– We are concerned. We don’t think it was perfect in the years before the Qatar World Cup, but then there were real processes with skilled people at administrative level in Fifa. Now it becomes more and more distant for us. That’s what Lise Klaveness says to news. The president of the Norwegian Football Association (NFF) has just given a lecture during the Nordic sports legal conference in Oslo, and there sports and human rights were a topic. On 11 December, Fifa will decide who will be awarded the World Cup in 2034. Saudi Arabia is the only applicant. THIS IS HOW IT WILL BE: This photo taken on October 30, 2024 shows stadium models displayed during a media tour in Riyadh. Photo: FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP Klaveness says that the NFF is currently carrying out a legal assessment of the process, but that they are currently not experiencing a large degree of cooperation from the international football association. – Extremely important, the NFF president is completely open about the fact that they lack insight into a report that Fifa has prepared, with an independent and external company, which deals with what responsibility Fifa had for the people who died, and their families who were not paid, during the World Cup in Qatar. – How is this to be understood in the future, how is it to be sanctioned? How should it be compensated? We believe the report is extremely important for us to be able to understand Fifa’s responsibility in the new process, she says to news. – We don’t quite get the tools we need to be informed members who are going to vote, she adds. ASK FOR OPENNESS: Lise Klaveness believes Fifa’s secrecy leads to less informed member nations. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB news has sent Fifa the criticism from Klaveness, and asked for a response to this. In an e-mail, a spokesperson from Fifa writes: – Fifa is implementing thorough processes for bidding for the World Cup in 2030 and 2034, in line with previous processes for the awarding of hosting for the Women’s World Cup in 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, the World Cup in 2026 in the USA , Mexico and Canada and the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. Fifa further writes that the reports for the bid processes for the WC in 2030 and 2034 will be published before the extraordinary Fifa congress on 11 December. – Saudi Arabia’s shockingly poor World Cup bid has long been controversial. This week a merciless evaluation was published in which 11 organisations, trade unions and supporter groups objected to Saudi Arabia’s own assessment of the human rights situation in the country, made by the law firm AS & H Clifford Chance. – It is shockingly bad, artificially defined and therefore does not contribute to giving Fifa the reality description they need before they have to assess whether Saudi Arabia can host the World Cup, and at the same time fulfill Fifa’s binding requirements to safeguard human rights, says Frank Conde Tandberg, political advisor in Amnesty Norway. news has contacted AS & H Clifford Chance and offered them to comment on the criticism that has arisen. CONCERN: Frank Conde Tangberg from Amnesty. Photo: Tommy Iversen / news “Whitewashing” of human rights violations The country’s widespread and documented use of torture and severe repression against its own citizens is not mentioned. The assessment of the situation from Saudi Arabia, which Fifa is referring to when assessing the World Cup bid in the nation, is referred to by organizations such as Amnesty, FairSquare and Human Rights Watch as “whitewashing” of human rights violations. Klaveness answers as follows about what comes to light: – Now we’ll see what Fifa comes up with. If they do it right, they have very good opportunities to make many assessments that are outside of what they have submitted. Fifa is not bound to only follow what is in the book. They can make their own independent assessments and obtain information from other sources, she says. – Fifa closed again That is also why the NFF is working to get the independent report from Fifa out. – What kind of hearing do you know they have in Fifa? – Now there is little. After Qatar, Fifa closed down a lot. In any case, the external channels, and the appetite for these discussions is very low. In Uefa they are bigger. We can hope and believe that it can open up a bit again. We know that there can be some tension around the voting and that it can cause a political group to close down. CLOSE AGAIN: Lise Klaveness thinks Fifa will change after Qatar. Photo: NTB In addition, the NFF president is surprised that they still haven’t figured out how Saudi Arabia’s World Cup application is to be voted on at the extraordinary and digital Fifa congress on 11 December. – There is also a bit of Fifa culture, it is difficult to know. Now it was finally time for them to be voted on together. So there should not be one vote on the World Cup in 2030 and one vote on the World Cup in 2034, it is a block. Then we don’t know if it is a physical voice, or acclamation (applause). The three years of experience I have now tell me that there is a little at stake, she says. – It seems a bit strange, at least to us from the outside, that even they don’t know how it will turn out? – As of now, we know that there will be a vote on 11 December, we know that it will be voted on. We know that they are voted together, and not separately. But then the question is what is a reconciliation. Should we press yes and no or will it just go through? For us it is important, because we think that the process itself is a goal. But there is no doubt that it will end up with the landlord getting these championships, she replies. – If it becomes difficult, Klaveness says in the time leading up to the vote in December, they will spend the time talking to large parts of Football Norway, clubs, coaches, supporters, circles, before they decide on the NFF’s choice at a board meeting shortly beforehand. – Do you feel any pressure for the NFF to stand behind Saudi Arabia’s candidacy, and what do you think will be the consequences if they do not? – I don’t know it concretely now, no one is pressuring us on it. But there is a culture in the football world where going alone, or voting against something, becomes very difficult. We have experience from completely different matters, she replies. NOT DECIDED: Lise Klaveness says that the NFF has still not decided whether the association will support the bid from Saudi Arabia. Photo: Emilie Holtet / NTB – The Danes asked about beer in the stadium In September, the NFF, together with other Nordic football associations, had a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s stall organisation. There, the Nordic countries could ask direct questions to the 2034 WC’s sole applicant. Klaveness felt that it was “a good meeting” where they got to ask all their questions. – They knew very well what was coming when they met the Nordics. They knew that we had to go into sensitive issues about LGBTQ and trade unions. The Danes asked about beer in the stadium, everything was addressed, and they answered well. They were very well prepared and open, and there were women and men from the stall organisation, she says. – Saudi Arabia is a country that really wants – How would you explain that it is possible to end up in a situation where Saudi Arabia is the only bidder? – I can’t explain that. I was simply not in the inner room at all. But the broad line is something that both you and I know, that Saudi Arabia is a country that really wants to. Who for decades has wanted to organize major championships in all sports and has done so. And have been very open that they want to do it with the football side, she says. Klaveness believes there are also elements about Saudi that are more positive than others: – They have a football culture and beat Argentina in the World Cup, and are much more of a football society compared to Qatar. They also do not hide that the desire to organize championships is part of vision 2030 and to “rebrand” the country a little. It is part of a strategy Saudi Arabia has to really get involved in world sport. And then it’s clear that football is a huge scalp, she says. 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