Mutiny in Qatar: the president of the Norwegian federation stands up to FIFA for Qatar

The president of the Norwegian federation, Lise Klaveness, became the unexpected protagonist of the Congress that FIFA held in Doha, Qatar. The board took advantage of its turn to speak, which was pre-established, to strongly criticize the Qatari country. “This World Cup was awarded under unacceptable conditions and with unacceptable consequences. We should think about the injured and the relatives of the deceased,” he said.

And he continued: “I am often asked what it is like to work in a man’s world. I always answer: no, I do not work in a man’s world. Football belongs to all the boys and girls in the world.”

Given the general discomfort of the public, made up of guests and representatives of the 211 federations, almost all men, the next to speak was the president of the Honduran federation, also in a pre-established manner, who based his speech on criticizing his counterpart Norway. “This is not the forum to make these types of claims. Let’s talk about football,” she said.

For its part, the secretary general of Qatar 2022, Hassan Al Thawadi, was even more blunt: “It must be more educated. Before talking about Qatar, you have to know its people and its culture. I doubt very much that he was in Qatar to make that criticism. I invite you to visit us and let us show you the country.”

In a subsequent statement to As, President Lise Klaveness replied to Al Thawadi: “Of course we have been to Qatar before. We were invited and we were here. That’s why we make this plea for human rights, we have to take the opportunity to do it.”

Who is Lise Klaveness?

The president of the Norwegian football federation knows well how the world of this sport works. Klaveness was a professional player who wore the jersey of her national team for 73 games between 2002 and 2011. She played in the 2003 and 2007 Women’s World Cups and the 2005 Women’s Euro. During her career in the national team, the current president of the federation Norway, had the occasional controversial event. And it is that after the 2007 World Cup she was separated by the coach Bjarne Berntsen, giving him the news at the same airport. In 2009 she returned to wear the Norway shirt, until in 2011 she definitively retired from the national team.

Klaveness, who retired from professional football in 2012, played for Norwegian Stabæk. After leaving active football, she trained as a lawyer and is a deputy judge at the Oslo Court. She also acted as a commentator for the Norwegian public television, NRK. Lise Klaveness is a member of NISO, the Norwegian sports organization.

The position of president of the Norwegian football federation was achieved on March 7, 2022, thus becoming the first woman to lead the federation in its 120-year history.