Norway’s lonely fight to save football's soul
The world of football needs more leaders like Lise Klaveness.
Welcome to Sports Politika, a media venture founded by investigative journalist and researcher Karim Zidan that strives to help you understand how sports and politics shape the world around us. Our mission is to offer an independent platform for accessible journalism that raises awareness and empowers understanding.
If you share this vision, please consider supporting us by joining our community and becoming a paid subscriber.
I first met Lise Klaveness in May 2022.
It was at the Oslo Freedom Forum, an annual gathering in Norway’s capital city hosted by the Human Rights Foundation. She was a panelist in a discussion I was moderating about the growing prevelance of sportswashing—a topic that felt especially relevant with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar just months away.
Despite her relaxed and unassuming presence, Klaveness, a former footballer who serves as the first female president of the Norwegian Football Federation, commanded the stage with her unflinching candour and nuanced insights. Just two months prior, Klaveness had flown to Qatar, where she gave a speech criticizing the staging of World Cups in Russia and Qatar, arguing that the events were awarded in “unacceptable ways.” The speech sparked outrage in the male-dominated congress and cemented Klaveness as a bold voice for human rights.
Klaveness, who is married to a woman, has since continued to speak out on important issues that few others would address in world football. When I met Klaveness again in February 2024 during the Play the Game conference in Trondheim, Norway, she was about to take the stage with Khalida Popal, a footballer and activist who cofounded the Afghan women’s national team, to discuss their ongoing struggles to support and empower women in the male-driven football world. She also called for an inquest into legacy left by the Qatar World Cup and, specifically, a lack of financial remedy for mistreated migrant workers. Norway was also the only country to protest FIFA’s decision to give the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia.
Most recently, however, Klaveness has drawn attention to Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza after the Norwegian national team and Israel were drawn in the same group in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
"The draw is difficult for us, beyond the purely sporting aspect. None of us can remain indifferent to the disproportionate attacks that Israel has inflicted on the civilian population of Gaza over a long period of time." Klaveness said in a statement. "The Norwegian Football Association stands with the Norwegian government in its demand for an immediate end to the disproportionate attacks on innocent civilians in Gaza.”
Klaveness noted that her statement was in line with those of her government, which is actively involved in calls for sanctions against Israel on the international stage. The Norwegian government imposed sanctions on illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. The government is also leading an initiative seeking an International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on Israel’s legislation banning the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Norway is also one of three European countries, including Ireland and Spain, to officially recognize Palestinian statehood.
"Israel is still part of UEFA competitions. We have to deal with that. We are following the situation closely with FIFA, UEFA and the Norwegian authorities,” Klaveness added.
Suffice to say that Klaveness is the only European football association head to speak out about the Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Her statements drew praise from the Palestinian Football Association, which released a statement commending her for her steadfast support.
“The PFA expresses its full appreciation for Norway’s recognition of the ongoing violations against Palestinian civilians and athletes, aligning with its long-standing commitment to justice and the integrity of international sports,” read the statement. “President Klaveness’ remarks echo the sentiments of millions around the world who believe that FIFA and the international football community cannot remain silent while grave breaches of human rights persist.”
“The PFA calls upon all national football associations, as well as UEFA and FIFA, to assume their moral and legal responsibilities by suspending all sports activities with Israel until its obligations are fulfilled. The PFA urges FIFA to act with transparency and urgency by launching a thorough investigation into Israel’s actions and ensuring that football remains a tool for peace and justice, not a platform for impunity,” the PFA concluded in its statement.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed, and 107,041 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the besieged Strip.
According to the PFA, more than 523 athletes have been killed since October 7, including 241 football players (67 children and 174 adults). Among the notable names is Hany Al-Masdar, a former player and manager of the Olympic team, and Mohammed Barakat, Gaza’s first centurion of goals and a former national team player known as the “Legend of Khan Younis.”
Israel has destroyed or partially damaged no less than 28 football facilities in Palestine since the start of the war, 22 in Gaza and six in the West Bank. These include all of Gaza’s professional football stadiums, as well as the PFA headquarters, which was also targeted by Israeli airstrikes.
Despite the continued carnage, reports suggest that Israel and Hamas could be moving closer to a ceasefire and hostage release deal. Yet a deal would not bring back the dead, including Khaled Nabhan, whose granddaughter had been killed by an Israeli air strikes in November 2023. Nabhan had referred to his granddaughter as “the soul of my soul” in a viral video that has since come to represent the collective punishment levied at Palestinians by the Israeli state for the crimes committed by Hamas.
“I used to kiss her on her cheeks, on her nose and she would giggle,” he said in the video. “I kissed her but she wouldn’t wake up.”
After mourning his granddaughter and the rest of his family over the past 13 months, Nabhan himself was killed on Monday in an Israeli bombardment targeting the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
In spite of the growing civilian death toll, FIFA has repeatedly delayed taking a decision on a Palestinian-led proposal to sanction Israel on the grounds of human rights and humanitarian law violations committed in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. The proposal was backed by several NGOS, lawyers and human rights activists who concluded that Israel should be banned from international football for violating FIFA's statutes amid the war in Gaza.
While the proposal has gained support from several Arab and Asian football associations, no European football association has joined the call to expel Israel from international football. Norway, under Klaveness’s leadership, remains the lone voice in Europe urging FIFA to investigate Israel ahead of the European qualifiers.
The world of football needs more leaders like Lise Klaveness.
Related Reading:
Sports Politika is a media platform dedicated to the intersection of sports, power and politics. If you like what you see, upgrade to a paid subscription ( or gift a subscription if you already have your own). We would appreciate if you could also like the post and let us know what you think in the comment section below.
Great article Karim thank you for writing it