– At 9 o’clock on Monday we had gained 1,720 new members since Friday. That is more than a doubling of the membership. That’s what Bodø/Glimt’s media manager Simen Pedersen says. Previously, the club had 1,350 members, but that also included between 600-700 children and young people who are registered members. – It is absolutely fantastic. It contributes to a wonderful member democracy, where you get to take part in making decisions as part of a club. We appreciate that so many people want to be a member of Bodø/Glimt, continues Pedersen. Simen Pedersen is media manager in Bodø/Glimt. Photo: Vegard Stien / Magy Media Glimt player Ulrik Saltnes is positive about the involvement around the club. – I think that it is very good and strengthening for the club. It shows a little about where you have ended up, it is something that means a lot to a lot of people, says Saltnes to news, adding that the coup rumors have not affected the players. – I’m just happy that those cases are taking their course, and I think it’s important that as many people as possible are heard. Ulrik Saltnes believes that the large increase in the club’s membership is good: – For Glimt as a club in the future, this is an incredible strength, says the Brøngøyværing. Photo: Daniel Hong Hansen One of those who have registered in the last couple of days is Jarl Andre Dalmo. – I should have signed up many, many years ago. I am 59 years old, have played for the club in my youth and I do not miss a single Glimt match. – The fact that I am signing up now has, of course, something to do with these mobs who have destroyed themselves, and who are trying to destroy the club. I can’t silently accept that. Because only days before Bodø/Glimt’s most important match in history, the return match away to Røde Stjerne where the winner goes to the Champions League, it has been simmering among the yellow-clad supporters. Banned after fishbowl action on 3 August, Glimt’s home match against Haugesund was stopped for ten minutes after some home supporters threw fishbowls onto the pitch. The reason was that they wanted an end to video refereeing (VAR) in Norwegian football. The protest action received the smooth layer from general manager Frode Thomassen in an interview with TV 2 during the break of the match. – To carry on with such childish streaks in the bottom two or three rows is to kill football. It’s not about football, not VAR, Thomassen told the channel. General manager Frode Thomassen in dialogue with head coach Kjetil Knutsen on Glimt’s bench. Photo: Mats Torbergsen / NTB A total of nine supporters were subsequently punished by the club, some for 15 matches, others for 30 matches. In the wake of this, people appeared on social media who called for the incumbent board and general manager Thomassen to be ousted. This was to be done by joining the club, in order to influence voting at the annual meeting. “Now it’s war. The board must be thrown. Frode must be thrown. To Valhall,” writes an anonymous person on X (formerly Twitter). Ask people to join the club – I’m just scared that a small minority of people will be allowed to destroy things. I can’t get my head around that, continues Dalmo. – How real do you think a coup attempt would have been? – I hear that someone has courted other supporters’ clubs in order to get enough votes. But I think that the vast majority have confidence in the board of Glimt. But I don’t think you should underestimate these guys here. I don’t think they see the consequences of their own actions. Glimt supporter and new member Dalmo has little left for pure acts of sabotage. – We can discuss VAR until we’re blue in the eyes, and I’m just as pissed off as everyone else when it takes a long time. But to demand that VAR go away, and to take action by sabotaging football matches, it is completely on the nose. After the 6-0 victory against Sarpsborg 08 on Saturday, several Glimt profiles went out in Avisa Nordland and fired against the “coup plans”. Glimt’s media manager Pedersen also stated that: “We therefore want people to join Bodø/Glimt if they want the club to continue as it is today.” – Why did you say this? – It was because I received a direct question about it, says Pedersen and elaborates: – The background was that rumors appeared in social media that some people wanted to remove the board. I think those rumors were a bit exaggerated, and I don’t think that anyone would actually overthrow the board. – Then people have reacted by signing up, because they want the club to continue to be run as it is today. We do not have an overview of exactly what the new members stand for, but such a large increase in the number of members is good no matter how you look at it, says Pedersen. Think the “coup plans” are inflated – Have you ever been afraid of a coup? – No, not really. We haven’t considered it as an option at all. – Do you know if any of the new members are also members of other clubs? – No, we don’t have an overview of that. It has also been the weekend, so we have not been able to go through who all these 1,700 are. – Do you feel that this is a storm in a glass? – Yes, I think it has been boosted a bit by comments on social media. NOK 340,000 fresh NOK in the club coffers Pedersen says that the matter has received very little attention in Glimt, since there has been both a match and a weekend while the registrations have flowed in. – It has really only been the media that has asked a little about it. But we notice 1,700 new registrations, which we are very happy about. A membership in Glimt costs NOK 200. This means that the 1,720 new registrants have contributed roughly NOK 340,000 to the yellows’ club coffers. – The quota is more to have control over who signs up. If it were free, everyone could be a member, says Pedersen and denies that Glimt will increase the membership fee. – But in theory, other teams’ supporters can sign up to influence? – Yes, they can. I can join Vålerenga and vote against everything the board wants. But I hope people don’t do that. Published 26/08/2024, at 16.45 Updated 26.08.2024, at 18.17
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– It is important that as many people as possible are heard – news Nordland
