Norway’s top-league professional football players were returning to the training field on Monday, after their short-lived strike ended Sunday night amidst promises of further negotiation. The players’ union NISO insisted the strike was worthwhile.
The strike called on Friday had forced cancellation of nearly all matches on Sunday, disrupting the tightly packed league schedule and threatening losses for already financially hard-pressed clubs. No one wanted the disruption to continue.
Joachim Walltin of NISO agreed to send players back on the field, saying he was satisfied the strike had called attention to the players’ viewpoints. They won, among other things, a week of guaranteed holiday during the summer, even though that can be the height of the football season.
They failed, however, to win immediate approval of their call for the right to use the shoes of their choice on the playing field. That point will continue to be a subject of negotiation.
Club officials themselves will continue to make equipment deals with various suppliers, “but I think everyone understands how important this is for the players. It will be bad publicity for a supplier if a player is clearly unhappy with his shoes,” Walltin told newspaper Aftenposten. He thinks players ultimately will be able to use the shoes they personally prefer.
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