“Norwegian Football Federation decides against 2034 World Cup boycott”

Following months of heated debate about VAR and a vote to retain the technology, the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) has also decided not to boycott the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Fredrikstad Football Club had proposed the boycott, but at the NFF Congress they received little backing, with their proposal failing by 269 votes to 50.

In 2021 the Norwegians also voted against a boycott of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but compelled NFF president Lise Klaveness (pictured) to speak up at the FIFA Congress, leading to her famous speech in April 2022, when she highlighted migrant worker rights and discrimination against the LGBT+ community, much to the dismay of Qatari organisers and the FIFA hierarchy…

Norway’s decision not to boycott the 2034 World Cup marks a shift away from the build-up to the Qatar World Cup, when the plight of migrant workers gained the global spotlight through media reports and rights groups. For years there was a strong mobilisation among sections of European fans and some European federations addressed the matter too…

…the decision not to boycott has come in for criticism…