Sports President reacts to the VG classification: – Not a sports list

The top woman on VG's list of the 100 biggest Norwegian sports stars in 2023 is ranked 17th. The sports president responds to this.

On Facebook, Zainab Al-Samarrai “liked” a post written by Maria Midas Jørstad, director of the Nordic Culture Fund.

She said: “Yes, yes, when 4 men at VG have to evaluate the name of the sport of the year, it can quickly come out very skewed… No woman is more deserving of 17th place? Help VG!”

“What my reaction to it was that VG had made a list of Norwegian athletes, where you couldn't find a place for a woman until 17th place, and then VG wrote in the comments section that it was the responsibility of the sport not to allow any woman who was placed higher. This is not a list of the sport “It is not us who ranked the First Lady at No. 17, and it cannot be taken as an income for how VG ranks Norwegian athletes,” the sports president wrote in an SMS to VG.

When Al-Samarrai was asked about the athletes who should have been ranked higher, he replied, without going into detail, that Norway has “many great female athletes who deserve a higher place on the list and on the list itself.”

However, the sporting president agrees that sport has a problem on the women's side, but he believes it is just as much a social problem:

“Equality is a general societal problem that we all need to take seriously, whether in sport, politics, working life or in the media. The fact that VG cannot find a single woman on the editorial board to evaluate Norwegian athletes is also a problem. Like WellhavenWellhavenVG sports commentator He wrote in his comment: “The reasons why male sports stars dominate are certainly complex, and there are many people who could do more to promote women, including us in the media,” the sports boss points out.

VG sports director Frode Buanes thinks it's good for the list to spark controversy:

– I also wish that mathematics would be at the top of the list, but I think that on a large scale and all that represents the actual situation of Norwegian sports now. Sports fans should take a look in the mirror and ask themselves why Norwegian sport has been largely unsuccessful in promoting a wider range of world-class female sports stars.

However, Boanis agrees that the jury could have been composed differently.

– I don't think it's ideal to have only men on the jury. Even if there was something because of the roles that should naturally be represented in such a jury, we had to put it together differently. “I still don't think the different combination would have led to major changes to the menu,” he says.

In all, there were 47 women's or women's singles teams out of the 100 teams, while there were 52 men's or men's teams. The Special Olympics squad consists of women and men.

But the top 16 are men, with Erling Braut Haaland at the top.

Shooter Janet Hague Dustad is considered the best athlete on the list. He is followed by Norwegian Silver Team WC star Hennie Rystad at the back.

Hanne Staff is the Head of Performance and Development at Olympiatoppen and has also been named to the VG Top 100 list.

– It is unfortunate that we have to go this far to find the first woman on the list. I'm not sure it actually represents the situation, the staff tells VG.

– I think about how to try mathematics. Does it take a woman to rank higher on this list than a man? Is it possible to compare the achievements of women against women and men against men? he asks employees rhetorically.

However, she admits that Norwegian sport has been better at producing men than women.

– If you zoom out a little bit and look at it more comprehensively, you'll find that our performance was better on the men's side than on the women's side. We believe that there is as much talent and prerequisites on the women's side as on the men's side. It starts out with about the same number, and then a few more girls drop out over time. Boys and girls get about the same number of medals at the junior level, but we get fewer medals at the senior level.

• You can see the entire list here.

The best female soccer player is Caroline Graham Hansen in 27th place. She played in a disappointing World Cup final, but won the Champions League with Barcelona.

– I did not know the ratings, but it surprises me that “Karo” does not come higher. She is among the world's best players in the world's biggest sport, says Topfotball women's general manager Hege Jørgensen.

However, there's something else that catches Jorgensen's attention when you look at the list.

– I think it's clear that Idretts-Norge has a problem when the number one woman is number 17 on the list. But we already know about this. We are aware of the problem. Now I know football better, but we know that applies to many sports. Ironically, sport is underdeveloped in egalitarian Norway.

– When it comes down to it, it's all about resources from adolescence. It must be ensured that young people have equal access to skills, facilities and resources.