Soccer: Norway FA president Klaveness calls on FIFA boss Infantino to resign

STOCKHOLM: Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) President Lise Klaveness called for the resignation of FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Friday, saying that he no longer had the confidence of the football community.

"He does not have the institutional trust required to govern FIFA stably in the times we ​are in. There is no going back for Gianni Infantino," Klaveness told reporters following the NFF's monthly board meeting.

"The international football cooperation is very much in trouble, and we must have a reason to get together now, and we want to ask the FIFA president to resign now."


The comments come amid the ongoing bitter ‌conflict among governing bodies ⁠sparked by ⁠FIFA's abandoned proposal to sell a slice of the World Cup's commercial future, and the Norwegians are hoping that other UEFA countries will row in behind their call for Infantino to step down.

"We will see which other countries eventually join in, if that becomes the strategy from the UEFA board - we talk to them ​a lot, and they have to manage that, and you will have to ask them the question," Klaveness said.

"We are not going to ask for an extraordinary (UEFA board) meeting, we will ask him to resign in our dialogue with FIFA."

The 45-year-old Klaveness, who is a qualified lawyer, began ​by going through a long list of concerns that the Norwegian FA has expressed ⁠to FIFA during ‌her tenure, which began in March 2022.

Among them were questions around the awarding of tournaments, the inaugural FIFA ​peace prize that was ​awarded to U.S. President Donald Trump in December, and the overturning of a ban for American forward ⁠Folarin Balogun during the recent World Cup following a call from Trump.

As an outspoken ​critic of Infantino, Klaveness' name has been put forward as one of the possible successors to ​the Swiss-Italian administrator, but she waved away speculation that she might stand for election.

"I register these names, and that my name is also mentioned, that is registered. It's not a theme at all - we have no reason to comment on that or any other candidacy, nor are we ready for it," she said.

QUIT 'GAME OF THRONES' AND RESIGN

Klaveness later told Reuters that world football needs to move beyond "Game of Thrones" -- the fantasy TV drama known for its ruthless power struggles -- and focus on real governance reform in a sport she describes as being in "crisis".

She ‌said Norway did not vote for Infantino in the 2023 election and will not support him in March.

"It's very divided, very polarised. It's a crisis, really. And then we need a leader to gather this and he's ​not in a position ​to gather it now. So for ⁠the sake of football, we ask him to resign," Klaveness said.

"Sometimes polarisation and crisis can be of use, but it's only of use if we can gather now around, not just 'Game of Thrones' and who should be here or there, but to actually implement this governance ​reform. But he cannot do it."

Looking ahead, Klaveness stressed that whoever leads FIFA next must focus on meaningful reform and ensure the organisation remains a governing body rather than competing commercially with its confederations.

"Regardless of who will be re-elected or elected, it needs to be about real implementation of governance reforms now. It needs to be about lasting change, where the checks and balances also works," she said.

"The stable future is a FIFA where it's first and foremost a governing body for international football and not a business developer that competes with confederations.