Norway was placed in a group at the 2026 World Cup that looks complicated, with France and Senegal the confirmed opponents, and Iran, Bolivia or Suriname fighting for the last place in a play-off. But after the draw, the ceremony held by FIFA was a point of discussion and criticism.
“Today I don’t think I can take this completely seriously. We have to try to stay alert, hold the door and work so that FIFA focuses on football and not on these things”, said the president of the Norwegian Football Federation, Lise Klaveness, to the Norwegian Press.
From the beginning of the ceremony until the first countries besides the hosts were drawn, 87 minutes passed. Beforehand, there were musical performances by Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger and Lauryn Hill, as well as the presentation of the FIFA Peace Prize to the President of the United States, Donald Trump. Something Klaveness also aimed for.
«When this award has no objective criteria, no jury, or any connection to management, there is a risk of it being a disguised way of politicizing the organization», he said, «the parts linked to the award were long and inadequate».
Stale Solbakken, Norway’s coach, spoke to the Norwegian channel NRK and, being more concise, also criticized the organization of the entire draw: «It was a bizarre spectacle in many ways, I have to be honest and say so.»
