Norwegian football clubs from Tromsø in the north to Vålerenga in the south want to boycott the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. Even though Norway won’t be taking part, Norwegian football fans are fed up with what they consider high-level corruption that’s led to the deaths of thousands of construction workers on World Cup facilities in Doha.
“Can the message be heard?” mused commentator Reidar Sollie in newspaper Dagsavisen. “Yes, because it’s coming from the grass roots, from football fans who want to do away with dirty football. And initiatives from fans tend to spread quickly.”
The issue will now be on the agendas of the annual meetings of football clubs all over Norway this spring. “When FIFA (the international football association) doesn’t manage to do anything, action has to move to the grass roots level,” Sollie wrote. “The fans are at the heart of football, which right now is shut down by the pandemic.” He thinks fans and sponsors must act when football officials “don’t clean up themselves.”
newsinenglish.no staff
