderstand and haven't opened the right page yet in the possibilities within the system. We always try to be positive. We are here for the clubs.”

This culture is exemplified by CEO Carl-Erik Michalsen Moberg’s visible leadership. His regular and authentic engagement with the football community through LinkedIn gives both clubs and their staff direct access to the vision behind TicketCo. His insight-driven posts spark dialogue and provide valuable thought leadership to the industry as a whole.

“The way Carl-Erik communicates on LinkedIn is very different from most others in his situation. He understands the market and communicates very well. I think that's good when you are entering new markets because you open up and talk generally about things, like the value of the Head of Ticketing and his or her role in the club,” notes Torjusen. “That's good for the ticketing officers to see, but it's also good for the CEOs to get into that thinking. I think you make a good mixture.”

Further solidifying TicketCo’s approach is their “Don’t Forget Your Tickets” podcast, which opens up industry-wide conversations, gives voice to both club staff and decision-makers, and shares best practices. This reinforces the connection with clubs at every level and keeps TicketCo in tune with real-world needs.

“It’s important that clubs at a certain level should know their ticketing partner, both on a company and a personal level. They should easily be able to pick up the phone and call if there’s something, whether positive or negative, or an opportunity they want to discuss. The line to the C-suite should be open,” affirms Torjusen.

Supporting Every Club as a True Partner

Even though the TicketCo-NTF partnership is established at league level, TicketCo recognises and treats each club as a valued partner in its own right. While the pricing model is standardised across all clubs to ensure fairness, the service and support provided are highly tailored to suit the unique needs, goals, and ambitions of each individual club.

“Kristianna Moberg explains: "We spend time getting to know every club and understanding their specific challenges and aspirations. Our approach is standardised when it comes to pricing, but everything else we do is very much adapted to the needs of each club. It's about creating the best possible outcomes for everyone, no matter their size or situation.”

Conclusion: A Blueprint for the Future

The alliance between NTF and TicketCo serves as a powerful model for other European leagues and clubs. It demonstrates that a unified, league-wide platform not only streamlines operations but also unlocks immense commercial potential and deepens fan engagement. By moving beyond a simple supplier relationship, TicketCo has become an integral part of Norwegian football's success story.

“As Torjusen concludes, “I think we've had a perfect partnership. I love the idea that you are a piece of the puzzle that adapts very well to our solutions. I trust your technology, your roadmap, and I trust you when you say we have an impact, and I see that we do. Altogether, it's been a joyful ride, and I'm looking forward to the coming years.”

For leagues looking to empower their clubs, build a unified data ecosystem, and create a world-class fan experience, the NTF and TicketCo partnership provides a clear and proven blueprint for success. Reflecting on the partnership’s journey, Torjusen adds:

“Looking back, the only thing I regret is that we weren’t able to do this at an earlier stage. I don’t understand why leagues don’t find at least one joint system for all their members. If you look to Norway, it’s working. It can work elsewhere as well.”

→ For another example of how an integrated ticketing platform supports club growth, take a look at our Derry City FC case

Ready to discuss unified ticketing?

If your league or club is exploring centralised ticketing, shared data, or more efficient matchday operations, we’re here to talk through what the Norwegian model has achieved—and what it could mean for you.

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