Will they go beyond the simple threat?
Norwegian football meets this Sunday to decide on a possible boycott of the next World Cup in 2022 in Qatar in order to protest against the conditions of migrant workers in the emirate.
In the event of a positive vote, the team of Erling Braut Haaland and Martin Odegaard would be the first in the world to snub the big round-ball meeting which will be played from November 21 to December 18, 2022.
Under pressure from supporters outraged by the plight of migrant workers and the human rights situation reported in the media, the Norwegian Football Association (NFF) has called an extraordinary online congress to settle the delicate issue. “Both camps mobilized. I am very uncertain of the result, very tense ”, declared the president of the Norwegian federation, Terje Svendsen.
The decision on Norway's participation, still far from being qualified, will be in the hands of the eight members of the NFF executive committee, representatives from 18 districts and delegates from some 400 accredited clubs, professionals and amateurs.
The leadership of the federation and the districts having already spoken out against a boycott, the main unknown lies in the position of the clubs, which each have one vote, except the elite (two votes).
Sometimes pushed by their base, seven of the 16 first division teams, including leader Bodo / Glimt, for example want Norway to stay at home no matter what.
Playing in Qatar, "is unfortunately playing in a cemetery"
Qatar is regularly under fire from NGOs for its treatment of foreign workers from Africa and Asia on sites linked to the World Cup. Doha claims to have done more than any other country in the region to improve their conditions.
Playing in Qatar, “is unfortunately playing in a cemetery,” said Norwegian Supporters Alliance (NSA) spokesperson Ole Kristian Sandvik.
The heavy human tolls mentioned by certain newspapers in connection with the preparations for the World Cup have left traces in public opinion.
one in two Norwegians is in favor of a boycott and only 26% oppose it, according to the latest poll.
In March, a spokesperson for Qatari organizers, however, estimated the number of deaths on construction sites since 2014 at “three”, with 35 others having lost their lives outside their workplace, according to him.
Read also In Qatar, the difficult count of deaths on the 2022 World Cup construction sites
“Migrant workers do not want a boycott, they want international pressure to continue,” pleads the president of the Norwegian football federation.
"Human rights organizations and those representing workers do not want it, no, but on the contrary want us to continue to engage with Qatar and Fifa to achieve lasting changes," said Terje Svendsen.
A Norwegian expert report also spoke out against a boycott, judging that it was not the right tool and instead recommending 26 measures to, among other things, consolidate and extend social progress in Qatar. *
A possible exclusion from international competitions
The federation is playing big.
Fifa informed them that a boycott decision would be equated with a withdrawal from the competition which would deprive Norway of the right to play the remaining qualifying matches this fall and expose it to sanctions up to and including the exclusion of Norway. future international competitions.
Asked, Fifa did not respond immediately.
The statutes of the body provide that any member federation “must participate in competitions organized by Fifa” (article 14.b), but no specific sanction is provided for.
Financially, a boycott could cost Norwegian football 205 million crowns (over 20 million euros) in the form of fines, damages and lost income, according to NFF calculations.
Even if the boycott motion were to be defeated, Norway's participation in the 2022 World Cup is far from certain. The Scandinavian selection, which has not played a major international competition since Euro 2000, is in fourth place in its qualifying group with 6 points, one length behind the Turkish leader.