– Come on, skyyt! It is late summer in east Oslo. Romsås IL’s J17 team is currently training. – It is a dream to see how girls’ football has flourished up here, says a clearly proud Adnan Naaem. He is a coach and deputy leader of the football team at the club. Clothes and bags are strewn along the track. There is no other place to put them. For the team, both clubhouse, toilet and changing room are missing. Have to change in the forest Many come straight from work or school to training and matches. Then they have to change outside. In sun, rain and wind. – It is possible to hide behind the school, or by those benches. Player Laura Santa points. – What if you have to go to the bathroom? – No, I don’t know… We’ll stick to it, then. Visiting teams are in disbelief at having to change in the woods when they come to play a game. – We see when we play elsewhere that everyone has a changing room, a place to change. It’s almost a bit embarrassing that we don’t have anything, says teammate Biftu Jami. Biftu Jami (left) and Laura Santa want to continue playing, but miss the bathroom and dressing room. – We should have it too, says Santa. Photo: Vegar Erstad / news Girls’ team against all odds The club in the heart of Groruddalen has got a team all over Norway struggling with: getting minority girls onto the football field. Now they have seven girls’ teams, with over 115 players. But the lack of facilities is a big problem. It is not unusual for parents to withdraw their daughters from the team. – They don’t want the children to be part of a sports team where they have to walk in the forest and take off their trousers, says Naeem. The training is over and the Romsås girls march off the pitch. Some have saved bottled water for as long as possible. Without access to a toilet or changing room, they don’t always get refills. Photo: Vegar Erstad / news The coach fears there will hardly be anything left of the team if nothing happens. – It affects our dignity. “Ghetto” stamp And that helps to reinforce the “ghetto” stamp Romsås already has, Naeem believes. – Our youth teams, especially the boys, notice that no one bets on Romsås, he says. – And they think, “why should we play when no one else cares”? Adnan Naeem is vice-chairman of the football team at Romsås IL and prime mover for the girls’ initiative. Photo: Vegar Erstad / news The result is that they give up. Now the club has no boys’ team between the 14-year-old class and the senior team. Some of the guys the club loses end up in crime, according to Naeem. – Some end up selling drugs, or in difficult environments. With a clubhouse, the young people could have a safe place to be, he believes. – Must agree internally Sports Council Omar Gamal (SV) is very understanding of Romsås’ desire for a clubhouse with changing rooms and toilets. – We are well aware of the need for cloakroom facilities, and we will take that with us, he says. On Wednesday, the Oslo City Council came up with its proposal for next year’s budget. There they give money to ensure that Romsås gets a new artificial grass pitch with underfloor heating. But the clubhouse they want, there is no room for now, says Gamal. – My request is that Romsås now finds a temporary solution internally, he says. Sports council Omar Gamal (SV). Photo: Sturlason Right next to school and sports hall For the city council, there is a solution in the short term: – There is a school right next door, with multi-use possibilities, to which the club already has access. And I hope that football now also gets access, says Gamal. But Adnan Naeem believes it is not that simple. Often they meet closed doors. The hall is in full operation, including handball and floorball. – We can’t go in there with full teams and settle down. There are also limited wardrobes there, says Naaem. The J17 players say they have never been allowed to use the hall, except in winter. Romsås sports hall is located close to the football pitch. There they often encounter closed doors, according to Naeem in Romsås IL. Photo: Vegar Erstad / news Hoping for a clubhouse Naeem believes that the requirement for a clubhouse is also about safety. Without it, players or referees have nowhere to retreat if there is a disturbance on or around the pitch. Now the coach is hoping for help from the city council: that they demand that the club must get a clubhouse, not just a field. – An artificial grass field without players and activity on the field is not really worth anything, he says. Osloklubben celebrates 50 years this year. With better facilities, they can keep the pride of the logo on their chest, he hopes.
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– It’s almost a bit embarrassing – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
