– We may have slept a little during class, Liz Clavenice admits to NRK.
This statement comes after a heated debate during Arendal Week. There, among others, the football fathers Egil Östenstad, Örjan Berg and Gerd Stolsmo shared their experiences of why Norwegian football struggles at the international level.
They all have football careers behind them and their children at the top level behind them.
Soccer mom: Gerd Stolsmo (center) with superstar daughters Ada Hegerberg (left) and Andreen Hegerberg. They are pictured here after the Gullballen Awards in 2018, when the wife’s youngest daughter, Ada, won.
Photo: Christophe Ena/AP
Stolsmo, the mother of Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg, believes Norway can look far and wide for a “new Ada”.
– The investment we see on the part of girls is an ocean behind what boys are getting today. There is a real gap, Stolsmo tells NRK.
– Girls should be taken seriously as soon as they arrive, as they are between the ages of 6 and 7. They must have an appropriate career plan. She explains that they should be allowed to compete, and there should be a limit to the idea that everything girls do should be sociable and fun and it should be very fair.
I want the silk gloves to be gone
The soccer mom thinks girls are being handled in silk gloves for no reason at all:
– Girls come there with expectations. You have to give them exactly the same as boys, Stolsmo thinks.
It’s backed up by a brand new survey among Westland footballers, parents and coaches. It is implemented by Professor Sif Skard at the Norwegian School of Economics. The results were presented on Tuesday evening, and here are some key findings:
- Coaches downplay the identity of the players as soccer players – and to a large extent that of the girls.
- Boys get more structured training sessions per week than girls, although there is no difference in the number of training sessions boys and girls want.
- Both parents and coaches want higher numbers in training sessions for boys than girls.
- Girls’ coaches believe that the most important motivation for girls is social motivation, and that the most important motivation for boys is to have fun. However, the survey shows that there is no difference between what motivates girls and boys.
- There is a tendency for parents to underestimate girls’ soccer interests and overestimate the social aspect.
- 30% of players answered that boys have better access to training camps, 26% of players in selection think boys have better access to equipment, and 25% answered that boys have better access to trophies.
Backed by New Numbers: Stolsmo’s concerns are backed up by an all-new investigation. And here she is with her daughters at the training ground.
Photo: Beret Roald/NTB
The play “The Bear Sleeps”
The assessment will be completed this week after Norway’s failed World Cup effort this summer. Heiji Reis fell just short of their goal of winning their group, and were subsequently eliminated in the round of 16 by Japan.
The results are part of the negative trend the women’s national team has seen since their Olympic gold medal in 2000.
The reason for this may be related to the differences in children’s and youth football. Stolsmo refers to a cultural and situational problem.
– They play “Bjørnen søv”, says Gerd Stolsmo about the coaching model that meets young girls’ football.
On the men’s side, players like Martin Odegaard and Erling Braut Haaland have been international stars in recent years, and things are growing well behind them.
On the women’s side, it could be different, Stolsmo believes.
– I am very worried about the new lentils coming, she says and explains:
– The reason is that the girls get a bad result in terms of breadth and popularity. On the girls’ side, there will be plenty of supply. It’s nice to have lots of girls, but that’s where it stops, you think.
Is it a lost generation?
I wouldn’t say it, but it almost sounds like it. We don’t see the subsequent significant growth. “We don’t have any big profiles knocking on the door,” she says.
CLOSURE: Gerd Stolsmo congratulating his daughter Ada Hegerberg with an award during the Sports Gala in 2017.
Photo: John Olaf Nesvold/NTB
Clavenice promises to recover
Chief Football Officer Liz Clavenice agrees with Stolsmo.
Clavenes says: – I totally agree that we still have a long way to go when it comes to culture and attitudes.
She is happy that Stolsmo is passionately committed to girls’ and women’s football.
Committed: Klaveness is pleased with Stolsmo’s commitment.
Photo: Per Svenung Larsen/NRK
– My experience after so many years of Norwegian football is precisely that the main picture is the opposite: most of those who work professionally in player development and senior football work with the boys’ and men’s teams. Those who will work with both the girls’ and boys’ side have their references on the boys’ side. The side of the fight will be next, says Claveness.
Stolsmo makes it clear that she doesn’t expect Klaveness alone to be able to bring about the necessary changes.
– Liz is tough, but she can’t do everything on her own. It is a culture that sits in the walls and must be changed. Not everything depends on finances. “I feel that in the future, no matter what decision is made in favor of the girls, they will be the losers,” says Stolsmo.
The ball head promises to improve in the coming years.
We will recover well offensively as the girls and women’s team progresses. We can’t keep defending the World Championship and Olympic gold medals of 20 years ago when the world looked different,” says Claveness.
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