Dear President, Dear Congress, Ladies and Gentlemen
As a young girl I took my football everywhere, also to bed every night. The ball smelled so bad that even my cat leapt from the pillow. An orange-coloured football for playing on snowy gravel fields. A 13-year-old dreaming about mastering the ball, escaping the fear of not fitting in.
Eventually I got to represent my country doing what I loved the most, also on the greatest stage for all dreams, the FIFA world cup.
Later, working as a lawyer and judge, football was often the only thing I could talk to a client or an accused about when they were facing grave criminal charges. In desperate times football can be the only common language.
Our game can inspire dreams and break down barriers. But as leaders we must do it right, to the highest standards.
Last year Norway debated a boycott of the World Cup in 2022. Instead our members voted at Congress for dialogue and pressure through FIFA as the best way to make needed changes.
Our members do demand change, they question the ethics in sport and insist on transparency. They are getting organised to make their voices heard. We must listen! We cannot ignore the calls for change. How FIFA run the game has so much to say for how football is perceived in every confederation, in every association.
FIFA must act as a role model.
I am here now as Norway’s first female football President, humble to speak in front of you. I no longer take the ball everywhere with me, but my dreams are still about football. Football where boys and girls, all colors, straights and queers, everyone, is treated with equal respect and recognition.
In 2010, the world cup was awarded by FIFA in unacceptable ways with unacceptable consequences. Human rights, equality, democracy, the core interests of football, were not in the starting 11 until many years later. These basic rights were pressured on as substitutes, mainly by outside voices. FIFA has later addressed these issues, but there is still a long way to go.
The migrant workers injured or families of those who died in the build-up to the World Cup should be cared for. FIFA, all of us, must now take all necessary measures to really implement change.
FIFA has recognised its responsibility under the UN Guiding Principles for Human Rights and now includes human rights criteria for future World Cup hosts. It is vital that the current leadership wholeheartedly continue in this way, truly moving from policy to impact.
There is no room for employers who do not secure the freedom and safety of world cup workers.
No room for leaders that cannot host the women´s game.
No room for hosts that cannot legally guarantee the safety and respect of LGBTQ+ people coming to this theatre of dreams.
I pledge that the Norwegian FA and I personally will support every initiative which safeguards the core interest of football, human rights and promotes diversity and anti-discrimination. This is also supported by our friends in the other Nordic Football Associations.
We have a brutal war in Europe now. As in wars on all continents, innocent people are being killed in meaningless fights for power. A previous world cup host has invaded the country of one of our members. Initially, FIFA hesitated. International pressure forced real action. Rather than follow, FIFA must lead.
I fear our stadiums will be empty in the future if we overlook the urgency of the current moment.
The time to act is now. FIFA, all of us, must do what we are tasked to do – to lead. To have sustainable football values govern every decision. Truly implement transparency. Zero tolerance towards corruption. Accelerate the growth of our game for women.
FIFA must set the tone an lead.
Dear President, Dear Congress – I am new here, the girl with the orange ball has come far from home. I often get asked how it is to work in a man´s world. I always answer: I don’t. I do not work in a man´s world. Football belongs to all girls and boys in the world.
So I truly share your belief that ours is indeed the beautiful and global game. Let us stand together and live up to the promise and dreams we give to everyone who takes that first kick of the ball.
Thank you.
