Norway 'focused on growth'

Targets exceeded
"We are focused on growth in this country," said Espelund from the stand at the 5th UEFA Women's Football Conference in the capital Oslo. "We need specific targets for girls' participation as well as boys: the federation wants boys' participation to grow by five per cent a year, and girls by 15 per cent. Last year we saw the latter increase by 20 per cent so we are already exceeding our targets."

EXCO ratification
At its meeting in Rome last month, UEFA's Executive Committee formally ratified the programmes of five associations, including Norway, who had been piloting the new UEFA Grassroots Charter, established following the UEFA Grassroots Football Declaration in 2004. UEFA's view was that the game can only flourish at the highest levels if the grassroots are in a healthy state, and set about ensuring that they were.

'Soccer moms'
Espelund said of the sector in her homeland: "For 70 years football in Norway was a sport for men and boys, so why do we need to get girls involved? Primarily it's a positive, fun activity for thousands of children which involves the whole family. For many years we've heard about the 'soccer moms' in the United States and we need to get more mothers involved. For my generation football was not open to everyone, now it is and must be no matter what sex, colour, race or social class."

'Equal opportunity'
Echoing the thoughts of FIFA football development director Mary Harvey, Espelund cited the need for more women to get involved in the game at all levels. "We don't just need to focus on former internationals as we have a generation of players who have just finished playing," said Espelund, the only female general secretary in UEFA's 52 associations. "Our task is to give them an equal opportunity and we feel every club should have at least one female administrator."

Massive percentage
Espelund was joined on the rostrum by Stig-Ove Sandnes, a member of the UEFA grassroots panel and a fellow NFF employee. He added: "Grassroots programmes must involve both boys and girls as associations have a responsibility to give everyone an opportunity to play. In Norway, our main aim with grassroots is to provide an opportunity for boys and girls of all ages irrespective of background. Grassroots accounts for 99 per cent of all football activities in Norway."

Bright future
As that statistic suggests, the future of football lies in the grassroots. With associations as dedicated as the NFF working in conjunction with UEFA in promoting and protecting this sector, that future appears a bright one.