from 1972 to 2016, 53,049 teams have participated in the tournament. in recent years around 1600-2200 teams participated each year and the tournament is therefore referred to often as "the world's biggest football tournament." the participants in the tournament come from around 50-60 different nations. in 1972 the first edition of the norway cup played with women's teams, while the nff did not recognize women's football officially until 1976. amazon grimstad grimstad won the first norway cup for women. the team won 2-1 against il vestar after a penalty shootout.