Lise Klaveness was calling out Gianni Infantino before it was cool. The president of Norway’s soccer federation has been a longtime thorn in the side of FIFA’s president, pushing vociferously for more transparent governance at the summit of global soccer. Her concerns, which date back to the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and its questions about migrant labor and human rights, found a much wider audience this summer after Infantino’s secret plot to sell off parts of the tournament exposed the risks of FIFA’s highly centralized leadership.
The 45-year-old former international soccer player, attorney and judge recently told POLITICO that not only must Infantino depart FIFA but the system he constructed be totally rebuilt. Sipping black coffee recently in Le Café Lacoste at Monaco’s tony Méridien Beach Plaza hotel, the flame-haired Klaveness outlined five areas where that should start, including committee reform and reducing the president’s executive power. A wave of European nations have now followed Norway in calling for Infantino to go, after his aborted commercial sell-off to private investors including Joshua Kushner’s firm Thrive Capital.
Political heavyweights, including British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Canadian premier Mark Carney, have also called for the president’s exit. But Klaveness said she’s not resentful about how slow reinforcements were to arrive. Our expansive conversation with Klaveness about the intersection of global soccer governance and politics took place during UEFA’s season-opening competition draw in Monaco.
Just hours after the death of Norway’s King Harald, Klaveness saw her Monaco itinerary upturned as she faced a whirlwind round of meetings with domestic soccer officials about postponing the weekend’s fixtures. But she still found time to discuss, beyond Infantino, Russia and Israel’s place in world soccer, why she feels sorry for FIFA’s staff — and which two men she credits with saving the World Cup from Infantino and Kushner. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
POLITICO: Do you believe FIFA’s problems can be solved by removing Gianni Infantino, or has the organization become incapable of governing football well? Klaveness: So is it an individual problem or is it a structural problem? We are very clear that, first of all, we have over time been very worried about how Gianni Infantino has conducted his leadership, distancing himself more and more from his own reforms.
And it started even before power would corrupt. So it seemed like that was his modus [operandi], to be elected on one agenda and then rule on another agenda. We desperately need a leader who puts compromises above himself, that puts the sport above himself, that gathers everyone.
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