Lise Klaveness out to shake up UEFA Executive Committee

Lise Klaveness could become the first woman elected to UEFA's Executive Committee (ExCo) in a contest against men but she is no stranger to making waves.

The former Norwegian midfielder is as accomplished off the field as she was on it, having become a lawyer after a 14-year playing career in which she earned 73 caps for her country.

Having been elected the first female president of the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) in March 2022, she came to prominence across the world after a powerful speech during the FIFA Congress in Doha later that month.

At the time, eight months before the men's World Cup in Qatar, Klaveness called on nations to: "help migrant workers in Qatar,do more to protect LGBTQ+ supporters at the World Cup, more to make the global game welcoming to all."

Risk taker

It was a speech and a trip that required clearance from the Norwegian parliament, for fear of the 41-year-old's safety, with the Middle East country's laws making it possible to punish homosexuality with a seven-year prison sentence – and Klaveness' marriage to fellow former Norwegian striker Ingrid Camilla Fosse Saethre is well documented.

Despite the risk, she traveled to Doha to take FIFA to task for their failure to sufficiently take human rights considerations into account when awarding the right to host the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. 

Now, she is choosing the more challenging route once more, opting not to stand against Welsh candidate Laura McAllister for the position in UEFA's ExCo reserved for a female.

Instead, Klaveness' aim is to double the number of female members on the committee by standing against 10 men for one of the seven other positions on the ExCo, which has the power to adopt new regulations and make decisions on matters that do not fall within the legal or statutory jurisdiction of the UEFA Congress or another organ.

"It was a difficult choice," she said in a recent interview with Forbes magazine.

"In the end (it was) very easy for me because I got no energy from trying to block the one other woman going into the election.

"It would be a lower threshold to go in, even though she is an excellent candidate, she is not a president (of a football association). I don't like the system where you have the very few female representatives running against each other before the normal election."

'Not a person to throw grenades'

Klaveness' election as the head of the NFF brought about an immediate positive reaction when Ballon D'or winner Ada Hegerberg ended her self-imposed exile from Norway's national team.

The Lyon striker had stepped away from the national side in 2017 over a perceived lack of respect for female players in Norway. 

A fight for equality and respect from their own federations has been taken up recently by players from a number of other countries who will be competing at this summer's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Canada's entire team spoke out against Canada Soccer's lack of financial transparency and what they see as insufficient support for the women's squad, while France and Spain have seen key players step away from their national teams due to their treatment by their head coaches.

However, the art of negotiating in a male-dominated field to garner equality for herself and other female athletes is not new for Klaveness, who prior to her election as NFF president spent around four years as the federation's director of elite football. Should she win election to the UEFA ExCo on Wednesday, she will be aiming to build bridges to push for change.

"I have led men's and women's football in Norway for some years now," she said. "It's real work, you have to negotiate with clubs, coaches – mostly men."

"For many years, I only have friends in football so, I'm not a person to throw grenades into systems. I want to cooperate, but I do think there's some very urgent matters that we have to change."

In order to effect change though, Klaveness must make history once more.