The book “How much do you know about football?” was recently published. out. A quiz book about football for children between the ages of six and twelve. Out of 520 questions, ten of them are about women’s football. Special librarian Anne Elisabeth Kaldhol from Deichmanske bibliotek in Oslo reacted to this. – I expect more from the publisher to be honest, says Kaldhol. In the category about women’s football, even one question is about the former male national team coach Martin Sjögren. This means that there are only nine questions that in theory are about women, Kaldhol believes. – I was quite surprised that a quiz book that will be published by Norway’s largest publisher in 2023 only has nine questions about women Under 2 percent As a librarian, part of her job is to go through new editions of books to see if they are interested in to buy them in or not. – Then this quiz book arrived, and I leafed through it a bit. Suddenly I had a little idea that I wanted to check how many questions there were about female soccer players. Librarian Anne Elisabeth Kaldhol there should be more than one question category dedicated to women’s football. Photo: Privat She leafed through the entire book to be absolutely sure, but based on her calculations, it indicates a female question percentage of 1.73 per cent. – I think that women’s football in general and women’s football in Norway have come much further today, and are so good, that it should be natural for them to be involved. It shouldn’t just be an afterthought, says Kaldhol. Questions about female star players in the book Which Norwegian national team player signed for Barcelona in 2019 after playing five seasons in Germany? Which English major club did Maria Thorisdottir sign for when she left Chelsea in January 2021? Do you know how many goals Ada Hegerberg scored in 16 minutes for Lyon in the 2019 Champions League final? Do you know which country hosted the Women’s European Football Championship in 2022? Ada Hegerberg suffered a serious injury in training in January 2020. Was it in the knee or the ankle? Is American Hope Solo goalkeeper or outfield player Martin Sjögren was the coach of the Norwegian national team from 2016 to 2022. What country is he from? She has been named the world’s best player six times and has both Brazilian and Swedish citizenship. Do you know the player’s name? Difficult: In addition to Maria Thorisdottir, there were two other Norwegian players who became league champions with Chelsea in June 2020. Do you know the name of one of them? Difficult: Do you know who was voted Norway’s best female player in 2019? Better solution She thinks there should be more than a question category dedicated to women’s football. – Then one could perhaps try to have a category about Ada Hegerberg or Caroline Graham Hansen. Or you could replace some of them by having questions about more female football players, says Kaldhol. Ada Hegerberg is a Norwegian soccer player who plays for Olympique Lyonnais and the Norwegian national team. Photo: Adam Ihse/TT NYHETSBYRÅN / NTB Both Erling Braut Haaland, Joshua King, Ståle Solbakken and Martin Ødegaard have their own categories with as many as ten questions each. – Had the title of the book been “How much do you know about men’s football?” and if they had dropped the one quiz category, it would have been better in a way. Because then it would have been more pure product against men’s football, says Kaldhol. Should the quiz book have had more questions about women’s football? Yes, much more. No, one category is enough. I do not care. Show result – Bad craftsmanship The librarian is not the only one to react. – It is simply poor craftsmanship, and that it does not keep up with the times. Anette Sandanger Nybø says so. She is head of NTG in Bodø, and is a former top player for Grand Bodø and Stabæk. At a time when the Norwegian Football Association invests in equal learning opportunities for boys and girls in football, this book does not fit in, she believes. – I will not buy the book. I have a 12-year-old daughter and I’m guessing that she would rather not read the book. Ragnfrid Trohaug is publishing manager for Cappelen Damm children and young people. She acknowledges that the book could have had more questions about women. Former top soccer player, Anette Nybø, thinks the quiz book will not reach its goal in 2023. Photo: Kent Grundstad Should have been given even more space – In the name of hindsight, it is obvious that the women should have been given even more space. Although one category is for female star players, for example both Caroline Graham Hansen and Ada Hegerberg could have their own categories, says Trohaug. She further underlines that several of the categories include female players indirectly. – Categories that focus on clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United, PSG and Arsenal include both female and male players. Such categories put a spotlight on common aspects such as city, history, stadium, kit colors and supporters, regardless of gender, she says. – Isn’t it very unclear that the book indirectly covers female players when they are children between 6-12 years old? Ragnfrid Trohaug is publishing manager for Cappelen Damm children and young people. She acknowledges that the book could have had more questions about women. Photo: Cappelen Damm – As I said, in the name of hindsight, it is obvious that the women should have been given an even bigger place. Trohaug believes it is important to strengthen women’s football, and that quiz books about football for young readers can contribute to that. – We have included the women on the team in this book, but the diverse representation could have been even better. In the future, Trohaug promised several quiz questions about women and football, which both young and old girls and boys can answer.
ttn-69
Football quiz book with only 10 out of 520 questions about women’s football – news Nordland
