Woman Offside

Few people, let alone women, have made the transition from national team player to president of their national football association. Lise Klaveness of Norway is an exception. During the FIFA congress in Doha, Qatar in 2022, Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Association, gave a speech that sent shock waves through the football world: "In 2010, the World Cup was awarded by FIFA in unacceptable ways with unacceptable consequences...Our members do demand change, they question the ethics in sport and insist on transparency. We must listen! We cannot ignore the calls for change." Previously, only activists or whistleblowers had dared to talk publicly about issues such as the rights of migrant workers, LGBTQI rights, gender equity, and governance reform. Among the football leaders inside FIFA, Klaveness was seen as a nuisance, and she was told to keep quiet. But among football fans, primarily in Norway, but also in other parts of the world, she was perceived as a breath of fresh air. After the speech, Klaveness has continued her work, trying to reform FIFA from the inside. But how much can one person do, in today's football world? Football writer and journalist Marius Lien followed Klaveness closely for one year, from January to December 2023. Through FIFA and UEFA congresses, the World Cup in New Zealand and Australia and travels around her home country Norway. The result is a book that provides deep insight into how the football world works in the midst of the Gianni Infantino era.