players, who secured the 1909–10 FBUs Førsteholdsrække league championship. captain Svend Madsen (left) receiving the trophy for winning the
1963 Funen Series, referred to as the "FBU-pokalen", from
Funen FA's representative C. A. Kofoed (right) following the final league match against
Svendborg fB reserves at
Høje Bøge Stadium on 17 November 1963. In the first couple of seasons, the Funen League Championship had to be won three times in a row, or four times in total, in order for a club to obtain the permanent ownership of the championship trophy, which otherwise would only be held by the reigning championship club for a year. The first trophy, made of
silver and valued at 200
kr., was financed by the newly founded regional association (at this time named
Fyens Bold Union), granted to
Odense Boldklub in 1907 after winning the first three editions of the football championship. The second trophy, financed by the
Danish FA, was reportedly also handed over to Odense BK after obtaining their fourth league title in 1916. Between 1913 and 1931, the Funen championship clubs qualified for the
provincial football championship, Provins-Fodboldturneringen, and until 1927 thereby the Danish national football championship,
Landsfodboldturneringen. A-rækken was established by Funen FA in 1914 as a continuation of the
Førsteholdsrækken. The league tournament under the auspices of the Funen Football Association changed its name from
A-rækken to
Mesterskabsrækken in 1926, beginning with the 1926/27-season, which also includes a new tournament schedule with several new laws. In May/June 2008, starting with the upcoming 2008/09-season,
Fyns Boldspil-Union (FBU) signed a marketing agreement with the local company
Albani Brewery (who became
Royal Unibrew in 2000), that involved promoting the highest amateur leagues for both men and women under the auspices of the regional football association – an agreement that have been continuously renewed in subsequent years. The agreement effectively changed the name of men's league to 'Albaniserien for Herrer' and also involved the winners of both the men's and women's leagues receiving cash prizes – the two winners of the 2010/11-season received DKK 10,000. At the same time, cooperations was established with the two regional newspapers,
Fyns Amts Avis and
Fyens Stiftstidende, to publish extended pre-season startup appendixes in addition to the normal newspaper layout, and with the regional
television station TV 2/Fyn to bring weekly match highlights and interviews from a selected match, chosen by DBU Funen, in a given league round besides focusing on a specific theme, such as
fair play, inspiration for
managers,
fan cultures and the
referee's work and function, during the entire TV report and including local football celebrities. The initiative behind this project of promoting the league came to life by the chairman of Sanderum Boldklub, Jan Nanfeldt, and was made in the wake of a large dropout rate in the youth ranks and in the hopes of making it more attractive to play and watch association football in the lower ranking leagues. The weekly coverage project by the television station was discontinued before the beginning of the 2009 spring season. Funen Series sponsor logo: File:Zegel_ontbreekt.svg |
Albaniserien for Herrer(2008/09–present)
Albani/
Royal Unibrew == Funen Championship winners ==